somecows Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Does any of the online documentation provide VERY detailed instruction on how to configure and use WHMCS? I have just installed it and am going through the configuration process. I would like instructions on what every field does, specifically. Some of them are obvious. I mean, when it says "company name" I know what to enter. But some of the fields and options are much less obvious. I have found pages such as http://wiki.whmcs.com/Configuration but there is not really specific info in there, and the video tutorials seem to only show footage of someone filling in the fields. Anyhow I was wondering if I am just missing the documentation that gives more detailed explanation of the number fields and options. Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAJI26 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Look here: http://whmcs.com/tutorials.php 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somecows Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 But all that is is a video of someone filling in the fields. It doesn't explain what the fields are for or what the different options mean. Surely this info must be written down somewhere? There are so many options, I can't be expected to guess what they do, or figure them out by trial and error? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberhost Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 But all that is is a video of someone filling in the fields. It doesn't explain what the fields are for or what the different options mean. Surely this info must be written down somewhere? There are so many options, I can't be expected to guess what they do, or figure them out by trial and error? We used to have a nice online manual, but then as new upgrades arrived WHMCS went to the wiki system. I know what you mean though, we do need fuller documentation, specifically aimed at helping the new user who is unfamiliar with webhost billing systems. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somecows Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Hmm. So I'm not *missing* anything though, right? It's not like what I'm looking for is out there and I just have not found it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHMCS Support Manager WHMCS John Posted July 8, 2009 WHMCS Support Manager Share Posted July 8, 2009 The wiki, video tutorials and forum are currently the sum-total of our documentation. I don't think anything was removed form the manual when it transferred over to wiki format. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojowill Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 this is the one thing WHMCS lacks and has been discussed before, yes I know it's a Wiki and we can contribute but should we really have to it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 this is the one thing WHMCS lacks and has been discussed before, yes I know it's a Wiki and we can contribute but should we really have to it? Very well put. We are left a great deal to our own devices. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Not that long ago, Kayako saw the need for this, and hired someone who's sole job (at first) was to get the documentation up to snuff. Fully up to date with current methods, tutorials and so on. He did a fine job, and really made a difference in the amount of support tickets, from what I hear. Something to consider. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) Perhaps something similar could be done with WHMCS? It would prove invaluable to a lot of newbies (i.e. me) Thank you. Edited July 10, 2009 by TheSidewinder 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHMCS CEO Matt Posted July 10, 2009 WHMCS CEO Share Posted July 10, 2009 What specifically is missing though? Sidewinder you commented the same in http://forum.whmcs.com/showthread.php?t=21192 but never got back with any specifics. It already has a vast wealth of information in it and is regularly updated. Almost all fields which could be ambiguous in the admin area general settings, automation settings, product config and other areas have an explanation immediately after them. And as we rarely get tickets asking how common things work maybe it's better than some of you give credit for which is why we need to be told specific areas you're having issues. It's a WIKI but @ no point have we said we expect users to contribute to it. The option is there if they want to but the reason for a WIKI is it's far easier for us to maintain and it provides the best layout/linking abilities between articles. To an end user who is just searching and reading, the type of software used should make no difference. Matt 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpete Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I tend to agree with the orig post but Matt is right too. I went through this confusion stage but a month or so later I feel I know the software pretty well. What about we make a specific thread for just things that we would like in the doc/manual. I am sure that Matt and the team would do their best to then add info if required. This would benefit all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHMCS Support Manager WHMCS John Posted July 11, 2009 WHMCS Support Manager Share Posted July 11, 2009 How about adding it to this thread? I'll definitely add all good suggestions to the documentation. