Here is a real UX gotcha. When I visit my Drupal site, and hit the 'Extend' button, there is a list of modules with interesting names, and as a new site builder or site owner with admin permissions, I wonder what what happens if I enable them. I look for a 'Help' link on the modules page, then on the help page. There is none - not even a link to a help page on d.o. Then I 'twig' that the answer is 1. enable interesting looking modules; 2. read help; 3. uninstall said module; 4. repeat for next module whose name excites my curiosity. An explanation on the Help page that help only works for enabled modules would look pretty bad, but would be better for users than what we currently have.
Can hook_help be made to run for all the modules found in the relevant paths, not just the enabled ones?
Help links and text will appear for all modules in the codebase, not just enabled ones.
Comments
Comment #2
dawehnerWell, we can't really do this because hook_help() requires a proper module installation as people call out to code / routes of that module. This will break easily otherwise.
Comment #3
john_b commentedGood to have that idea put to bed, if only because it means there is a need to look elsewhere for a solution. There is still a significant UX problem. What about putting Advanced Help in core as a replacement for hook_help and Help module, and letting that display Help for all modules in the codebase?
Not sure whether the solution could be linked to #1918856: Put each module's help into a separate Twig file. Although to my mind this is more pressing because I see it as a UX problem whereas that is a DX issue.
Comment #4
jhodgdonFeature requests are 8.1.x material at this point.
I've created a meta-issue to discuss features for the Help system in general, because we have a whole bunch of "improve the help system" issues that are each addressing one little part of the problem. This has been added to it as related. #2592487: [meta] Help system overhaul. Note that this is in the Problems section and not in Proposed Resolution like some of the other issues, because there is not a proposal here for fixing the problem. (As a note, neither Advanced Help nor the Twig file idea would let help be displayed while the module is not enabled; both of these have been added to the summary of that other issue too.)
Comment #10
andypostComment #21
amber himes matzWe have a new system for help which is replacing hook_help and that is help topics, which is part of the core help module. There is a newer issue (#3360133: Display links to help topics provided by uninstalled modules) that is framed in terms of help topics and displaying related help topics from uninstalled modules that I think is more relevant. So I'm going to close this issue as outdated and add commit credit over on that issue for when it gets worked on.