What makes you happy ?

Is this a complete copy of Codex ?
No. It will never be a complete copy (and could you afford the ink to print it ?)

But I want to download everything and make a copy !
Why ? As soon as you do it will be outdated. And think about it for a second - if you need to know about themes, why download docs for installation or permalinks ? Also, my bandwidth is limited. While I would love to see this project hosted on the main WP site, it isn’t right now. Clobbering my bandwidth by downloading needlessly will simply take the project offline. Not helpful for others and if you wanted it back, that means I spend money. I don’t have that money.

How large is the project ?
There are currently 244 files totalling ~34MB of data.
The largest file is 326KB and the majority are between 100-250KB.

But why do this ? We have Codex don’t we ?

1. Because maybe some people find Codex difficult to use
2. Because maybe some people want a way to read things offline
3. Because simply printing a Codex page gets an ugly result
4. Because having docs that can be downloaded will lead to a wider dissemination of the knowledge we have
5. Because we can only improve Codex by having more people see it. This is one way of doing that
6. Because the code is free, the support is free and now the docs can be free too
7. Because one big download would be wasteful if you only want to know certain parts just as spending cash on a complete book would be wasteful if you only wanted it for one chapter
8. Because when people now say “Where are the docs ?” we can point and say “There”
9. Right now, we have no idea at all about what docs are most read, save for the ‘page views’ data at the bottom of each Codex page. We actually have no idea what demand there IS for docs - though given the traffic to my guides, it’s much higher than support forum use. There are 26,000+ forum members, over 450,000 downloads of 1.5.x and up to now there has been no downloadable docs. About time they existed isn’t it ?
10. And because we can

Will the docs have extra information ?
No. There will be nothing in these docs that is not in Codex. The reverse is not true. It is important that we have a single location for knowledge gathering.

So if I see that a page on Codex has something new on it, I can make the PDF ?
Yes. Basic typography guidelines must be followed though to ensure consistency for users.

Found a mistake ?
First check the Codex page. If the error is there, please correct it. If the error is in the PDF, please note this on the Codex page for this project. Mistakes are almost inevitable, but fixes will be fast.

Why are Codex pages marked “This article is marked as in need of editing.” included in the PDF’s ?
Why not ? Codex is a wiki and subject to change 24 hours a day by anyone. If everything was static we could write a book and all go home. But the code changes almost daily, people come up with new ways of doing something or explaining something. That’s why we use a wiki, and that’s why this project is broken into small chunks that make updating it easy and downloading it easy. For as long as WP is being coded, hacked, plugged into and used, Codex will always need editing.

Can we have complete sections - like a “Template Tags” download of every page there ?
Why not ? As of today, all the_author tags are contained in one PDF. Other grouped downloads will probably appear.

How can I tell how uptodate the docs I have are ?
The Version Date is on the front page of each PDF. This indicates when the information was taken from Codex. Of course someone could have edited a change 5 minutes later - that’s the way things are. All current docs were created in the last 4 days. As pdf’s are updated, the Version Date will be noted on the download list.

Will this be integrated with Codex ?
I hope so. I would like a prominent link on each page that enabled you to download the PDF if you wanted.

If I help do I get to be the the credits ?
There are no credits in the PDF’s. The ‘credits’ for the information goes to every user that has taken time to contribute to Codex.

The tooltip when hovering the PDF has someone’s name as the author. Does that mean it is their work ?
No, not at all. Open Office - like many Word-Processors - inserts Author data into files. This is just ‘one of those things’ and the author has no claim on the file.

The choice of fonts / layout / use of images is not very good.
Not my strong point. All advice gratefully received. Better still, make examples :)

Why PDF ?
Universal readability I’m afraid. If there was/is an easy way to make docs in another format, please do tell. If you use Windows, and alternative to the huge Adobe PDF reader is one offered by Foxit Software. Their freeware reader download is ~1MB compared to Adobe’s 20MB.

How often will you update ?
Updates will be dictated by the users, by the state of the codebase and by the amount of people willing to help.

So I could make my own PDF about my stuff to go into these docs ?
No.

What is different in the docs compared to Codex ?
When necessary for presentation reasons, the PDF content has been edited for clarity and for formatting purposes only. Nothing is added. If the information is not in Codex, it will never be in these docs.

But I have this great theme / plugin / snippet of code that should be in there !
Go add it to Codex then.

Can I host the docs on my own site for my users ?
Yes - but do keep up to date with versions. You cannot hotlink.

I host lots of sites. Can I take your PDF’s and brand them ?
I’m not a lawyer - I would suggest reading the terms of the GPL carefully. And to be a pedant, they aren’t ‘mine’ - as of now, they are the property of the WordPress Community. The logo is not mine though - it is © WordPress - and I use it with permission.

Can I print it all out and sell it at a profit ?
Yes / No. You can’t sell it at a profit because we’ll be giving it away, for free, and keeping it updated. So while the law may say you can sell it, I doubt a publisher will take it on. Oh yes, and don’t forget the GPL.

Will you give me all the raw files for the docs ?
Probably not. But then hopefully in a few months those raw files will be scattered between many contributors.

Who decides what gets made into a PDF ?
As of launch, a combination of what was there and me. From now ? You. (Except the answers to the next question).

What is NOT in the docs ?
All User pages are off-limits, as are pages marked as / or obviously incomplete. Pages which are just lists of other pages are also not there.

That download page is pretty ugly
I agree it’s not great. Code a better one ?

What programs were used to create the PDF’s ?
Open Office - the latest beta. It’s free, it’s multiplatform, it rules.

Who maintains these docs ?
Right now, I do. It is intended to spread the workload. If you are interested in the maintenance of this part of the WordPress site, please head over to the Codex page.

I’ve got a suggestion !
Wonderful - constructive criticism is very welcome. I will suggest 4 places for the feedback:

1. On the Codex page I created for this project (Due to problems at codex, this is not yet created)
2. On the Docs mailing list
3. In the forum where I announced this
4. And lastly, in the comments below.

A last note: I do not see this as the ‘be all and end all’ of WP documentation. It is not. But I DO think that there is a demand for downloadable docs, I DO think that a project like WordPress should be offering this by now, and I would get very annoyed at people blathering on about usability / formats / styling / time / credits etc etc etc while even just thinking about it which is what would have happened had this been raised. So rather than go through that frustration, I just did this. I am under no illusions about the reception this will get from certain parties but no matter what anyone did there would be snipers. We’ll never get docs other than Codex unless we start with something - and this is just that.

Credits
The thanks for this being possible should go to every single person who has contributed to Codex and made it what it is today. Codex is a great piece of collected work and I hope that what I’m starting here will enhance it.