Commit 98342b7f authored by Marcia Ramos's avatar Marcia Ramos Committed by Achilleas Pipinellis

Docs: how the global nav works

parent 0f5f1381
......@@ -378,6 +378,16 @@ CAUTION: **Caution:**
Because the rspec tests only run in a full pipeline, and not a special [docs-only pipeline](#branch-naming), it is possible
to merge changes that will break `master` from a merge request with a successful docs-only pipeline run.
## Docs site architecture
Read through [docs architecture](site_architecture/index.md) to learn
how we architecture, build, and deploy the docs site, <https://docs.gitlab.com>, and
to check all the assets and libraries available.
### Global navigation
Read through the [global navigation](site_architecture/global_nav.md) doc.
## General Documentation vs Technical Articles
### General documentation
......@@ -690,6 +700,3 @@ GitLab uses [danger bot](https://github.com/danger/danger) for some elements in
code review. For docs changes in merge requests, whenever a change under `/doc`
is made, the bot leaves a comment for the author to mention `@gl-docsteam`, so
that the docs can be properly reviewed.
[gitlab-map]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-design/raw/master/production/resources/gitlab-map.png
[graffle]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-design/blob/d8d39f4a87b90fb9ae89ca12dc565347b4900d5e/production/resources/gitlab-map.graffle
---
description: "Learn how GitLab docs' global navigation works and how to add new items."
---
# Global navigation
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/merge_requests/362)
in November 2018 for GitLab 11.6.
The global nav adds to the left sidebar the ability to
navigate and explore the contents of GitLab's documentation.
The global nav should be maintained consistent through time to allow the
users to locate their most-visited links easily to facilitate navigation.
Therefore, any updates must be carefully considered by the technical writers.
## Adding new items to the global nav
To add a new doc to the nav, first and foremost, check with the technical writing team:
- If it's applicable
- What's the exact position the doc will be added to the nav
Once you get their approval and their guidance in regards to the position on the nav,
read trhough this page to understand how it works, and submit a merge request to the
docs site, adding the doc you wish to include in the nav into the
[global nav data file](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/blob/master/content/_data/global-nav.yaml).
Don't forget to ask a technical writer to review your changes before merging.
## How it works
The global nav has 3 components:
- **Section**
- Category
- Doc
The available sections are described on the table below:
| Section | Description |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| User | Documentation for the GitLab's user UI. |
| Administrator | Documentation for the GitLab's admin area. |
| Contributor | Documentation for developing GitLab. |
The majority of the links available on the nav were added according to the UI.
The match is not perfect, as for some UI nav items the documentation doesn't
apply, and there are also other links to help the new users to discover the
documentation. The docs under **Administration** are ordered alphabetically
for clarity.
To see the improvements planned, check the
[global nav epic](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-com/-/epics/21).
CAUTION: **Attention!**
**Do not** [add items](#adding-new-items-to-the-global-nav) to the global nav without
the consent of one of the technical writers.
## Composition
The global nav is built from two files:
- [Data](#data-file)
- [Layout](#layout-file)
The data file feeds the layout with the links to the docs. The layout organizes
the data among the nav in containers properly [styled](#css-classes).
### Data file
The [data file](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/blob/master/content/_data/global-nav.yaml)
is structured in three components: sections, categories, and docs.
#### Sections
Each section represents the higher-level nav item. It's composed by
title and URL:
```yaml
sections:
- section_title: Text
section_url: 'link'
```
The section can stand alone or contain categories within.
#### Categories
Each category within a section composes the second level of the nav.
It includes the category title and link. It can stand alone in the nav or contain
a third level of sub-items.
Example of section with one stand-alone category:
```yaml
- section_title: Section title
section_url: 'section-link'
section_categories:
- category_title: Category title
category_url: 'category-link'
```
Example of section with two stand-alone categories:
```yaml
- section_title: Section title
section_url: 'section-link'
section_categories:
- category_title: Category 1 title
category_url: 'category-1-link'
- category_title: Category 2 title
category_url: 'category-2-link'
```
For clarity, **always** add a blank line between categories.
