I recently started to use Sparkle in my free time and have rebuilt sites I like to get used to Sparkle’s tools and features as well as reading the documentation. But I feel as though I’m missing some tutorials which would help me, does anyone know if they exist or am I being stupid and haven’t seen them yet?
I was thinking of some simple tutorials which show how to set up a site and then gradually build it out. This would help me avoid pitfalls and save me lots of time which I don’t have a lot of to learn Sparkle. Any help appreciated, thanks!
Rest assured, there aren’t really any traps with Sparkle, everything is very intuitive
You can find some tutorials on the Sparkle YouTube channel: Sparkle, Visual Web Design - YouTube Unfortunately, the latest live streams are from two years ago and may not cover the latest features.
(edit: @Mr_Fozzie beat me to it… Haha)
I also invite you to check out this topic: Sparkle Documentation in PDF - Now available! I understand that there are some tips in this PDF (although I admit I haven’t read it, so I’m not sure exactly what it contains).
And if you need additional help, don’t hesitate to ask the community, who will be happy to assist you
Thanks both for your replies. Yes, I’ve seen the YT channel and have watched some of them, along with going through the documentation. I was kind of hoping there may be some quick walk throughs to help newcomers along with maybe some more pro tips to help with more common mistakes. I bought Everweb a few years ago but it didn’t do enough of what I needed but there were some really helpful quick and to-the-point YouTube videos for how to set up websites from start to finish. Some examples are here:
Just to make sure, have you checked out the “Live” category on the YouTube channel? Although I don’t understand English, I believe they are comprehensive. They may not be short, but they are created by the software’s own creator, which is a great advantage
Also, don’t hesitate to download pre-designed templates to see how they were created. It can be helpful.
Yes I understand Sparkle is a design tool like any other. But rather than stumble along making the same mistakes others have made when trying to design a website, I thought there may be additional tutorials. Even simple ones to avoid mistakes for new users would be very helpful.
I actually think these would be a great idea because even though Sparkle is an amazing piece of software, people may be put off using it because when they are confronted with the documentation they may feel it’s too daunting. However if there was a way of easing new users in, like a quick start guide with do’s and don’ts, I think that would be a great addition and may help more people use Sparkle.
If these don’t exist then fine, no problem – I was only asking because this is the forum to ask for help, not for sarcastic comments about fine art paintings.
I tried this but it didn’t generate anything helpful for me. It’s definitely an excellent idea and will help others but just not for me.
Again, just to reiterate my initial point, I was looking for some very simple video tutorials which take you though Sparkle’s features. I still think these would be a great idea and a huge benefit but as they don’t exist it’s not a problem and I’m certainly not complaining as I’m sure the Sparkle team are very busy.
I don’t want to get into a verbal tennis match at all but I think some simple tutorials ARE important. I spent a few days recently trying to replicate a website design using Sparkle, Everweb and Blocs. Both Everweb and Blocs made it easier to figure issues out on the fly because I could quickly check how to solve a problem by watching a quick video. This is NOT the same as re-reading the documentation.
I think what you are looking for is a “online video help system” with short videos for all kind of stuff sparkle has to offer.
You don’t get on with the hamburger menu? One click on the question mark and you have a short video that explains it to you.
That would indeed be ingenious. But who makes these video clips? There is an enormous effort behind it. And only the developers know all the tricks. But I don’t see the time to realize that.
Agree, I think the app is excellent and can imagine it’s quite difficult to find the time to make a bunch of help videos. I saw some people had started on YouTube – “TheMacUDotCom” especially looked promising – but there haven’t been any updates for years.
Perhaps someone who is really skilled may take the time to make some, along the lines of Eldar who has a complete service for Blocs users – https://blocsmaster.com
