Commit 509e4ffb authored by Craig Norris's avatar Craig Norris

Merge branch 'axil-split-redirect-docs-guidelines' into 'master'

Split documentation redirects guide to its own page

See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!69103
parents cbcc82c2 004c8d9c
......@@ -131,10 +131,10 @@ The following metadata should be added when a page is moved to another location:
- `redirect_to`: The relative path and filename (with an `.md` extension) of the
location to which visitors should be redirected for a moved page.
[Learn more](#move-or-rename-a-page).
[Learn more](redirects.md).
- `disqus_identifier`: Identifier for Disqus commenting system. Used to keep
comments with a page that's been moved to a new URL.
[Learn more](#redirections-for-pages-with-disqus-comments).
[Learn more](redirects.md#redirections-for-pages-with-disqus-comments).
### Comments metadata
......@@ -156,133 +156,7 @@ Nanoc layout), which is displayed at the top of the page if defined.
## Move or rename a page
Moving or renaming a document is the same as changing its location. Be sure to
assign a technical writer to any merge request that renames or moves a page.
Technical Writers can help with any questions and can review your change.
When moving or renaming a page, you must redirect browsers to the new page.
This ensures users find the new page, and have the opportunity to update their
bookmarks.
There are two types of redirects:
- Redirect codes added into the documentation files themselves, for users who
view the docs in `/help` on self-managed instances. For example,
[`/help` on GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/help).
- [GitLab Pages redirects](../../user/project/pages/redirects.md),
for users who view the docs on [`docs.gitlab.com`](https://docs.gitlab.com).
The Technical Writing team manages the [process](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/technical-writing/-/blob/main/.gitlab/issue_templates/tw-monthly-tasks.md)
to regularly update the [`redirects.yaml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/blob/main/content/_data/redirects.yaml)
file.
To add a redirect:
1. In the repository (`gitlab`, `gitlab-runner`, `omnibus-gitlab`, or `charts`),
create a new documentation file. Don't delete the old one. The easiest
way is to copy it. For example:
```shell
cp doc/user/search/old_file.md doc/api/new_file.md
```
1. Add the redirect code to the old documentation file by running the
following Rake task. The first argument is the path of the old file,
and the second argument is the path of the new file:
- To redirect to a page in the same project, use relative paths and
the `.md` extension. Both old and new paths start from the same location.
In the following example, both paths are relative to `doc/`:
```shell
bundle exec rake "gitlab:docs:redirect[doc/user/search/old_file.md, doc/api/new_file.md]"
```
- To redirect to a page in a different project or site, use the full URL (with `https://`) :
```shell
bundle exec rake "gitlab:docs:redirect[doc/user/search/old_file.md, https://example.com]"
```
Alternatively, you can omit the arguments and be asked to enter their values:
```shell
bundle exec rake gitlab:docs:redirect
```
If you don't want to use the Rake task, you can use the following template.
However, the file paths must be relative to the `doc` or `docs` directory.
Replace the value of `redirect_to` with the new file path and `YYYY-MM-DD`
with the date the file should be removed.
Redirect files that link to docs in internal documentation projects
are removed after three months. Redirect files that link to external sites are
removed after one year:
```markdown
---
redirect_to: '../newpath/to/file/index.md'
remove_date: 'YYYY-MM-DD'
---
This document was moved to [another location](../path/to/file/index.md).
<!-- This redirect file can be deleted after <YYYY-MM-DD>. -->
<!-- Before deletion, see: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/development/documentation/#move-or-rename-a-page -->
```
1. If the documentation page being moved has any Disqus comments, follow the steps
described in [Redirections for pages with Disqus comments](#redirections-for-pages-with-disqus-comments).
1. Open a merge request with your changes. If a documentation page
you're removing includes images that aren't used
with any other documentation pages, be sure to use your merge request to delete
those images from the repository.
1. Assign the merge request to a technical writer for review and merge.
1. Search for links to the old documentation file. You must find and update all
links that point to the old documentation file:
- In <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com>, search for full URLs:
`grep -r "docs.gitlab.com/ee/path/to/file.html" .`
- In <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/tree/master/content/_data>,
search the navigation bar configuration files for the path with `.html`:
`grep -r "path/to/file.html" .`
- In any of the four internal projects, search for links in the docs
and codebase. Search for all variations, including full URL and just the path.
For example, go to the root directory of the `gitlab` project and run:
```shell
grep -r "docs.gitlab.com/ee/path/to/file.html" .
grep -r "path/to/file.html" .
grep -r "path/to/file.md" .
grep -r "path/to/file" .
```
You may need to try variations of relative links, such as `../path/to/file` or
`../file` to find every case.
### Redirections for pages with Disqus comments
If the documentation page being relocated already has Disqus comments,
we need to preserve the Disqus thread.
Disqus uses an identifier per page, and for <https://docs.gitlab.com>, the page identifier
is configured to be the page URL. Therefore, when we change the document location,
we need to preserve the old URL as the same Disqus identifier.
To do that, add to the front matter the variable `disqus_identifier`,
using the old URL as value. For example, let's say we moved the document
available under `https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html` to a new location,