If a category URL is not present in CE (it's an EE-only document), add the
attribute `ee_only: true` below the category link. Example:
```yaml
- category_title: Category title
category_url: 'category-link'
ee_only: true
```
If the category links to an external URL, e.g., [GitLab Design System](https://design.gitlab.com),
add the attribute `external_url: true` below the category title. Example:
```yaml
- category_title: GitLab Design System
category_url: 'https://design.gitlab.com'
external_url: true
```
#### Docs
Each doc represents the third level of nav links. They must be always
added within a category.
Example with one doc link:
```yaml
- category_title: Category title
category_url: 'category-link'
docs:
- doc_title: Document title
doc_url: 'doc-link'
```
A category supports as many docs as necessary, but, for clarity, try to not
overpopulate a category.
Example with multiple docs:
```yaml
- category_title: Category title
category_url: 'category-link'
docs:
- doc_title: Document 1 title
doc_url: 'doc-1-link'
- doc_title: Document 2 title
doc_url: 'doc-2-link'
```
Whenever a document is only present in EE, add the attribute `ee-only: true`
below the doc link. Example:
```yaml
- doc_title: Document 2 title
doc_url: 'doc-2-link'
ee_only: true
```
If you need to add a document in an external URL, add the attribute `external_url`
below the doc link:
```yaml
- doc_title: Document 2 title
doc_url: 'doc-2-link'
external_url: true
```
All nav links are clickable. If the higher-level link does not have a link
of its own, it must link to its first sub-item link, mimicking GitLab's navigation.
This must be avoided so that we don't have duplicated links nor two `.active` links
at the same time.
Example:
```yaml
- category_title: Operations
category_url: 'user/project/integrations/prometheus_library/'
# until we have a link to operations, the first doc link is
# repeated in the category link
docs:
- doc_title: Metrics
doc_url: 'user/project/integrations/prometheus_library/'
```
#### Syntax
For all components (sections, categories, and docs), **respect the indentation**
and the following syntax rules.
##### Titles
- Use sentence case, capitalizing feature names.
- There's no need to wrap the titles, unless there's a special char in it. E.g.,
in `GitLab CI/CD`, there's a `/` present, therefore, it must be wrapped in quotes.
As convention, wrap the titles in double quotes: `category_title: "GitLab CI/CD"`.
##### URLs
- As convention, always wrap URLs in single quotes `'url'`.
- Always use relative paths against the home of CE and EE. Examples:
- For `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/README.html`, the relative URL is `README.html`.
- For `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/cycle_analytics.html`, the relative
URL is `user/project/cycle_analytics.html`
- For `README.html` files, add the complete path `path/to/README.html`.
- For `index.html` files, use the clean (canonical) URL: `path/to/`.
- For EE-only docs, use the same relative path, but add the attribute `ee_only: true` below
the `doc_url` or `category_url`, as explained above. This will guarantee that when
the user is looking at the CE docs, it will link to the EE docs. It also displays
an "info" icon on the CE nav to make the user aware that it's a different link.
DANGER: **Important!**
All links present on the data file must end in `.html`, not `.md`. Do not
start any relative link with a forward slash `/`.
Examples:
```yaml
- category_title: Issues
category_url: 'user/project/issues/'
# note that the above URL does not start with a slash and
# does not include index.html at the end
docs:
- doc_title: Service Desk
doc_url: 'user/project/service_desk.html'
ee_only: true
# note that the URL above ends in html and, as the
# document is EE-only, the attribute ee_only is set to true.
```
### Layout file (logic)
The [layout](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/blob/master/layouts/global_nav.html)
is fed by the [data file](#data-file), builds the global nav, and is rendered by the
[default](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/blob/master/layouts/default.html) layout.
