Instructions for adding PPA needlessly involve the Terminal

Also, it is misleading for the end of the help to link to <https://help.launchpad.net/Packaging/PPA>, since that page is entirely about publishing software to a PPA, not about installing software from it.

On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 7:55 PM, Matthew Paul Thomas <email address hidden> wrote:
> The instructions would be simpler and easier to follow if they instead
> described how to add the PPA in Software Sources. For now, this should
> be presented in the context of Synaptic, i.e. "Settings" >
> "Repositories".

Would System->Software Sources be better ? (ie. more general than Synaptic).

I think that may be a mischaracterization... I would describe it as "efficient" rather than "needlessly".

I can give users instructions to do this via the terminal:
___
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk
___

Or This via the GUI:
___
System >
Administration >
Synaptic Package Manager >
Settings >
Repositories >
Other Software
Add
Paste
Add Source
Close
Reload
Quick Search for handbrake-gtk
Mark for Installation
Mark
Apply
Close
Close
___

Just Saying.

How about this:
___

Adding this PPA to your system

You can update your system with unsupported packages from this untrusted PPA by adding
ppa:jd-team/jdownloader
to your system's Software Sources.

Or from the Terminal (9.10 and above):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jd-team/jdownloader
sudo apt-get update

(Read about installing to 9.04 and older)
___

Obviously substituting "ppa:jd-team/jdownloader" for what ever is the ppa.

This give the majority of users the command they need on the first page.
Users of older version can follow the link.

Michael: Giving instructions on getting to Software Sources directly would make sense, except that people adding a PPA almost always do that to install software from the PPA. Synaptic is the only graphical way of installing a package from a PPA in Ubuntu 9.10. Once 9.10 is no longer maintained, we can change the context to Ubuntu Software Center instead.

SilverWave: Efficiency is good, but any solution that involves the Terminal is not appropriate for people like Lauren. <http://twitter.com/LaurenVanB/status/12997322915> And I'm pretty sure "adding ppa:jd-team/jdownloader to your system's Software Sources" wouldn't be specific enough, either. If we can be graphically specific and show terminal instructions in an obviously distinct way, then great.

This is something Huw and I will take a look at with the new Usability and Comms Specialist.

The appropriate solution might now be to suggest to the JDownloader developers to submit their application at developer.ubuntu.com, instead of directing end users to a PPA.

6 months w/no progress; I'm going to put this back in the general bucket.