[Bug 4146] New: first run usability

[Wine Bugs]

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4146

Summary: first run usability
           Product: Wine
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: All
        OS/Version: All
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: blocker
          Priority: P2
         Component: wine-help
        AssignedTo: [e-mail]
        ReportedBy: [e-mail]

Suggestions to make wine work for users who are not linux developers.

Starting from the point where the wine package has been installed. What would a 
typical user do and what will happen. Remembering we're catering for windows 
user mentality here not seasoned linux system maintainers.

At this stage you can be damn sure he/she has not found man wine ; man winecfg; 
or winehq.com. He naively thinks he has installed a software package and it will 
do something if he runs it, so let's see what happens.

1a. He will look for it on the "start" menu
1b. He will try to run wine from console.

1a. next idea please...

Consider 1b in detail.

First thing wine does it create a default setup if one is not found. 
There's a fair chance he had to be root to install it and he still is root.

This is a big no-no but he does not know that yet. Wine does, but carries on 
regardless installing /root/.wine and does not even warn the user this is a BAD 
idea.

Suggested fix: trap the error and warn. Possibly add --root switch just in case 
someone had a real need to do this for some unseen reason. The error should be a 
dlg as well as console output.

Maybe now he wants some help:

prof@linbox ~ $ wine -?
wine: cannot open (null)

WHAT?? OK, try again:

prof@linbox ~ $ wine -h
wine: cannot find '-h'

DUHH! forget it just try running wine:

prof@linbox ~ $ wine   
Wine 0.9.1
Usage: wine PROGRAM [ARGUMENTS...]   Run the specified program
       wine --help                   Display this help and exit
       wine --version                Output version information and exit
prof@linbox ~ $

So that's it ?! My cry for help gets me "wine PROGRAM [ARGUMENTS...]" what are 
arguements? What do I do ??

Critism: this is near useless. it's technical ; version I already got , so what; 
"display this page" by this stage is likely to be taken as a bad joke if the guy 
is still in a good mood.

Suggestions : -h should equal --help ; so should -? ;don't assume everyone is 
used to reading UNIX documentation. One more line with an eg. would speak a 
thousand words.

eg wine explorer , wine notepad , wine notepad.exe , wine "c:/Program Files/
installed software/windows-program-name.exe"

ABOVE ALL; he called for help and you've got his attention. HERE is where you 
put hooks to more info so he does not have to start using google to find what 
doc there is. Refer the user to man wine , man winecfg , www...wine-beginners-
guide.html

So at the first hurdle we fall flat, face-down in the mud.

All our new user gets is "wine PROGRAM". Over and out.

If he did not know before he wont be any wiser.

I'll cut this off here since that much is self-contained , trivial to put in 
place and at least a big step forward.

best regards.