New Fax Wizard

OpenOffice.org 2.0

Document - ID	Specification Owner	Last Change	Status
	Tom Verbeek	July 2nd, 2004	Final
Conforms to	
Applies to	Application: Writer; Modules: wizards, officecfg, extras
Task ID(s)	#116017
Category	Feature

Abstract

This Specification covers the re-implementation of the fax wizard. The fax wizard enables the user to quickly create a fax template which can then be used to write faxes. The user is operating on a dialog that is modal to the underlying document. The document shows a preview of the fax. Every modification to the dialog is being reflected on the preview document. The preview document itself cannot be changed directly.

The main functionality of this wizard is offering an interface to a number of predefined templates which form the base of the result of the wizard (an individually created fax template). Additional Options available are, e.g., the possibility to send out mass faxes via address database fields, or the adding or removing of certain elements of the template.

i-Team Members (The specification owner is part of the i-Team)

	Name	E-mail Address
User Experience	Christian Jansen (CJ)	christian.jansen@sun.com
Development	Tom Verbeek (TV)	tom.verbeek@sun.com
Quality Assurance	Hasan Ilter (HI)	hasan.ilter@sun.com
Documentation	Uwe Fischer (UFI)	uwe.fischer@sun.com

Approved for Implementation

	Approved by	Date
User Experience	Christian Jansen	
Development	Tom Verbeek	
Quality Assurance	Hasan Ilter	
Documentation	Uwe Fischer	
String Review	Paul Compton/Elizabeth Matthis	23.06.04/6/30/04

Document Change History

Rev. Level	Change	Initials	Date
0.5	Initial draft	TV	2004-03-24
0.6	Draft with screenshots	TV	4/1/04
0.9	Pre-Final	TV	6/4/04
1.0	Final	TV	07/02/04

Contents

Glossary	1

1	Motivation	1

2	User Scenarios	1

3	Goals	1

4	Requirements and Dependencies	2

4.1	Requirements	2

4.2	Technical Dependencies	2

5	Competitive Analysis	2

5.1	Lotus SmartSuite	2

5.2	Microsoft Office 2003	2

5.3	OpenOffice.org 1.1 and previous versions	6

6	Detailed Specification	10

6.1	Screen Shots incl. String Lists	10

6.2	Application flow	18

6.3	Implementation Details	19

6.4	G11n	19

6.5	Error Conditions	19

6.6	Migration	19

7	Future Tasks	19

8	Notes	19

9	References	19

Glossary

Term	Description
fax document	a document that can be printed or sent by fax
fax printer	a fax software driver that can be selected in Tools - Options - Text documents - Print. The fax wizard runs without this setting. It is only need if the user wants to fax directly out of OO.o.

Motivation

The old fax wizard (OpenOffice.org 1.1 and previous versions) had a number of disadvantages, such as:

poor quality of the resulting template

it was impossible to localize the predefined templates for non-European languages.

These problems need to be fixed. It was determined that the old code base was unusable for that task. Also, the user interface of the old fax wizard does not fit to the current look & feel of the rest of the application and specifically to the other wizards.

User Scenarios

One of the main scenarios to use a text processing program such as OpenOffice.org, is for communication purposes. If a user wants to send a professionally looking fax he/she has the possibility to

write and design the fax completely from scratch

use one of the fax templates that come with the product

An alternative is to create an individual fax template specifically fine-tuned for the user's needs. This is what the fax wizard is to the user: a simple and easy to use tool to create a fax template, which can then be accessed like the templates that come with the product. The user probably wants a quick solution that offers a result that is reusable.

Goals

Provide a quick solution to create fax templates

Needs to be easy to use.

Solution must be localizable into all languages

Database-supported mass faxes must be supported

Wizard must remember the last-used settings

Requirements and Dependencies

Requirements

There are no special requirements for the implementation of this feature.

Technical Dependencies

Since the wizard will be implemented in Java, obviously the JRE needs to be installed. In order to be compatible with as many platforms as possible, the implementation will need no later version than Java 1.3.1. The wizard itself does not create any dependencies since it is a top level feature.

Competitive Analysis

Lotus SmartSuite

Lotus SmartSuite does not include a fax wizard.

Microsoft Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2003 includes the old fax wizard from the previous releases:

Illustration 1 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 1

The fax wizard in MS Office 2003 is basically unchanged since Office XP. The overall design looks outdated and does not fit to the other wizards in the product.

You have to go through 7 steps to create a fax, which is quite a lot. There is no preview of the generated fax.

Illustration 2 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 2

Since the wizard creates an actual fax, its is possible to use a loaded document as fax content. This document will then simply be faxed, optionally with a cover sheet.

Illustration 3 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 3

These options let the user decide which fax interface to use. These options make sense, since an actual fax is being created.

Illustration 4 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 4

Good: it is possible to send numerous faxes at once.

Illustration 5 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 5

Only three different styles are available for the cover sheet. These styles do not affect the actual document. The user has to take care of the faxability (font sizes, colors, etc.) by himself.

Illustration 6 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 6

It is possible to define the sender's data.

