MC> What is very important to me (online help),
  > is of less value to you than the hardcopy.
 It's more that I see the online Help as a way to quickly check on
 something, say the syntax of a particular command.  For anything
 of length, and for any real attempt at learning, a manual is better.
MC> Each of us uses the editor in different ways....  I'm sure SemWare
  > will take your input into consideration in their next release.
 I doubt it.  More likely is will be circular-filed with a cheery
 "Hope this Helps!"  or "Thank you for your
 input."  Like Larry Smith, I flatly disbelieve that not
 providing proper manuals was a cost-containment measure.  Ignore
 the fact that costs weren't at all contained, and that the
 SemWare editors are *damned* expensive, and that they bleed you
 at each upgrade.  A manual simply can't cost that much.  I have
 books on my shelf that are larger than the manuals; they cost
 five bucks.  Assume SemWare has less in the way of
 mass-production savings, but conversely assume that the online
 help has to exist as ascii files which wouldn't take lots of
 massaging to turn into a decent manual, and they have to be able
 to have produced them.  That they didn't is a management
 decision; it can't be rationalized on the flimsy basis given.
 Indeed, it's fairly clear from the slow-coming, crippled demo
 versions, that SemWare is sliding the editors out of the
 shareware market.
MC> I've found a good role for Windows:  It task switches my DOS
  > tasks quite well (and also provides the platform for solving
  > one of the needs you have for paper docs:  I frequently
  > have several copies of TSE running in different windows....
 DESQview is a much more reasonable task-switcher/multi-tasker, I
 find (and I lament that it appears to be dying), tho about the
 only time I multi-task is when I comm in the background.
 Graphic mode is also harder on the eyes when it comes to reading
 text, I find.  The only thing I use Windows for is some minor
 DTP stuff, printing flyers or whatever in a variety of fonts.
MC> I do think that your idea of being able to print the docs is a good
  > one.  Be aware, though, that printing the online would take about 650
  > pages.  Even with my TSEBOOK macro, this is a lot of paper.
 The options were that they provide real printed manuals (most
 places that make them optional charge $5-10 extra from them) as
 options, and they default to sending full ascii docs.  In this
 case, they'd've probably done that for the Supplement and
 everything that comes under the "What's New in Version 2.5"
 rubric in the Table of Contents.  Someone estimated that the
 latter would be 60-70 pages: long, but not impossible.  And of
 course, given on-disk docs, one could print out the bits one
 wanted, as needed.
... The stars shall fade away, the sun himself / Grow dim with age,
 -- SR 2.00 #1019  -!-  and nature sunk in years. * Addison
--- QScan/PCB v1.17b / 01-0175
---------------