Let’s Help Users Use MMEX Better: Suggesting a HOW TO Forum

[frankieorabona]

I've been using MMEX since at least 2016, and I'm genuinely enthusiastic about the program.
That said, I believe I’m only using about 10% of its real potential.

Let me give you a concrete example:
If you browse through the forum, you'll notice that until just 2–3 years ago,
I didn’t even know it was possible to import a .CSV file
to reconcile transactions with my bank account.
When I found out, I literally jumped for joy!

The issue is that MMEX frequently introduces new features,
but for regular users like me, they often go unnoticed or are hard to understand.

In my opinion, before adding even more features,
it would be incredibly helpful to better explain the ones that already exist.

Let me give two more examples:

• - Labels: I honestly have no idea how to use them properly.

• - Custom fields: I know they’re there, but I don’t even know where to start.

Unfortunately, the existing documentation — both in the program and on the official website —
is often too minimal, outdated, or simply not detailed enough
to help users understand how to use these features effectively.

So I wonder:
Would it be possible to create a small team of 4–5 people
who could work on producing short tutorials (even just in English)
to explain how to use these features in a practical way?

Even better — what about adding a dedicated section on the forum
called "HOW TO",
where users can find and share guides, examples, and tips?

It may sound trivial to some,
but I truly believe that with these “how-to” guides,
we could strengthen the community, engage more users,
and maybe even attract new ones.

What do you think?

[MlinMMEX]

Fantastic post! Love it!!

IMHO, community usage of the software sometimes is key to help development team to decide the roadmap...
... and viceversa; dev team info and updates training is key for proper software usage and adoption.

So... Absolutely agree with this forum and "tips and tricks".

In my case, I also think that reports usage, and basic budget practices are key...

[Renato]

Hi

I would very much welcome it if users would write the manuals.
Developers always find it difficult to document what they are doing.

Such a project will probably turn into a lot of work, because although there is currently little development time available to implement all the many change requests, there is still a huge backlog.

When I developed/programmed a dialogue accounting system in 1975, I asked the client and the users to write the manual, including the calculation rules, and then I implemented it. This meant that everything was documented before it was used in operation.

Unfortunately, with today's tools, it is somewhat cumbersome to create/update such documentation.

I will support you as best I can.

[frankieorabona]

Thank you all for the positive feedback on this idea!

I'd like to officially offer myself as a volunteer to help start a basic MMEX manual or tutorial,
focused on both the essential features and some of the more advanced ones I’m familiar with.

Perhaps we could form a small team of volunteers like me,
and each person could take responsibility for documenting or structuring a section of the software —
one tutorial per function, step by step, so that together we build something coherent and useful for new users.

It might also help to have a dedicated, private section on the forum that’s only accessible
to developers and contributors involved in the documentation effort —
a space where we can coordinate, discuss formatting, and provide mutual feedback
before publishing the content in public.

Ideally, once structured and reviewed, this material could be added as official documentation on the MMEX website,
and later translated into different languages. I’d be happy to take care of both the Italian and English versions if needed.

Let me know what you think — I’m ready to begin whenever the project gets greenlit.

[whall3y]

Fully supportive of this....

We currently have a rudimentary manual here: https://github.com/moneymanagerex/mmex.doc
We have the online help here: https://moneymanagerex.org/moneymanager ... index.html

What we don't want to do is start duplicating documentation, maybe the first action is agree to maintain single set or help documents. I would prefer that we use Github for management of this, and maybe we start with https://github.com/moneymanagerex/mmex.doc and expand that as the single document.

[frankieorabona]

@whall3y Thank you for your reply and for clarifying the direction you prefer for the documentation.

I fully agree that we should avoid creating duplicated or fragmented manuals.
My intention is not to replace anything, but rather to help reorganize, modernize, and improve the existing documentation so that we can maintain a single, coherent, and comprehensive source of truth for MMEX users.

To be clear, here is what I would like to contribute:

1. Review and restructure the current documentation, keeping everything inside a single repository as you suggested.
2. Consolidate the content (many sections are currently duplicated or scattered across different files).
3. Split topics into well-organized chapters, each focused on a specific feature (accounts, categories, payees, import/export, reports, scheduled transactions, troubleshooting, etc.).
4. Improve clarity and readability, especially for new users who may find the current structure difficult to follow.
5. Ensure that the documentation can grow consistently, using a shared format that contributors can easily update.
6. Prepare a clean and structured English version, and later take responsibility for the Italian translation as well.
7. Collaborate through GitHub, following your workflow, so that the documentation remains fully integrated in the main project.

I would also like to add a consideration:
I believe that very few users are actually aware of this documentation section (I myself discovered it only now!).
For this reason, once the content has been updated, reorganized, and integrated with the chapters currently present in the online help, I think it would be extremely useful to merge everything into a single official documentation section, ideally based on the HTML version already used on the website and in the Windows app.

This would provide:

• higher visibility

• easier access for all users

• consistent documentation across the website, the app, and the GitHub repository

• centralized maintenance and no duplication of material

If this approach aligns with your plans, I can start working immediately in the repository you mentioned:
https://github.com/moneymanagerex/mmex.doc

My goal is to help create a unified, clearer, and more user-friendly manual, without fragmenting or duplicating the existing material.

Let me know if this direction works for you — I’m ready to begin.