Illustration 7 MS Office Fax Wizard Step 7

Bad: The user has to enter all data again, when he wants to send out another fax.

OpenOffice.org 1.1 and previous versions

Illustration 8 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 1

Bad: Only three different styles are available. The preview does not really help, because it is too small.

Illustration 9 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 2

Bad userinterface on this dialog. If an image is selected as logo it is most definitely being distorted because the original size is not being used.

Illustration 10 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 3

Return address can be updated from user data. Unnecessary size definitions. Should be defined by the template.

Illustration 11 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 4

Bad: User has to move recipient datafields into the correct order by himself.

Illustration 12 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 5

Illustration 13 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 6

Footer does not need to define a left and right margin.

Illustration 14 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 7

Subject is unneccesary. Browse button strange.

Illustration 15 OO.o Fax Wizard Step 8

A lot of wasted space on the last step.

Detailed Specification

Screen Shots incl. String Lists

Illustration 16 Step1

The list boxes show the available styles. The list boxes contain the titles of the style templates. The number and names of these templates are still subject to change.

String list

Item	English	German	Comments
	Fax Wizard	Fax-Assistent	Step 1
Radio	~Business Fax	Geschäftsfax	Step 1
Radio	~Personal Fax	Privates Fax	Step 1
Label	Choose the type of fax and a page design	Bitte wählen Sie den Typ und das Seitendesign des Faxes	Step 1
Info	This wizard helps you to create a fax template. The template can then be used to create a fax whenever needed.	Dieser Assistent hilft Ihnen, eine Dokumentvorlage für Faxe zu erstellen. Sie können die Dokumentvorlage als Basis verwenden, um dann so häufig wie erwünscht, Faxe zu erstellen.	Step 1
Roadmap item / dropdown listbox label	Page design	Seitendesign	Step 1
Roadmap item	Items to include	Bestandteile	Step 2
Roadmap item	Sender and Recipient	Absender und Empfänger	Step 3
Roadmap item	Footer	Fußzeile	Step 4
Roadmap item	Name and location	Name und Speicherort	Step 5

Illustration 17 Step 2 A custom company logo can be applied when editing the template after creation.

Please see the contents of the listboxes in the below String list.

String list

The following are suggested as additional items in the listboxes for a fax in English

Item	English	German	Comments
Salutation Listbox item	Hi	Guten Tag	
Compl. Close Listbox item	Best regards	Alles Gute	
Compl. Close Listbox item	Yours sincerely	Mit besten Empfehlungen	
Compl. Close Listbox item	Love	Liebe Grüße	

Item	English	German	Comments
Checkbox	~Logo	Logo	Step 2
Checkbox	~Date	Datum	Step2
Checkbox	~Type of message	~Kommunikationsart	Step2
	Important information!	Wichtige Information!	
	For your information	Zur Kenntnis	
	News!	Neuigkeiten!	
Checkbox	S~ubject line	Betreffzeile	Step 2
Checkbox	S~alutation	Briefanrede	Step 2
	To whom it may concern	Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren	Translators: don't translate word for word, but rather fill in the usual forms for your language.
	Dear Sir or Madam	Liebe Kollegen	
	Hello	Hallo	
Checkbox	~Complimentary close	Grußformel	Step 2
	Sincerely	Viele Grüße	Translators: don't translate word for word, but rather fill in the usual forms for your language.
	Yours faithfully	Mit freundlichen Grüßen	
	Regards	Grüße	
Checkbox	~Footer	Fußzeile	Step 2
Header	Select items to include in the fax template	Wählen Sie die Bestandteile der Fax-Dokumentvorlage	Step 2

Illustration 18 Step 3 Custom address fields can only be added by editing the created template.

String list

Item	English	German	Comments
Radio	~Use user data for return address	Für Absenderadresse Benutzerdaten verwenden	Step 3
Radio	~New return address	Neue Absenderadresse	Step 3
Radio	Use placeholders for ~recipient's address	Für Empfängeradresse Platzhalter verwenden	Step 3
Radio	Use address database for ~mail merge	Die Adressdatenbank für Serienbrief verwenden	Step 3
Label	Return address	Absenderadresse	Step 3EM->TV: not sure where this shows up in the dialog. Use colon or not, depending on where it is.
Label	Name:	Name:	Step 3
Label	Street:	Straße:	Step 3
Label	ZIP code/City/State:	PLZ/Stadt:	Step 3 EM->TV: does the German form have 2 or 3 fields? If 2, then this is fine.
Label	Fax number:	Faxnummer:	Step3
Label	Recipient's address	Empfängeradresse	Step 3
Header	Specify sender and recipient information	Legen Sie Absender- und Empfängerdaten fest	Step 3

Illustration 19 Step 4

String list

Item	English	German	Comments
Checkbox	Include ~only on second and following pages	Nur auf der zweiten und folgenden Seiten einfügen	Step 4
Checkbox	~Include page number	Seitenzahl einfügen	Step 4
Label	Footer	Fußzeile	Step 4
Header	Enter text for the footer	Geben Sie den Text für die Fußzeile ein	Step 4