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHMCS Support Manager WHMCS John Posted July 12, 2009 WHMCS Support Manager Share Posted July 12, 2009 KABLAMMO! ** http://kipling.me.uk/general_settings_doc.html ** What do you make of that? If that's what you guys want, it will be added into the documentation. There's plenty of deep linking in there, hopefully it will help people to see how extensive the documentation really is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 (edited) Sure John and thanks but that page illustrates very well how unclear things can appear to be for newcomers and even long standing users. Just take Monthly Pricing Breakdown – Enabling this divides your quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and biennial prices into the equivalent monthly price.Hardly anyone really knows what that means from reading that and this question crops up again and again exactly because the meaning is obscured, though intended. These instructions need to be written by someone who can really stand back and see things from a reader's point of view because it is mistakenly believed that we should all understand what is being said simply because it is understood by the person who wrote it. Meaning is not communicated by this minimalist style of writing. Having said that, most of the rest of what is on that page is pretty clear. However, especially in respect of some of the more recent developments and changes, the sheer quantity of information that is needed is not even available at all, let alone clearly. I think that what is needed is proper and thorough technical authorship of the Wiki to review the existence of content and meaning conveyed across the entire spectrum of documented functionality now available in WHMCS. This would be a very worthwhile exercise. Just my eggs. Edited July 13, 2009 by redrat 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) What specifically is missing though? Sidewinder you commented the same in http://forum.whmcs.com/showthread.php?t=21192 but never got back with any specifics. It already has a vast wealth of information in it and is regularly updated. Almost all fields which could be ambiguous in the admin area general settings, automation settings, product config and other areas have an explanation immediately after them. And as we rarely get tickets asking how common things work maybe it's better than some of you give credit for which is why we need to be told specific areas you're having issues. It's a WIKI but @ no point have we said we expect users to contribute to it. The option is there if they want to but the reason for a WIKI is it's far easier for us to maintain and it provides the best layout/linking abilities between articles. To an end user who is just searching and reading, the type of software used should make no difference. Matt Sure Matt. I appreciate that a lot of work has gone into the Wiki and agree it is the right vehicle for all the reasons you state. However, there is far less meaning than content. I have always felt, from first sight, that far too much familiarity on behalf of the reader with the technicalities involved is assumed when these guides are written. I have no doubt that the technical mind writing fully understands. But there is considerable ambiguity and lack of clarity, even for native English speaking people. It must be sheer hell for some others and require much guesswork and experimentation rather than certainty and clarity before actions are performed. There are certain systemic dependencies upon particular outcomes that very few users could honestly say is understood and this is evident by the reporting of so many unexpected results operationally. Learning by default, the hard way. Far too much regarding exactly what outcomes to expect from WHMCS functionality is either missing completely or lacks any real meaning and clarity in the way it is written. Yet this is mission critical operational software with serious consequences possible for random acts of pure guesswork by users. It needs to be clearly understood by users as to exactly what outcome to expect from every single function, before they are used, not after the event. Edited July 13, 2009 by redrat 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexxterra Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Better documentation would be great, this would get you going faster. However, as the documentation is now, you have to search, struggle, and play, frustrating, YES, but a bi product of this is learning! a lot of learning!!! Documentation can be hard to get right, Matt is so knowledgeable of the tech aspects of the product that he could easily confuse the end user. I run into this time after time when I answer a tech question for a client, We just do not think or talk the same as someone that comes from a non tech background. test this, try to explain what DNS or PHP is to the guy at the coffee shop tomorrow.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 What specifically is missing though? Sidewinder you commented the same in http://forum.whmcs.com/showthread.php?t=21192 but never got back with any specifics. It already has a vast wealth of information in it and is regularly updated.******SNIP******** Matt Yes, it does have a great deal of information. And it's far better than some documentation that I've seen, as I said before. For that, I *do* give you credit. My last post in the referenced thread was made after some videos were posted by Brian, and by that time I was "over the hump". Those videos were very nice, and probably would have saved me a day or two of muddling about, so I think they'll be valuable to real newbies like I was. One specific I can think of, and relates to the ticket I had open, is that I believe I had the concept of the Departments exactly backwards, but there was nothing in the docs that I could find that would have pointed that out. I think of WHMCS as the central "gateway" for the product. So, I thought WHMCS would (or should) direct client tickets, submitted through the client area, to the defined Departments email addresses. But that's backwards, I believe? The defined Departments are for customers to send tickets in via *email* to the department's email account, then those are "collected" by WHMCS via POP or.... umm... that other way(), and entered into WHMCS as support requests. I couldn't find any doc that clearly defined the roles of the Department function(s). Or at least, anything that made it clear which way this worked. But then, maybe I should get off my butt and go add that to the Wiki, if I have it straight? Anyway.... my initial post in this thread was more an observation that I believe you (WHMCS), and future customers, would be better served by having a documentation manual professionally written by a company that specializes in such. And in PDF form, would be one that's easily editable by you and your staff, if you had to make "emergency" corrections/additions, and by the authoring company to make changes as you need, and printable by the end-users like me if they feel the need to have it "in-hand". