Re Prerelease version

[Mark Szuchman <szuchman>]

Roy Harris wonders if the pre-release version comes with a printed
manual.  The pre-release version does not come with a printed manual,
and I suspect that will be also the case with the final version.  Print
manuals for software are largely a thing of the past in the ubiquitous
Windows age--I haven't seen one in any of the latest commercial
products I've acquired.  Following this principle, the manual is
contained in the Help menus instead, the contents of which are
printable for user reference, and as is also common these days, there
is an index for the contents of the Help menu.

The Help menu for the pre-release version is quite thorough, but not
yet complete, as mentioned in NB's Web documents.  Please take note of
these truth-in-advertisement statements.  I'm pretty confident that
anyone on this list will not make much use of the Help menu for the
sake of the command structure, other than for the sake of
familiarization with the overall program, along with its new graphic
features and "Framework" paradigm.  The command structure is largely
the same, but no program converted from DOS to Win can be expected to
maintain every single command and key assignment:  on the whole, NBWin
has kept the faith on both dimensions.  Windows itself imposes certain
unavoidable restrictions on key assignments.

The program allows for both command-line instructions and
mouse-guided-drop-down-menu instructions.  Some commands can only be
mouse-invoked, but none that I know of are inherited from the DOS
product; i.e., all DOS command-line instructions are available as
command-line or mouse-clicked instructions.

The biggest differences from the DOS product command-line instructions
lie in the parameters area;  i.e., in DOS all parameters were based on
column text position as the only unit, predicated on monotype 10
charaters per inch.  For example, ip 0,4 meant "indent parragraph 0
columns the first line and 4 columns for subsequent lines.  In NBWin,
parameters can use different units (inches, decimals, lines per inch,
etc).  But assuming the default of inches as the parameter (a
reasonable assumption), the NBWin command requires the parameters to
have fractional measurements to achieve the same results (consistent
with the graphic environment).  Thus, ip 0,.4 (notice the decimal
point).  The command of ip 0,4 would indent subsequent lines 4 inches
instead of the desired 4/10 of an inch.

Two examples of changed commands are related to typography. The PT
(point type) command in DOS is replaced with the SZ (size) command.
The print parameters in print modes take on a plus or a minus to turn
modes on and off;  thus, MD+IT and MD-IT instead of MD IT and MD NM.  I
expect most folks will use the mouse to invoke point size and print
mode.  All DOS commands convert nicely without further user tinkering
by making sure to select NB for DOS as the format of the original
document in the Open file dialogue.

Is speed decayed in the Windows enviroment?  If it is, it's virtually
imperceptible.  And in contrast with other Win word processors, there's
no comparison.  Are printers or printer drivers an issue.  Gone.
Memory chokes? Gone.

Ibidem is now the standard bibliographic product, which means it has
the capabilities of both Ibid (bibliographic) and Ibid Plus
(non-bibliographic) databases.  One can see the bibliographic item
selected formatted as it would appear in the document while still in
Ibidem.  And there are scores and scores specific journals' citation
styles.  The capabilities of the Ibid utilities we have been so well
provided for by members of our list are built-in (e.g., keyword
entering with a mouse-click).  And, of course, the WYSWYG on-screen
presentation is standard.

A word of explanation on setting up your Ibidem database.  The Ibidem
module assumes that the user is new to the creation of a bibliographic
database.  For those with Ibid databases built already in DOS, there is
a drop-down item for converting DOS databases.  Go ahead with
confidence (or as much as anyone should have with computers).  NBWin
will not touch the original data entries in DOS, but rather will make
copies for the Win version to use (the new version of the raw data has
an extension that begins with # ).

Orbis requires that the user first open the original DOS document and
save it in the Win version before it can be indexed in the pre-release
version.  It's possible that a utility for batch or automatic
conversion will be available in the final release, or maybe not.

One final note.  This is, once again, a pre-release version.  All the
functions that are fully available (see the NB Web pages) are, well,
fully available.  The ones that are not may cause crashes (here,
members of the younger generation, or White House counsel testifying on
the Hill, would at this point say "Duh").  The program installs with a
"Recover" sub-program.  If you crash, close the program and use the
Recover program, which will remove errant DLL's.  Then start NBWin
again.  I would expect that members of this list -- known for their
curiousity and innovation -- will crash with some frequency as they
explore the program's many potentialities, including ones not yet ready
for prime-time.

All the best and a Happy New Year,
Mark D. Szuchman
szuchman