Question

ALERT! If you answer a question - or have a question you asked answered by someone - please remember to set the status in the form to answered!!

I just answered my own question - where and how can I change the status to "Answered"?

Environment

-- TsuDhoNimh - 07 Oct 2005

Answer

If you answer a question - or someone answered one of your questions - please remember to edit the page and set the status to answered. The status selector is below the edit box.

Edit the page. Below the big edit box you will see a picklist named SupportStatus. Set it to "AnsweredQuestions".

-- PeterThoeny - 08 Oct 2005

Of course, the problem is that 'add comment' is a much easier workflow than edit, but that it does not make the support status control apparent.

This case lends weight to Sven's argument that forms should always be in edit mode if the user has the rights to edit the form in view.

-- MartinCleaver - 08 Oct 2005

Not agreed to have TWikiForms in edit mode by default in page view. Not good for viewing and printing.

A "nice to have" solution would be a button to close a question. Which could be done generically with an EventTriggerPlugin (see EventTriggerPluginDev)

-- PeterThoeny - 08 Oct 2005

I agree about printing, but please explain how it detracts from viewing.

-- MartinCleaver - 08 Oct 2005

printing differences should be handled by a media-specific CSS stylesheet, and needn't be the same style as view

-- WillNorris - 08 Oct 2005

M$-Word is always in edit mode - by design. It is true WYSIWYG, so there is no difference for looking at the page and editing the page. A simple and effective design.

A Wiki page has two distinct modes - view and edit. If you keep that behaviour for the main text, but make the form appear in edit mode you will confuse the user (why can I edit only the form and not the text?)

Other disadvantages:

• Visually disturbing (not a simple table with key - value pairs)
• Forms can be much bigger in edit mode (many checkboxes for example)
• Many TWiki applications rely on forms. Form in editmode can disturbe the workflow
• Accitental change of content
• If a topic is locked down, a user might change form content and finds out at submit time that s/he can't save the changes.

-- PeterThoeny - 08 Oct 2005

Suggestion: Change the text to clarify what you want the user to do, and where they can do it:

If you answer a question - or have a question you asked answered by someone - please remember to edit the page and set the status to answered. The status is in a drop-down list below the comments box.

-- TsuDhoNimh - 10 Oct 2005

Thanks for the suggestion. Done.

-- PeterThoeny - 10 Oct 2005