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHMCS Support Manager WHMCS John Posted July 13, 2009 WHMCS Support Manager Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hardly anyone really knows what that means from reading that and this question crops up again and again exactly because the meaning is obscured, though intended. How about: Monthly Pricing Breakdown – Enabling this divides your quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and biennial prices into the equivalent monthly price. For example, a product with an annual price of $120 would be divided by 12 months and the price displayed as $10/month. This is a learning process for us and I do appreciate your help. However our documentation has never been more extensive and WHMCS is designed to be pretty straight forward to use. I think we may be a victim of our own success here; as someone who cut his teeth on host automation with a well known competing product () our ease of use means the new entrants to the market are choosing us. This demographic need more support in getting things going than those with experience of other automation products. That said, I personally feel there's nothing better than having a good play. Before I switched to WHMCS I gave the demo and trial a complete run for their money, and then conducted further tests to ensure I knew how everything worked before going live. Men never read instruction manuals, they just press buttons at random until they achieve what they want! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrat Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) How about:Monthly Pricing Breakdown – Enabling this divides your quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and biennial prices into the equivalent monthly price. For example, a product with an annual price of $120 would be divided by 12 months and the price displayed as $10/month. Perfect. Such a minor change but with much more obvious meaning. This is a learning process for us and I do appreciate your help. However our documentation has never been more extensive and WHMCS is designed to be pretty straight forward to use. I think we may be a victim of our own success here; as someone who cut his teeth on host automation with a well known competing product () our ease of use means the new entrants to the market are choosing us. This demographic need more support in getting things going than those with experience of other automation products.Absolutely fair comment and well put.That said, I personally feel there's nothing better than having a good play. Before I switched to WHMCS I gave the demo and trial a complete run for their money, and then conducted further tests to ensure I knew how everything worked before going live. Men never read instruction manuals, they just press buttons at random until they achieve what they want! I'm still laughing! he he. In all seriousness, however, another good point well made. Even so, everything I said in my initial posts still stands as a general comment in that a small amount of re-writing in respect of existing explanations can go a long way, as you have just brilliantly demonstrated. Some new features still need to be written up to explain how they work. And further clarification is required to explain alterations to existing features. The Changelogs for each release are always very useful but, editorially, lack the kind of clarity of meaning I have been referring to by way of spelling things out clearly for the layman. As each new release appears, there could very usefully be a new specific section written for it that deals with these editorial anomalies so that the Wiki is always up to date but instructions for previous releases would remain unaltered. EG: Guidance notes for 4.0.3 release. The following is an explanation of all changes and additions affecting this release. Changes 1. 15.976% ceramic disc increase which means that you can now fit four sausages on your breakfast plate instead of only two. 2. Transparent Invoices. These have now been converted to X-Ray format which means that your customers can now see straight through them but the Inland Revenue can't even see them. Additions One clearly written explanation. Two clearly written explanations, etc. Anyway. All grist for the mill! (Which means useful!) Edited July 13, 2009 by redrat Added meaning 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro67 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Men never read instruction manuals, they just press buttons at random until they achieve what they want! Amen to that. If we did read instruction books, we wouldn't be men, we'd be ...........women? And I concur entirely with RR 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 *****SNIP*** Men never read instruction manuals, they just press buttons at random until they achieve what they want! Well, you DO have a point there.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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