there's a lot of good documentation on this wiki, but it's hard to find sometimes. it's also unclear if we should look in the [[git-annex]] manpage or elsewhere in the wiki or where. this is a typical problem with the use of wikis for documentation: it's there, but hard to find. it doesn't mean a wiki shouldn't be used but, as with any user manual, special care needs to be taken about structure, organisation and making sure the manual is exhaustive.

a good example of this problem is [[todo/document_standard_groups_more_extensively_in_the_UI]]. --[[anarcat]]

update: a beginning of this may be the the [[workflow]] page but it lacks a lot of details... 

So we have those entry points so far:

  * [[git-annex]] - the manpage
  * [[walkthrough]] - "A walkthrough of some of the basic features of git-annex, using the command line", described as "only one possible workflow for using git-annex"
  * [[assistant]] - a whole subtree of pages describing the assistant, includes a [[assistant/quickstart]] - introduction to the assistant with a series of screenshots, described in [[walkthrough]] as "If you don't want to use the command line, see quickstart instead.", linked from the [[assistant]] page
  * [[workflow]] - a summary of the different workflows that git-annex can use
  * [[special remotes]] - a good list of "supported backends", which may be a better wording
  * inversely, [[not]] is what is *not* supported, obviously
  * [[install]] - how to install git-annex, of course
  * [[tips]] - a mish-mash list of "how to do X in git-annex", 68 pages at the time of writing
  * there's the "details" section on the frontpage which covers lots of the [[internals]], [[design]] and so on
  * there are also what i consider to be "leaf" pages like [[how it works]] or [[sync]] there

So it seems the fundamentals of such a user guide are there. It's just a matter of grouping this in a meaningful way.

I am thinking the following structure may be a good basis:

 * Introduction
   * [[how it works]]?
   * ...?
 * [[Install|install]]
 * Walkthrough
   * [[comandline|walkthrough]]
   * [[graphical|assistant/quickstart]]?
 * How do I...
   * [[Supported backends|special remotes]]
   * [[Unsupported features|not]]
   * [[split repositories|tips/splitting_a_repository]]
   * [[merge repositories|tips/migrating_two_seperate_disconnected_directories_to_git_annex]]
   * deal with lots of files: [[tips/Repositories_with_large_number_of_files]] or merge into [[scalability/]]?
   * decide which files go where? something about [[preferred_content]] and [[preferred_content/standard_groups/]]?
   * sort and regroup the best [[tips]] pages
 * Troubleshooting / FAQ?
   * [[Common mistakes|tips/antipatterns]]
   * sort out the best of [[forums]] and [[tips]] that commonly occur
 * [[Design]]
   * [[internals]]
   * [[encryption]]
   * ... etc - all the developer stuff users shouldn't usually have to know unless they care about performance or need to reimplement something