How to contribute

FreeNAS uses Launchpad for translating the WebGUI: https://translations.launchpad.net/freenas/
We always welcome you to login and help translate FreeNAS's most popular feature, the easy to use Web based, Graphical, User Interface into your language. Help people around the world to use FreeNAS by contributing today!

Documentation of any software project is a never ending task. We are always looking for knowledgeable volunteers to help keep the Set-up and Users Guide up to date. If you have the time and are willing to help we encourage you to simply ask in the forum so you can contribute to it .

If you are going to contribute to FreeNAS's documentation please follow these suggestions:

• Keep the Set-Up and User Guide (SUG) split by section headings into individual documents.
• Use DokuWiki headings properly so TOC's are automatically generated in pages where they are appropriate.
• Use industry standard abbreviations. Gigabyte and megabyte should be abbreviated GB and MB; gigabit and megabit, Gb and Mb. If you are not sure what to use, look it up please.
• If you take screen-shots on Windows(CIFS, iSCSI) please use Windows 7(suggested for the future) or Vista.
• If you take screen-shots on Linux(CIFS, NFS, iSCSI) please use Ubuntu(Debian OK), Fedora or Mandriva.
• Images should be indexed, optimum palette of 256 colors max. and saved in .png format to create the smallest file possible.
• All images should have a 1px black border.
• Images should be a maximum of 700px wide and no bigger than 35Kb.
• Where possible remove logos from screen-shots and only include the menu bars and important items contained in the body of the image.
• Do not include any explanations or instructions in images since they will not be easily translated. All explanations and instructions should be part of the text.
• Use bold typeface for button and other control references, enclose them in quotes and capitalize the items' name, e.g., Click the “SAVE” button.
• Use bold typeface for WebGUI titles, e.g., DNS Settings or IPv4 DNS servers.
• DokuWiki Note, Tip, Important and Warning code graphics do not print. Preface all of these with text and a - indicating what they are, e.g.,

We are not BSD guru’s, but only simple users. The FreeNAS code can be very easily improved and customized.

We are looking for PHP expert too for reviewing/improving the FreeNAS code (95% of PHP, 5% of Unix shell).

Here is a simple way for ‘playing with FreeNAS’ from your MS windows PC:

1. Enable SSHD with ‘Permit root access’ checked

2. Open an WinSCP (http://winscp.net) (or other SCP tools) session on your FreeNAS.

You can now directly edit the code files of FreeNAS:

• /var/etc directory contains the configuration files generated (simple text config files)
• /usr/local/www contains the WebGUI files (PHP files)
• /etc/ contains the system scripts( PHP and Shell scripts)

Check existing files for learning how FreeNAS works (it’s very simple!)

3. Send your modifications on the FreeNAS developers mailing-list

Don’t forget to update the licence page if you are re-using other Open source code!

For installing FreeBSD under QEMU, there is the HOWTO : Installing FreeBSD 6.2 under QEMU for compiling FreeNAS.

Then you can build a FreeNAS from scratch, by following the (old and no more updated) FreeNAS Developers’ Handbook.