The user manual for the Fluid packaged software releases consists of a set of information pages residing in the Fluid wiki. This Table of Contents lists all of the manual pages, organized under section headings. You can navigate through the manual by following the links below. To return to this page, click the link labeled User Manual in the left-side navigation bar.

The Fluid Components

• Components – A definition of Component and a description of the Fluid Component Library.
• Released Components
  • Lightbox - A description of the Lightbox component.
  • Reorderer - A description of the Reorderer component and its use, with links to technical information.
  • Layout Customizer - A description of the Layout Customizer component with links to technical information.
• Components in design
  • Uploader - A description of the Uploader component with links to technical information.
  • Inline Edit - A description of the Inline Edit component with links to technical information.
  • Pager - A description of the Pager component with links to technical information.

Fluid components and the Fluid Library are defined and described; individual components are described along with technical information on their use.

API Documents

• Infusion v0.3 API documents - A set of links to the API documents for Release v0.3.
• Infusion v0.4 API documents - A set of links to the API documents for Release v0.4.
• Trunk API documents - A set of links to component-specific technical API documents.

• • Inline Edit API - Overview, constructors, parameters.
  • Pager API - Overview, constructors, parameters.
  • Reorderer-related APIs
    • Reorderer API - Overview, constructors, parameters, CSS classes, dependencies.
      • Simple List Reorderer API - Overview, initialization, and parameters.
      • Simple Grid Reorderer API - Overview, initialization, and parameters.
      • Simple Layout Reorderer API - Overview, initialization, and parameters.
      • Advanced Reorderer API - Overview, initialization, and parameters.
    • Order-Changed Callback - The server can be notified when objects are reordered; usage examples.
  • Lightbox API - Initialization, and parameters.
  • Layout Customizer API - Overview, initialization, and parameters.
    • Layout Customizer Integration - Layout and Permissions -
  • Uploader API - Overview, constructors, parameters, selectors, and dependencies.
  • Keyboard Accessibility Plugin API - Listing of tabindex functions and general keyboard accessibility functions.

Information pages provide technical API information for each component. Some of the APIs are public, while others are internal to Fluid and subject to change.

Tutorials

• Infusion v0.3 Tutorials - A set of links to the Tutorials for Release v0.3.
• Infusion v0.4 Tutorials - A set of links to the Tutorials for Release v0.4.
• Trunk Tutorials - A set of links to the tutorial documents.
  • Inline Edit Tutorial - A step-by-step example of adding the Inline Edit to an HTML file.
  • Pager Tutorial - A step-by-step example of adding the Pager to an HTML file.
  • Reorderer-related Tutorials
    • Simple List Reorderer Tutorial - A step-by-step example of using the Simple List Reorderer.
    • Simple Grid Reorderer Tutorial - A step-by-step example of using the Simple Grid Reorderer.
    • Reorderer Integration Tutorial - A step-by-step example of adding the Reorderer to an HTML file.
    • Layout Customizer Integration - Layout and Permissions - Issues relating to reordering content organized in columns.
  • Uploader Tutorial - A step-by-step example of adding the Uploader to an HTML file.
  • Keyboard Accessibility Tutorial - The workings of Fluid's jQuery-based keyboard accessibility plugin.
  • DHTML Developer Checklist - Issues to watch out for when developing DHTML and AJAX-based user interfaces.
  • Walkthrough - Building and using the Lightbox in Sakai - Steps for adding the Lightbox-enabled version of the Image Gallery tool to an instance of Sakai

The Fluid library includes a set of tutorials describing how to use the Fluid components.

The UX Toolkit

• UX Toolkit - An overview of the UX Toolkit techniques and resources.
  • Accessibility Resources - Links to resources for Web and DHTML accessibility, from both design and technical perspectives.
    • An Overview of DHTML Accessibility - The problem, relevant standards, and technical tools for solutions.
  • Comparative & Competitive Analysis - A description of the Comparative & Competitive Analysis process.
  • Contextual Inquiry Overview - A description of Contextual Inquiry, with principles, process phases, and tools.
  • Open Source Design Pattern Library - Overview of the OSDPL initiative; goals, target audiences, and future plans.
    • Drag and Drop Design Pattern - A design pattern solution to the drag-and-drop problem.
      • Drag and Drop - Layout Preview Design Pattern - Specifics of a preview step in a drag-and-drop solution.
      • Drag and Drop - List Ordering Design Pattern - A drag-and-drop solution without the preview step.
    • Upload Design Pattern - A design pattern solution for uploading one or more files.
  • Personas - A definition of personas; why they are needed and how they are used; examples.
    • Designing with Personas - An overview of persona-based design; persona examples.
    • Persona Creation - The rules and processes for creating useful personas.
  • User Experience Walkthroughs - An overview of UX walkthroughs in the Fluid project.
    • What is a UX Walkthrough? - Purposes, benefits, and types of UX walkthroughs.
    • UX Walkthrough General Protocol and Approach - Approaches and procedures for conducting walkthroughs.
    • UX Walkthrough Protocols and Checklists - Rules for conducting and managing walkthroughs.
    • UX Walkthrough Report Template - Templates for recording and reporting walkthrough results.
    • UX Accessibility Walkthrough Protocols - Two approaches to accessibility evaluation: simple and comprehensive.
      • Comprehensive Accessibility Evaluation Protocol for Macintosh - Step by step instructions for Macintosh.
      • Comprehensive Accessibility Review Protocol for PC - Step by step instructions for PC.
      • Simple Accessibility Walkthrough Protocol - High-level approach, based on general principles.
  • User Testing Overview - An overview of whom to test, how to test, and when to test; best practices; ethical considerations.
  • UX Resources - A set of links to user experience organizations, sites, presentations, and other resources.

The Fluid User Experience (or UX) Toolkit provides resources, tools, and documentation to help make user interface design and implementation easier. The toolkit includes personas and scenarios for common use cases within higher education, user interface design patterns, testing protocols, and accessibility guidelines intended to simplify the design process.

User Experience

• User Experience Walkthroughs – An overview of UX walkthroughs in the Fluid project.
  • UX Walkthrough Working Groups – A list of UX walkthrough working groups associated with partticular Fluid projects.
  • UX Walkthrough Results – Collected raw results from walkthrough exercises.
  • Pain Points & Problem Spaces – A collection of identifiable generic recurring user-problematics, organized by problem space.
• Content Management Research – An overview of ongoing research: how users think about and manage their content.
  • Content Management Research Project Plan – An outline of the phases and activities of the Fluid CMR project plan.
  • Content Management Research Meetings – CMR project meetings: agendas and notes.
  • Content Management Research Models – Models employed in the CMR project; personas and use cases.

• • • Personas – CMR personas.
    • Use Cases – CMR use cases.
• OSDPL Working Group – A set of links to activities of the OSDPL group; proposal, meetings, and discussions.

The Fluid User Experience team works on a variety of projects to improve the user experience of the community source software projects participating in the Fluid Project and beyond.