(no subject)

[John Esak]

FP Tech, if you're listening... here's my vote to use Laura's Help files!!!
John Esak

cc: filepro at fptech.com



> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces at lists.celestial.com
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces at lists.celestial.com]On Behalf Of Laura
> Brody
> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 2:31 PM
> To: Filepro List
> Subject: (no subject)
>
>
>
> At 11:14 AM 3/25/04, Tom Pancero wrote:
> >I have long been dismayed with the 'Help' screens available with Filepro.
> >It appears to me that the contents of the Help screens were written by
> >someone who
> >is very well versed in Filepro and seems to make certain
> assumptions about the
> >level of understanding the reader has.
>
>          From v3.0 to v4.8, I wrote the on-line help text. These
> files were
> meant to help you jog your memory and/or offer you a clue as to what to
> read in the printed manual (back in the days when you got a
> printed manual).
> There was no "F9-Search" feature, so in *cabe, the help pages could
> span many, many, MANY screen fulls before you found what you were looking
> for. The text was deliberately short for that reason.
>
>          After v4.8, other people took over the maintenance of
> the help files
> and the company stopped including a printed manual. The F9-Search
> feature was
> added. The help file text was not expanded to compensate for that change.
>
> >I rarely use the Help screens for anything other than checking on the
> >syntax of a
> >command.  This seems to me to be a waste of a valuable reference tool.
> >
> >I have long believed that any instruction sheets, or help files,
> should be
> >EDITED by
> >someone who has very little connection to the 'Black Room Code Cutters'.
> >
> >An item for the 'Wish List' .......
> >
> >How about a committee (arg!) to review/modify the Help files
> where they could
> >tweak the format and content of the files.  With a resource like the
> >Filepro List
> >I am sure the product of their (the committee) efforts would be
> significant.
>
>          There is no need for such a committee. I believe that such a
> product already exists....
>
>          Like everyone else, I thought that the help files included with
> filePro needed a massive rewrite. As an ex-employee (and Ken's wife)
> I knew that fP Tech's dance card was already full and that there was
> zero possibility that they would have the resources to do it. The
> only option was for an outside person or company to tackle it. As
> far as I knew, nothing was on the horizon, so I put together MY
> version of the help files and created a printed Quick Reference
> Guide. I decided early on that each processing command/function
> would have at least one screen of text including syntax, version
> number it first appeared in, any "gotchas", real world sample
> code, plus related commands in a "see also" list. Additionally,
> if the command/function generated something that the user would
> see, I "drew" a picture of it in the help file with arrows and
> labels so that even a total beginner would understand exactly
> what the parameters would do.
>
>          Being a bit of a perfectionist, my major goal was to have
> my product be as complete and accurate as possible. To accomplish
> that, after I got an alphabetical list of all environmental variables
> and processing commands/functions, Ken went through the source code
> looking for omissions to my list. I actually found a processing
> command that had not been documented since v1.0 [1], as well as
> parameters and uses that simply weren't documented anywhere. I also
> found the "@" syntax in the edit language - I had never heard of it
> before, but it was there since at least v3.0.
>
>          I guess I did a good job since I have only gotten compliments
> and praise from customers :-) .
>
>          To find out more about it, visit:
> <http://www.hvcomputer.com/shopping/orderform.shtml#quickref>
>
>
>          I have tried to work a deal with fP Tech to license my help
> files and QRG, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe if enough people
> on the mailing list ask them to do it, it might happen...
>
> >End_of_rant
>
> [1] For you curious types, the command was "reset".
>
>
>
> Laura Brody, Publisher of the "filePro Developer's Journal"
> +------------- Hudson Valley Computer Associates, Inc ----------+
> | PO Box 859 120 Sixth Street http://www.hvcomputer.com        |
> | Verplanck, NY 10596-0859 Voice mail: (914) 739-5004           |
> +------ PC repair locally, filePro programming globally --------+
>
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