Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 73591
Welcome dialog should state that name is optional
Last modified: 2013-02-07 22:35:17 UTC
Currently, the welcome dialog asks for the user's full name and initials, and states that they will be used in document properties, templates etc. This is fine in the commonest instance that the dialog is seen, i.e. just after a user has installed OOo and is trying it out for the first time. But the dialog can also appear when one user has installed OOo and _another_ user then receives an email with (e.g.) a MS Word attachment and tries to open the attachment. In this case, the user (who has probably been told never to give their name out on the internet if they don't know exactly why) may not know how to proceed. Now, I don't think the welcome screen should explain that it is not some sort of phishing scam, because most people who see it have just installed OOo and are expecting it. But I think it would be a very good idea if the welcome screen stated that the entry of your details was optional and that you could enter the data later if you preferred that. In addition, new users may be puzzled by the terms "document properties" and "templates" -- these terms are perhaps too jargon-like for a welcome screen and could be softened. Suggested new wording: ----------------------------------- Please provide your full name and initials below Your name will be used to personalize documents that you create. For now, you can leave these entries blank if you prefer. You can enter your details at any time via OpenOffice's Tools menu. --------------------------------------
The fact that there is no comment in the dialog that you have to fill in the fields might lead to the conclusion that the user can leave them blank. The other fact that assumes that the fileds are not required is that the next button is enabled. That would not be if the fields are required.
You and I would draw that conclusion from the enabled "next" button. But the naive user may not. I observed an instance of this last night (and was berated on behalf of the entire Free Software world on account of it :-) ). There are plenty of web sites out there which have an apparently enabled "next" button, but which send you back to try again if you have left some fields blank. A naive user who has had this happen to them at some point will then get stuck with the OOo welcome dialog because they don't want to enter their name (in case it gets sent to somewhere they don't want) but they won't attempt leaving a blank (because they believe that the program won't allow this). As I said, this wouldn't have occurred to me as a problem until I saw it happen. But users do not all react in the same way, and certainly not in the way that experienced users have learned to react.