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Major structural revision of 'branches' page

Amy Qualls requested to merge 363170-aqualls-tidy-branches-page into master

What does this MR do?

The page about branches (https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/repository/branches/) is old, not even remotely up to standard, and needs a lot of work. This MR is the big cleanup merge request. The concept section of the page needed rewriting to describe a concept, rather than serving as list after list, and to scissor out information that needed to be part of other new subheadings.

Things done:

  • Reshaped the introduction.
  • new H2 for "manage and protect branches"
    • new H3 for "view all branches" (because nope, wasn't documented, and even this is bare-bones)
    • shift existing H3 for the feature ("View branches with configured protections") up here because now it has a logical home
  • Shift listicle items down into "related topics" - several were dupes anyway
  • Adds one image to show how branches are displayed.
  • Adds prerequisites of seeing the page.
  • Adds version history.
  • Does NOT tackle:
    • the needed rewrite of "delete merged branches"
    • explanations of "stale" and "active" branches
    • adding a subhead for creating branches
    • something actually important: what to say about the "branch rules details" page, which is part of the feature. It's acknowledged as existing, which is enough for this merge request, but I need to build out what the user can actually DO there.

Related issues

Author's checklist

If you are a GitLab team member and only adding documentation, do not add any of the following labels:

  • ~"frontend"
  • ~"backend"
  • ~"type::bug"
  • ~"database"

These labels cause the MR to be added to code verification QA issues.

Reviewer's checklist

Documentation-related MRs should be reviewed by a Technical Writer for a non-blocking review, based on Documentation Guidelines and the Style Guide.

If you aren't sure which tech writer to ask, use roulette or ask in the #docs Slack channel.

  • If the content requires it, ensure the information is reviewed by a subject matter expert.
  • Technical writer review items:
    • Ensure docs metadata is present and up-to-date.
    • Ensure the appropriate labels are added to this MR.
    • Ensure a release milestone is set.
    • If relevant to this MR, ensure content topic type principles are in use, including:
      • The headings should be something you'd do a Google search for. Instead of Default behavior, say something like Default behavior when you close an issue.
      • The headings (other than the page title) should be active. Instead of Configuring GDK, say something like Configure GDK.
      • Any task steps should be written as a numbered list.
      • If the content still needs to be edited for topic types, you can create a follow-up issue with the docs-technical-debt label.
  • Review by assigned maintainer, who can always request/require the reviews above. Maintainer's review can occur before or after a technical writer review.
Edited by Amy Qualls

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