I’ve never been stymied by the lack of a calculation function in google sheets - some of mine have fairly deep nested equations…
the only thing that stumped me once - quite a few years back - was something as simple as mail merge - it was extra-ordinary the hoops you had to jump through to do something so “elementary” in google docs…
Not needed mailmerge for over 20 years so never tested it in docs
But for most never used or even know what its for, like many things, templates, headers footers, index, table of contents …
Yesterday i was asked about word wrap, image placement and image wrap … took me way back to teaching it to students.
I agree with much of what you say. All I’m trying to say is that if M$'s going to provide the tool, they should make documentation about its use easily available to interested users.
Ernie
In linux, the minimum documentation requirement for a new tool is a man page. GNU tried to subvert this with its ‘info’ system , but in my opinion it failed to deliver anything as useful as man pages.
Does Msoft have anything equivalent to man pages?
Not that I know of. The one resource they do provide is Microsoft Learn (or whatever they’re calling it today). The problem is that they don’t have any locally-based resources for users that are anything like the man pages. All they seem to offer are web-based ones that seem to change web address frequently, and have name changes as well. What they do offer looks more like a muddled mess to me, rather than any sort of useful resource. For example, I don’t study C# anymore, but recently I tried to find a C# resource I used in the past on Microsoft Learn, but could no longer find it, so either it has been removed, or renamed.
Linux needs to hang on to man pages. It is not perfect, but it is ( or should be ) universal.
People go looking for tutorials when they have it all there locally in their own machine. How can we educate new users to look at man pages first, then any distro-specific or package-specific help docs, then search the internet, and when all that fails ask for help?
One way would be for newbie-friendly distributions to create a new user’s page in their Welcome app that should run at start-up, until the user unchecks the appropriate check-box.
This new user’s page should then inform the user where to find information, starting with a link to a page for using the man pages with a brief introduction to them. Another option for newbies from Windows may be to create a graphical script to display the man pages in a graphical window, making it look like a graphical app, and adding easy to understand search functionality to help the user get to the documentation being searched for. Following a link to using the man pages, perhaps links to pages describing how to search the Internet for the desired topic, and finally, a link to a page about how to correctly ask for help in the distribution’s forums.
In other words, do a bit of hand holding, and teach the newbie how to be a good Linux citizen, by first learning how to solve issues yourself, then searching for answers, and only after doing your own groundwork, learning how to correctly ask for help in a manner that doesn’t waste helpers time.
What do you think?
Ernie
Some people simply don’t have the time to wade through manual page after manual page. These are the people that ask “trivial” questions.
MX has that. It is not like a man page, it is a window with icons… I think you mean actually bring up a terminal with an introductory man page displayed… and some instructions.
I think that would help… force the new user to learn something before letting them do anything else.
Perhaps not force, but induce. 
If we show them how to use the man pages in small steps, perhaps they’ll learn that the terminal’s not so scary.
A gui for man pages may help.
KDE apparently has it
KDE Menu > Applications > Help > Unix manual pages
I agree! That looks like a good starting place, then, perhaps something more generic, that each distribution can customize/label for itself. Windows users would be more likely to try a graphical UI before trying the terminal. The GUI app could also include an introduction to the distribution’s terminal, and using it effectively.
I must apologize if my interest seems a bit hit or miss today. Sunday, I went to my local hospital ER room, and was diagnosed with COVID-19, and Pneumonia. I was admitted into the Cardiovascular ICU unit until last night. I’m home now, but still recovering, and I suspect the process will take at least a few weeks going forward.
Have newbie’s wade through a LFS compile, that would certainly open their eyes!!
Why would Windows ever need man-pages? Not that many commands or terminal use, is required, to use Windows!!!
If you want Windows users to flock too Linux, then keep it simple, and have packages be pre-configured for installation, like Windows, and the .exe, program installer!!!
People are tend to be lazy… at least most of them and Microsoft encashed it. Windows made people lazier and made them blockhead. Most of the people, at least whom I have met so far, because of negative propaganda by resellers and IT maintenance persons, ”linux is scary” - this myth has been embedded in their brain. It will take a lot of effort to wash it out. But it is very encouraging to see that in my country, India, Linux’s market share has risen from less than 1% to nearly 17% in recent years and after Microsoft’s new policy, I think it will increase more. Is Microsoft doing it purposefully to make Linux rise? 
I am sorry Ernie.
You need to get the antiviral medication, and you should be resting.
I have not had covid or pneumonia. Have had vaccines for both.
Leave this for a while, we can come back to it.
Sorry to hear about that, thought we were mainly over the issues that caused, but obviously not.
Did you have the injection of prevention ?
I try to keep mine up to date but my wife does not… not sure who is correct.
Get well soon, bonne santé
Not sure a on line welcome guide is much use, how many of us read the manual or the guide that comes. Linux mint at startup has a welcome page, i switch it off.
When you install google chrome, it has a guide to follow, similar with firefox and edge. But i just click through having never read them.
For me linux needs to be in the shops where you buy from as an alternative.
A few years back microsoft were forced to offer different browsers and you chose, similar option for linux needs to exist. If you buy a new windows machine it takes 30 mins to set up with loads of questions, perhaps forst should be windows or linux (but which version) and how does the buyer know which to select.
I’d rather not. I can sit in front of my laptop PC and entr my thoughts easily enough. I just wanted to let you know about my situation so you’d understand when my replies are more brief than normal, or delayed. Any such anomalies are not a lack of interest, bur a bit of intermittent exhaustion/need for rest.
Best wishes for a fast and full recovery.
Agree. That covers all those who never want to install any OS. Therd is still an argument fir better first time startup instructions in a pre-installed linux.
For those who would like to try an install… we need a couple of major distros to make a first-time-user-release… it would have to cover
It is the first time startup instructions that @ernie and I were discussing