Edit Help!

[John Hemmer]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Schwartz-PC Support & Services" <mschw at athenet.net>
To: "'FilePro List'" <filepro-list at seaslug.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 10:41 AM
Subject: RE: Edit Help!


> > > Somebody (Ken?) should write a white paper on how to write edits.
> > Possibly
> > > the hardest (for me at least) thing to do in filePro.
> > >
> > George,
> >
> > I'll second that.  I have written a few edits, but it seems like I
always
> > have to do
> > a lot of testing, because I am never sure of the correct syntax.
> >
> > John
>
> Like you, when I need to define an edit, I usually have to do some
> re-reading of the rules and testing.  I'd bet that the problem is that all
> of us we only write a few edits each year.
>
> If you can get your hands on a copy of the old printed filePro
> manual, circa fP 3.0, edits were explained quite well in there.
>
> If you can't, then I think you will find that Stuart Werner explains
> edits quite well in his filePro developers reference books.  It takes me
> only 10 minutes or so of reviewing Stuarts explainations, and I'm ready to
> sit down and write a new edit.
>
> Writing an edit is certainly an art.  Witness the member of
> variations of edits that pop up on this list whenever anybody requests
help
> writing an edit.
>
>   However, rather than a dry, boring white paper on writing edits, I
> would like to propose that it be a topic taught at the next filePro
> convention.
>
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Mike,

Thanks, You are right. Stuart's little examples are much clearer
than the fP Manuals.  I never thought to look there.

I don't find white papers boring. Most give an overall view of
the big picture. Technical manuals used to be concise and to-the
-point. Today, I find most Technical books and manuals  boring,
mired in useless detail, without ever giving the user precise rules
with simple examples and a direct and concise way to accomplish
a task.

What I said about a white paper on fP printer control still goes.
A writeup that includes definitions of fP printer Environmental
variables ans environmental variables that interact with them,
what settings take precedence over others setting and an outline
of all the different methods that can be used to control Printers
would be most useful.

I doubt if it would have to be more than a few pages long.

John