Documentation and support

Man overboard! What happens now?

Novice users must learn to navigate not just the new appearance of the desktop, but also the different way of doing routine things, such as configuring graphics cards, connecting to internet radio stations, installing new software, etc.

In this Roundup the projects must provide extensive and easyto-grasp documentation to help acclimatise new users. Additional resources, such as forum boards, mailing lists, wikis, etc. to tap the collective experience of the community is also appreciated.

The First Steps section on the Manjaro website is a primer for new users. A comprehensive user guide is also available as a downloadable PDF, and the wiki is full of information on every topic, including installation, customisation, software management.

Solus has a neatly arranged help center with documentation on different topics, such as gaming, hardware configuration, software management, and more.

In addition to the forum boards, Zorin OS provides thorough guides spanning installation, software management, upgrading the distribution, etc. Although it pales in comparison to the offerings of Manjaro, it’s a sight better than what’s offered by Deepin and Elementary OS. Elementary OS provides to-the-point and easy-to-understand documentation on the website, covering the installation and a quick introduction to the desktop.

Deepin’s wiki features bare-bones guides on using some of its native apps, such as Deepin Movie and Cloud Scan. The forum boards can be used to tap the wisdom of the user community. The Deepin Manual app is installed by default and provides a quick rundown of the DDE and many of the home-grown apps.