Documenting file content (OpenInsight 32-bit Specific)
At 22 JUL 2003 10:34:33PM Wilhelm Schmitt wrote:
I want to document the content of an application and explain the content of each file.
Is there any defined place, where I can/should store the file description?
Regards
Wilhelm
At 22 JUL 2003 11:48PM [url=http://www.sprezzatura.com]The Sprezzatura Group[/url] wrote:
The theory behind the repository is that you may also track documents (Entity/New/Document). If you are also tracking tables and columns within it and have a repository entry for a document you may associate a document with an entity such as a table. You will then see a document flag next to the table entity in the repository outliner and clicking on the document flag will launch the document.
World Leaders in all things RevSoft
At 23 JUL 2003 12:46PM Wilhelm Schmitt wrote:
Sprezz,
I admit, that I haven't used this feature befor, so I tried to put a comment on DICT.CUSTOMERS in the EXAMPLE application, but without succes.
From the main menu: Entity ]] New ]] General takes me to the "New Entity" window displaying several entity types. However I can't find any, that allows me to click through to DICT.CUSTOMERS (like in the app-manager outline).
Database component only shows DATASET and several NOTES* classes - no DICT.CUSTOMERS in sight…
What am I missing?
Regards
Wilhelm
At 23 JUL 2003 01:26PM [url=http://www.sprezzatura.com" onMouseOver=window.status= Click here to visit our web site?';return(true)]The Sprezzatura Group[/url] wrote:
A picture being worth a thousand words check out this demo[/url].
Don - recruited Rev help to mod the post! Your wish is our command…
World Leaders in all things RevSoft
=== At 23 JUL 2003 02:02PM Wilhelm Schmitt wrote: ===
Sprezz,
I don't know, what to admire more, the speed or the creativity of your answer.
Thanks.
Wilhelm
=== At 23 JUL 2003 02:08PM The Sprezzatura Group wrote: ===
Been banging my head against problems for 10 hours non-stop - this was a bit of light relief. It's a tool we use for our support clients when we don't want to have to hand-hold them all the way - and the more we do the bigger the FAQ library gets which is kind of cool! The tool itself is a little rudimentary but it's from InstallShield so should improve with age and it is easy to get to grips with!
The Sprezzatura Group
World Leaders in all things RevSoft
=== At 24 JUL 2003 04:57AM Oystein Reigem wrote: ===
Sprezzatura,
Very interesting. Like the others I was dead impressed. This technology can be used to present information to both developers and application users. I often find myself writing explanations and step-by-step instructions for various procedures for clients. My first thought was: "I want to use this technology too."
But I'm also sceptical. Please tell me what makes your presentation better than a static document showing the procedure with a sequence of instructions, screen dumps, explanations and comments.
Let me challenge you by claiming that
- a static document is quicker and easier to make, and much easier to make changes to
- for the client it's much easier to execute a procedure described in a static document, or a printout of such, than in a dynamic live-like presentation. (You just don't cook while watching Jamie.) For a dynamic presentation to work the client needs to be in control - he must be allowed to run the presentation one step at a time, at his own pace
- in a dynamic presentation there's too much going on. The client can easily get distracted or lose track. I found myself looking the wrong places in the screen dumps, making me lose track. Admittedly some of the reason I got distracted was me trying to take in all the aspects of the presentation technology, forgetting about the content
- a dynamic presentation needs something to keep focus so the user doesn't get distracted. In many cases audio might be ideal, except for audio making more demands on the author, his equipment, the tool, and the client's equipment
- a dynamic presentation demands too much of the author and the tool. When you start to make thinks live-like, you can't go half way. E.g, in your presentation the cursor moves to the button that should be clicked, but you don't see the button getting clicked. The cursor just disappears in thin air. I didn't immediately understand the reason for the cursor movement.
Hope I'm not making myself unpopular!
- Oystein -
=== At 24 JUL 2003 05:12AM The Sprezzatura Group wrote: ===
Simple
Clients pay for our time.
This is quicker for us to do than to explain.
This costs the client less money.
Normally clients seem to view this as a priority
In the context of free support this is doubly important to us.
And don't worry we love you too much to be offended
The Sprezzatura Group
World Leaders in all things RevSoft
=== At 24 JUL 2003 07:20AM Oystein Reigem wrote: ===
Sprezzatura,
I'm relieved you still love me but you haven't really responded to my objections. I totally agree it's a good thing to make explanations in a lasting and reusable form, but dull, static, step-wise ones will often do.
- Oystein -
=== At 24 JUL 2003 08:13AM Mike Ruane wrote: ===
I find it humoous that one of the guys asking for so many new bells and whistles in the editor will state that 'dull, static, step-wise ones will often do'
Mike
=== At 24 JUL 2003 08:15AM The Sprezzatura Group wrote: ===
Oystein,
You're assuming we feel the need to object to your objections :)
Basically it's a case of horses for courses… this tool works for us in many situations - maybe not all, but it's another trick to pull out of the bag when we need it.
If you feel that "dull, static, step-wise ones" are fine then that's cool - no problems with that here, and no doubt whatsoever we'll still be doing that ourselves too.