Illustration 20 Step 5

String list

Item	English	German	Comments
Label	Business Fax Template	Geschäftsfax-Dokumentvorlage	Step 6; default template name (shown in list box)
Radio	Create a ~fax from this template	Ein Fax aus dieser Dokumentvorlage erstellen	Step 6
Radio	Make ~manual changes to this fax template	Manuell Veränderungen an der Dokumentvorlage vornehmen	Step 6
Info	This wizard creates a fax template which enables you to create multiple faxes with the same layout and settings.	Dieser Assistent erstellt eine Dokumentvorlage, die Sie vielfach verwenden können, um Faxe mit demselben Aussehen zu erstellen.	Step 6
Info	To create another new fax out of the template, go to the location where you saved the template and double-click the file.	Um ein weiteres Fax mit dieser Dokumentvorlage zu erstellen, gehen Sie zum Speicherort der Dokumentvorlage und doppelklicken Sie auf die Datei.	Step 6
Label	Template name:	Name der Dokumentvorlage:	Step 6
Label	Location and file name:	Speicherort und Dateiname:	Step 6
Label	What do you want to do next?	Wie möchten Sie fortfahren?	Step 6
Header	Choose a name and save the template	Bitte geben Sie der Dokumentvorlage einen Namen und speichern Sie sie ab	
Text Field	Personal Fax Template	Privater Fax-Dokumentvorlage	Step 6; default template name (shown in list box)

Tab Order

<If necessary Describe or visualize the tabbing order. The description of the tab order has to contain which control has the initial focus.>

Key Board Shortcuts

<Key Board shortcuts used in dialogs have to be listed in a table with a small description.>

Application flow

The fax wizard will generate templates for the use of subsequentially creating fax documents out of this. The difference between templates and documents holding the data will be communicated by the new implementation.

The user will start the fax wizard via an entry in the wizards menu. Then the wizard dialog will appear. Its a modal dialog which means that the current StarOffice/OpenOffice.org window cannot be accessed before closing or finishing the wizard. It will be possible though to switch to other StarOffice/OpenOffice.org.

Right at the start of the wizard a new document window opens underneath the wizard, and a complete fax template will be loaded. This fax document will correspond to the current (default) settings of the wizard and will allow for instant previewing of the result. It is not a preview in the common sense but rather the actual document which the user is about to create. The document is scaled to fit the application window to make it possible to see it completely. It will not be possible to scroll, zoom into, or edit the fax document, because the wizard dialogue is modal. The title of the fax document will correspond to the template name that can be specified on the last dialog page.

The user can immediately jump to the Step Final Settings to create a fax template because all the relevant options are defaulted. It will even be possible to press Finish at every time. The wizard will then check if the save path has already be specified. If this is not the case, a save dialog will appear the let the user define where to save the template.

Everything will be “live”, meaning that a click on a control in the dialogue will have an instant effect on the underlying document, which will show the resulting fax template.

On the first step the user has to decide whether he wants to create a business fax, or a private fax. This choice changes the course of the following steps. The roadmap is immediately updated when the user changes the fax type. Here you see the branches that are available:

step \ fax type	business fax	private fax
Type/Style	x	x
Elements	x	x
Sender/Receiver	x	-
Footer	optional	-
Final Settings	x	x

It is always possible to step back and forth or to switch to a different fax type – always with the live preview on the underlying document. If the user cancels the wizard, the dialog and the underlying document is being closed.

On the last dialog page the user can decide whether to immediately use the template to create a fax or to edit the template. In every case the template will be saved.

The template will receive the document title that has been edited in the last step plus a short default description: “template created via Fax Wizard on June 12th 2005”.

Implementation Details

The wizard is being written in Java. The dialog uses OpenOffice.org's UNO AWT. Therefore it will look like the rest of OpenOffice.org' UI. Swing or any other native Java AWT is not being used. The wizard's code will be registered as a service. This makes it easy to call it.

G11n

The wizard is working with predefined templates which enable the user to select a special design or layout. These templates are being designed language-specific. For each language they will conform to the special necessities of the region. The dialog itself does look the same in all languages.

Error Conditions

If there is no Java installed or the wrong version of Java installed, and error box will appear, telling the user to install the correct JRE.

Migration

Migration is not an issue for the fax wizard. Since the architecture of the the new fax wizard is essentially different from the old fax wizard, it is not possible to reuse the setting in a migrated environment. For example someone migrates from OOo 1.1 to OOo 2.0 the fax wizard comes up with the default settings and not with the last used settings of the old fax wizard. The old templates that were generated with the old fax wizard, however, can still be used in the migrated office.

Future Tasks

All planned features will be implemented in this version of the fax wizard.

Notes

<Questions will arise during the writing of the specification. State these in here.>

References

<Give references to related documentation, such as engineering designs, technical specs, and other sources for related units. Also include links to documents that other sections in this spec need to refer to, such as user opinions usability test reports.>

New Fax Wizard

Page 1

http://specs.openoffice.org/writer/wizards/faxwizardspec.sxw

Tom Verbeek

2004-03-22T14:03:56