Hello Richard,
I have been following the discussion regarding the merits of printed
manuals versus the power of the online help system in TSE Pro. (mostly as
it relates to the new V2.5 supplement). It is quite interesting, but not
surprising,  that different users have or prefer different learning
environments. What's that old adage: Different strokes for different
folks?
I applaud Semware's desire to contain costs; I read in one of the
messages, I can't recall the individual who said it, that he/she would
rather have the money invested in the program itself rather than in nice
printed manuals. I wholeheartedly agree!
I, therefore , would like to make the following suggestion: Create a
program that decompiles the online help into an ASCII file that the user
can print if he or she wants to. A TSE macro could be included to add
appropriate headers and footers; the individual user could then print or
reprint the manual with TSE whenever he or she wanted to. Binders are
available in most stores that would nicely house the documentation...
this is what I often do with manuals I cut apart after I have scanned
them.
As a blind PC user, online help or an ASCII version of the documentation
is the only way to fly. The above suggestion would allow myself, and
other users that prefer to have machine readable documentation to have
it our way; it would also allow the dinosaurs-- those that prefer the
printed page, (hey folks, I am just kidding! ) to have it their way
too. If some one *really wanted a bound manual, Semware could supply
that at an additional cost; however, my personal opinion is that it is
not absolutely necessary. I know of another successful software company
that offers their users this option by supplying the manual in an ASCII
File formatted with headers and footers. If a user wants to purchase a
new print copy of the manual, it is available at an additional cost.
Well, I hope that the above suggestion does not fall on deaf ears, I
strongly believe that Semware is a company that cares about all of its'
users, including their blind users; I hope that there will be a way to
get the information provided in the online help and printed
manuals/supplements into an ASCII text file by the next version! As I
stated above, I think this solution would address several of the
documentation issues raised, and would allow Semware to reduce its'
costs by reducing printing charges. Thanks for the great editor, and
keep it up!
Regards, Jack
Internet: jterm9@infi.net
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