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Writing Documentation

How to Write Documentation for FlyByWire

Technical How-To

  • You can edit existing pages simply by editing an existing pagename.md.
  • To create a page, simply create a new file "pagename.md" in an appropriate folder and start writing your documentation. Best practices it to look at other pages regarding the general structure (Headings, Material for MkDocs features, etc.).
  • Create the page in the navigation folder you feel this page belongs to. The Documentation Team will be happy to support you with the best location and also how to create a navigation to your page.
  • During the PR Review, the page can still be moved and navigation can be changed/added. So don't worry too much about it and focus on the content for your page.
  • Add images to the section's asset folder. Consider creating a folder for your page when using several images.
  • Although the FlyByWire Documentation Team will take care of navigation, it might still be of interest how the navigation is done. This is well explained on the mkdocs-awesome-pages-plugin's README on their GitHub

Extra Features

We have included through built in and external plugins some extra features to help with documentation building and layout.

Embedding YouTube Videos

We have included the plugin mkdocs-video to streamline adding YouTube embeds into documentation. This removes the necessity to inline <iframe> information within documentation pages.

The plugin uses the markdown image syntax with a custom marker defined in mkdocs.yml: video-embed.

Sample YouTube Embed Code
![video-embed](https://www.youtube.com/embed/3i1FaGKOwII)

Search Exclusion

While writing documentation, you may want to include pages in the final build as part of the docs/ directory, but not have these pages referenced within the search index.

You can simply add to the top of the document the following meta information to utilize mkdocs-material's built in search exclusion:

Search Exclusion Meta Snippet
---
search:
    exclude: true
---

Card Grids

Card grids are a recent feature added to mkdocs-material. This allows for a grid of cards to be displayed on a page. This is useful for displaying a list of links to other pages, or for displaying a list of links to external resources.

For more information visit the mkdocs-material card grids documentation.

Below is an example of our current use case in the FlyByWire Documentation Project utilizing an ordered list with markdown elements.

Option 3 and 4 showcase that you can add additional text and markdown elements to each ordered item. Ensure that the div defines markdown as an attribute and you can freely add arbitrary markdown within the elements of each card grid.

Card Grid Ordered
<div class="grid cards" markdown>

- Option / Text 1
- Option / Text 2
- :fontawesome-brands-github:{: .github } - Option / Text 3

    ---

    This is a `markdown` element that can be added to the [card grid](#card-grids).

- :fontawesome-brands-github:{: .github } - Option / Text 4

    ---

    This is a markdown element that can be added to the card grid.
</div>

Rendered Example From Code Above

  • Option / Text 1
  • Option / Text 2

  • - Option / Text 3

    This is a markdown element that can be added to the card grid.

  • - Option / Text 4

    This is a markdown element that can be added to the card grid.

Tips to Work Effectively with mkdocs (Change, Previews, etc.)

  • Have your editor and browser preview side-by-side on your screen.
  • Every time you save your file, the "mkdocs serve" should make your browser reload, and you can preview your changes directly.
  • Start with the structure of your documentation page. E.g., headlines first and maybe notes below the headlines of what the section should cover. Build up your page from there.
  • How to do:
    • Links: [Link-Text](https://www.target.domain/page)
      • internal links need a relative path to the .md file
      • add {target=new} to external links
      • look into existing pages for examples
    • Other Material for MkDocs features

Writing Good Documentation

  • Write documentation professionally and clearly.
  • Write for the targeted audience (Sim Beginner, Sim Veteran, Developers, etc.) and don't assume too much pre-knowledge on the reader's side.
  • Use the full availability of features baked into Material for MkDocs to create readable and well formatted guides.
  • Add illustrations where appropriate. Make sure you optimize images to be as small as possible (resize to their actually used size and use JPG Compression (50% is mostly ok)). See Image Assets Process for more information.
  • Ensure relevant filenames are web-friendly slugs.
  • Don't hesitate to get feedback from the FlyByWire Documentation Team early and often.
  • Proofread your work carefully before marking "Ready for Review".

Image Assets Process

  • Create the image (e.g. screenshots)
  • Edit the image (e.g. add comments, lines, boxes, arrows, etc.)
    • If you think the original is worth it store it in /src/assets - but most images aren't worth it as screenshots are quickly retaken (Keeping a local copy of all your screenshots is good practice just in case - but it is not worth to clutter the repo with them)
  • Put the edited image in the folder for the topic - e.g. \docs\pilots-corner\assets\advanced-guides\vnav for images related to the VNAV topic
  • Link the image in the markdown document - decide on the size you need (See admonition below for references)

  • Please lazy load images that are not in the viewport (e.g. images at the bottom of the page) - this is done by adding loading=lazy to the image tag.

    Sample Image Markdown with Lazy Loading
     ![image](directory/image.png){loading=lazy}

    Width of images on docs based on the responsive layout.

    • Change the size according to the table - max width is 826 px
    • Compress the png image with a tool - Website Planet Image Compressor
    • Make sure size and quality are good - usually < 100 kB
    Size Width
    100% 826 px
    95% 785 px
    90% 743 px
    85% 702 px
    80% 661 px
    75% 620 px
    70% 578 px
    65% 537 px
    60% 496 px
    55% 454 px
    50% 413 px
    45% 372 px
    40% 330 px
    35% 289 px
    30% 248 px
    25% 206 px
    20% 165 px
    15% 124 px
    10% 83 px
    5% 41 px

Style

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