`https://docs.gitlab.com/my-new-location/index.html`.
Into the **new document** front matter, we add the following information. You must
include the filename in the `disqus_identifier` URL, even if it's `index.html` or `README.html`.
```yaml
---
disqus_identifier: 'https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html'
---
```
See [redirects](redirects.md).
## Merge requests for GitLab documentation
......
---
stage: none
group: Documentation Guidelines
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
description: Learn how to contribute to GitLab Documentation.
---
# Redirects in GitLab documentation
Moving or renaming a document is the same as changing its location. Be sure
to assign a technical writer to any merge request that renames or moves a page.
Technical Writers can help with any questions and can review your change.
When moving or renaming a page, you must redirect browsers to the new page.
This ensures users find the new page, and have the opportunity to update their
bookmarks.
There are two types of redirects:
- Redirect added into the documentation files themselves, for users who
view the docs in `/help` on self-managed instances. For example,
[`/help` on GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/help).
- [GitLab Pages redirects](../../user/project/pages/redirects.md),
for users who view the docs on [`docs.gitlab.com`](https://docs.gitlab.com).
The Technical Writing team manages the [process](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/technical-writing/-/blob/main/.gitlab/issue_templates/tw-monthly-tasks.md)
to regularly update the [`redirects.yaml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/blob/main/content/_data/redirects.yaml)
file.
To add a redirect:
1. In the repository (`gitlab`, `gitlab-runner`, `omnibus-gitlab`, or `charts`),
create a new documentation file. Don't delete the old one. The easiest
way is to copy it. For example:
```shell
cp doc/user/search/old_file.md doc/api/new_file.md
```
1. Add the redirect code to the old documentation file by running the
following Rake task. The first argument is the path of the old file,
and the second argument is the path of the new file:
- To redirect to a page in the same project, use relative paths and
the `.md` extension. Both old and new paths start from the same location.
In the following example, both paths are relative to `doc/`:
```shell
bundle exec rake "gitlab:docs:redirect[doc/user/search/old_file.md, doc/api/new_file.md]"
```
- To redirect to a page in a different project or site, use the full URL (with `https://`) :
```shell
bundle exec rake "gitlab:docs:redirect[doc/user/search/old_file.md, https://example.com]"
```
Alternatively, you can omit the arguments and be asked to enter their values:
```shell
bundle exec rake gitlab:docs:redirect
```
If you don't want to use the Rake task, you can use the following template.
However, the file paths must be relative to the `doc` or `docs` directory.
Replace the value of `redirect_to` with the new file path and `YYYY-MM-DD`
with the date the file should be removed.
Redirect files that link to docs in internal documentation projects
are removed after three months. Redirect files that link to external sites are
removed after one year:
```markdown
---
redirect_to: '../newpath/to/file/index.md'
remove_date: 'YYYY-MM-DD'
---
This document was moved to [another location](../path/to/file/index.md).
<!-- This redirect file can be deleted after <YYYY-MM-DD>. -->
<!-- Before deletion, see: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/development/documentation/#move-or-rename-a-page -->
```
1. If the documentation page being moved has any Disqus comments, follow the steps
described in [Redirections for pages with Disqus comments](#redirections-for-pages-with-disqus-comments).
1. Open a merge request with your changes. If a documentation page
you're removing includes images that aren't used
with any other documentation pages, be sure to use your merge request to delete
those images from the repository.
1. Assign the merge request to a technical writer for review and merge.
1. Search for links to the old documentation file. You must find and update all
links that point to the old documentation file:
- In <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com>, search for full URLs:
`grep -r "docs.gitlab.com/ee/path/to/file.html" .`
- In <https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/tree/master/content/_data>,
search the navigation bar configuration files for the path with `.html`:
`grep -r "path/to/file.html" .`
- In any of the four internal projects, search for links in the docs
and codebase. Search for all variations, including full URL and just the path.
For example, go to the root directory of the `gitlab` project and run:
```shell
grep -r "docs.gitlab.com/ee/path/to/file.html" .
grep -r "path/to/file.html" .
grep -r "path/to/file.md" .
grep -r "path/to/file" .
```
You may need to try variations of relative links, such as `../path/to/file` or
`../file` to find every case.
## Redirections for pages with Disqus comments
If the documentation page being relocated already has Disqus comments,
we need to preserve the Disqus thread.
Disqus uses an identifier per page, and for <https://docs.gitlab.com>, the page identifier
is configured to be the page URL. Therefore, when we change the document location,
we need to preserve the old URL as the same Disqus identifier.
To do that, add to the front matter the variable `disqus_identifier`,
using the old URL as value. For example, let's say we moved the document
available under `https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html` to a new location,
`https://docs.gitlab.com/my-new-location/index.html`.
Into the **new document** front matter, we add the following information. You must
include the filename in the `disqus_identifier` URL, even if it's `index.html` or `README.html`.
```yaml
---
disqus_identifier: 'https://docs.gitlab.com/my-old-location/README.html'
---
```
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