There are three main considerations on the logic built for the nav:
- [Path](#path): first-level directories underneath `docs.gitlab.com/`:
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/ce/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/debug/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/*`
- [EE-only](#ee-only-docs): documentation only available in `/ee/`, not on `/ce/`, e.g.:
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/group/epics/`
- `https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/security_dashboard.html`
- [Default URL](#default-url): between CE and EE docs, the default is `ee`, therefore, all docs
should link to `/ee/` unless if on `/ce/` linking internally to `ce`.
#### Path
To use relative paths in the data file, we defined the variable `dir`
from the root's first-child directory, which defines the path to build
all the nav links to other pages:
```html
<% dir = @item.identifier.to_s[%r{(?<=/)[^/]+}] %>
```
For instance, for `https://docs.gitlab.com/ce/user/index.html`,
`dir` == `ce`, and for `https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/README.html`,
`dir` == `omnibus`.
#### Default URL
The default and canonical URL for GitLab documentation is
`http://docs.gitlab.com/ee/`, thus, all links
in the docs site should link to `/ee/` except when linking
among `/ce/` docs themselves.
Therefore, if the user is looking at `/ee/`, `/omnibus/`,
`/runner/`, or any other highest-level dir, the nav should
point to `/ee/` docs.
On the other hand, if the user is looking at `/ce/` docs,
all the links in the CE nav should link internally to `/ce/`
files, except for [`ee-only` docs](#ee-only-docs).
```html
<% if dir != 'ce' %>
<a href="/ee/<%= sec[:section_url] %>">...</a>
<% else %>
<a href="/<%= dir %>/<%= sec[:section_url] %>">...</a>
<% end %>
...
<% end %>
```
This also allows the nav to be displayed on other
highest-level dirs (`/omnibus/`, `/runner/`, etc),
linking them back to `/ee/`.
The same logic is applied to all sections (`sec[:section_url]`),
categories (`cat[:category_url]`), and docs (`doc[:doc_url]`) URLs.
#### `ee-only` docs
If the user is looking at the CE nav, a given doc is present only
in `/ee/`, it's tagged in the data file by `ee-only`, linking it
directly to `/ee/`.
```html
<% if dir == 'ce' && cat[:ee_only] %>
<a href="/ee/<%= cat[:category_url] %>">...</a>
<% end %>
```
To make it clear that it it's a different link, an icon is displayed
on the nav link indicating that the `ee-only` doc is not available in CE.
The `ee-only` attribute is available for `categories` (`<% if dir == 'ce' && cat[:ee_only] %>`)
and `docs` (`<% if dir == 'ce' && doc[:ee_only] %>`), but not for `sections`.
### CSS classes
The nav is styled in the general `stylesheet.scss`. To change
its styles, keep them grouped for better development among the team.
The URL components have their unique styles set by the CSS classes `.level-0`,
`.level-1`, and `.level-2`. To adjust the link's font size, padding, color, etc,
use these classes. This way we guarantee that the rules for each link do not conflict
with other rules in the stylesheets.
---
description: "Learn how GitLab's documentation website is architectured."
---
# Docs site architecture
Learn how we build and architecture [`gitlab-docs`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs)
and deploy it to <https://docs.gitlab.com>.
## Assets
To provide an optimized site structure, design, and a search-engine friendly
website, along with a discoverable documentation, we use a few assets for
the GitLab Documentation website.
### Libraries
- [Bootstrap 3.3 components](https://getbootstrap.com/docs/3.3/components/)
- [Bootstrap 3.3 JS](https://getbootstrap.com/docs/3.3/javascript/)
- [jQuery](https://jquery.com/) 3.2.1
- [Clipboard JS](https://clipboardjs.com/)
- [Font Awesome 4.7.0](https://fontawesome.com/v4.7.0/icons/)
### SEO
- [Schema.org](https://schema.org/)
- [Google Analytics](https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/)
- [Google Tag Manager](https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/)
## Global nav
To understand how the global nav (left sidebar) is built, please
read through the [global navigation](global_nav.md) doc.
## Deployment
The docs site is deployed to production with GitLab Pages, and previewed in
merge requests with Review Apps.
The deployment aspects will be soon transfered from the [original document](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/gitlab-docs/blob/master/README.md)
to this page.
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