World leaders in all things RevSoft
=== At 24 JUL 2003 08:27AM Oystein Reigem wrote: ===
Yeah. When I enter my psychiatrist's office he says "One at a time, please". But I'll try to change. Give me Real-Time Technicolor 3D Virtual Reality Scratch'n'Sniff presentations!! Now!!!!
- Oystein -
=== At 24 JUL 2003 10:13AM Don Miller - C3 Inc. wrote: ===
Oystein ..
Psy-docs are like that sometimes. Actually, we do a combination of both in our apps. That is, we have typical "Help" type screens with hyperlinks, etc., but we also have several help items that load a Powerpoint presentation (using PPTVIEW.EXE), which allows the user to sit back or actually control the speed of the presentation. We haven't hooked any "sound" events in because that can get into a host of hardware issues that we'd rather not get into a support issue with.
Besides, we're in the U.S., where the attention span of many of our users is measured in milliseconds. A lot of people won't spend time reading ANYTHING .. they just punch buttons and wondered what the * happened.
Don M.
=== At 24 JUL 2003 11:23AM Matt Sorrell wrote: ===
Besides, we're in the U.S., where the attention span of many of our users is measured in milliseconds. A lot of people won't spend time reading ANYTHING .. they just punch buttons and wondered what the * happened.
I can't tell you how many times I've been asked for BRB/PHD(1) type applications. They don't want to read instructions, they don't want multi-step processes, and they don't want to understand, they just want to do.
It's like that old joke about the user that called the developer and said that the instructions weren't working. The developer takes the user through step by step until they get to step 15. "What happens after you do step 15?" "Uhm, well, I didn't understand that step so I just skipped it." *thud*
(1)Big Red Button/Push Here Dummy
msorrel@greyhound.com
=== At 24 JUL 2003 01:02PM Aaron Kaplan wrote: ===
That was probably insightful, but I couldn't be asked to finish reading it.
=== At 24 JUL 2003 02:00PM Don Miller - C3 Inc. wrote: ===
Aaron ..
You're fading again ..
A definition:
Oyster (n), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Don M.
=== At 25 JUL 2003 03:54AM Oystein Reigem wrote: ===
Don,
A lot of people won't spend time reading ANYTHING .. they just punch buttons and wondered what the * happened.
Sounds familiar. But if you've given them a clear explanation of how to accomplish a task, and they still go ahead and mess things up, they can't blame you afterwards.
- Oystein -
=== At 25 JUL 2003 07:32AM Don Miller wrote: ===
Oystein ..
]]Sounds familiar. But if you've given them a clear explanation of how to accomplish a task, and they still go ahead and mess things up, they can't blame you afterwards.
I wish that were true. Our service agreement with our customers allows them to call us "with any problems". For that, they pay us a fixed monthly fee. In fact, on Tuesday of this week we solved a connectivity issue where the cleaning crew had wrapped the network cable around a vacuum and pulled it out of the computer. I would bet that over half our support calls have nothing to do with our software at all. Mostly they are "infrastrucutre" issues .. changing Lan platforms without telling us, putting a new box on a desktop, downloading software from God Knows Where that mucks up the desktop, trying to get EMS to work on cheap (or not so cheap) computers .. all those good things. I'll bet I have 20 or more troubleshooting guides that we e-mail out on a more or less regular basis.
Ain't life grand ???
Don M.
=== At 25 JUL 2003 08:31AM Oystein Reigem wrote: ===
Don,
Yeah. Life's a sad story. Good thing it ends eventually.
cleaning crew had wrapped the network cable around a vacuum and pulled it out of the computer
It could have been worse. Reminds me of something I just saw on TV - an incident in an episode of the British police drama A Touch of Frost, where the cleaning person used the socket meant for some life-supporting machine. The author(s) probably got the idea from somewhere else. See .
Hmmm. Perhaps to balance all this talk about death and sorrow I should take the car and go buy some strawberries right now. This island where I live is quite famous for its strawberries. What do you say?
- Oystein -
=== At 25 JUL 2003 10:50AM Don Miller - C3 Inc. wrote: ===
Oystein ..
With a little Kirsch or Grand Marnier, they would be heaven. Probably better than tartar sauce.
Don M.
=== At 25 JUL 2003 02:12PM Richard Hunt wrote: ===
Don,
I got quite a few of support call nightmares from long ago. Here is one…
Get a call at 10pm. This site has only one computer. It just stopped working. Customer has no idea what the problem is. After 10 minutes on the phone I decide I will have to go out there. 90 minute drive one way. Get this… the problem was the surge protector "plug strip". The user had the surge protector on the floor and he turned it off with his feet. Somehow the phone conversation about "does the surge protector have power to it" was misunderstood. And also the phone conversation about "is the calculator, that is also connected to the surge protector, working" was misunderstood also.
Since they had "only" phone support, they almost refused to pay the 4 hour bill. They said it only took a minute to fix.
=== At 30 JUL 2003 09:19AM Gerald Lovel wrote: ===
Oystein;
In my AREV application I have a documentation manual, interactive tourguides, and procedural technical notes. Frankly, every one of these options is needed, although not by every user at all times. When you were in elementary school, were you told to sit in the corner with a book an figure it out? No, you had a teacher.
What I find is that with the correct documentation tools AND good technical support, most users can muddle through a Revelation application. But suggesting that the documentation tools are not a necessary part of the support picture? Uh, Uh.
Gerald