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-   -   Notation Composer 20 and Musician 20 Users Guides now available (http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/showthread.php?t=2213)

Mark Walsen (markwa) 12-08-2006 05:32 AM

The Users Guide documentation
 
The Users Guide documentation is now available for Notation Composer 2.0 and Musician 2.0!

Why the exclamation point? (!) I don't do the documentation until the software is done, otherwise I waste time changing the documentation to chase changes in the software. So, if the documentation is done, that means the software is done!

Well, not really. But it means that the 2.0 software isn't changing anymore. The only thing left to do before 2.0 is released is fix bugs. But I've left the small bugs and easy-to-fix bug to last. There are only a few moderately serious bugs, which I'll deal with first.

Oh, yeah, I was supposed to be announcing the availability of the Users Guide. You can get it at the usual place:
www.notation.com/MidiNotateBetaRelease.htm

Just download the Composer.chm or Musician.chm help file into your \Program Files\Notation\Composer or \Program Files\Notation\Musician directory. In Composer or Musician, choose the User Guide command in the Help menu, and the documentation will be right there on your screen.

NOTE: This Help / User Guide command is not working in version 1.9.15B or before, but will be fixed in version 1.9.16. In the mean time, double-click the Composer.chm or Musician.chm file name in its directory in order to open the Help in its own window on your computer screen.

The 2.0 Users Guide is integrated even better now with the forum. Just click the Forum icon in the top right corner of a help page, and the corresponding forum topic will temporarily replace the help page. You can browse the forum topic or other topics right there, while the table of contents of the Users Guide is still on the left side of the screen. You can easily post a question in the forum and go back to the Users Guide.

It is so easy to work with the Users Guide and Forum together than I hope you'll be tempted to sign up to do a technical review for some section of the forum that you would choose. Technical review of the documentation is something that many Composer users have volunteered to do in the past. It will be easier to do than before, because you'll be able to quickly jump from the Help topic to the corresponding Forum topic to describe any technical errors you find in the documentation.

If you're interested in doing a technical review of some portion of the Users Guide, please sign up at this forum thread: User's Guide Introduction » Volunteer technical review of the Notation 2.0 Users Guide.

Oh, yeah, I was supposed to be talking about the availability of the 2.0 Users Guide... At last, finally, PDF versions of the Composer and Musician User Guides are available! You can download them also from www.notation.com/MidiNotateBetaRelease.htm Here's some advice, though: Don't use the PDF for on-line viewing. The Help version of the Users Guide (Composer.chm and Musician.chm) is much, much better for navigating and searching through the documentation. The PDF version is intended only for printing. In fact, I didn't even include the hyper-link option in the PDF version, because I wanted the PDF document to be optimized for printing, and because I wanted to discourage users from using the PDF version for on-line viewing, since the Help version is so much better for viewing than using Acrobat.

In a few weeks, after you all have helped me clean up technical errors in the Users Guide, it will be made available in a pre-printed format at pretty much just the cost of printing and postage.

Cheers
-- Mark

Clyde (clyde) 12-08-2006 10:44 PM

Hi Mark, I downloaded the P
 
Hi Mark,
I downloaded the PDF version of your Manual, and I must commend you on a wonderful job - all 663 pages of it.

I had a quick skim, but will wait until you have the 'it will be made available in a pre-printed format at pretty much just the cost of printing and postage' version, as I am a 'book person' rather than a 'reading from the screen' person.

Incidentally, does the Manual include 'Composer Pro' features?

Well done ... Clyde

Mark Walsen (markwa) 12-08-2006 11:12 PM

Hello Clyde, Thanks for the
 
Hello Clyde,

Thanks for the compliment on the manual. It hasn't been properly paginated yet, by the way.

My son, David (16 years old) just finished the artwork for the front cover of the manual. It looks really nice. He's been using Photoshop for about 5 years.

I'll probably use the same printer you use for publishing your jazz worship music -- I forgot the name of your publisher right now.

There will be two separate manuals for Notation Composer 2.0 and Notation Musician 2.0. Composer Pro isn't a product yet and actually isn't even fully specified yet.

Cheers
-- Mark

Clyde (clyde) 12-09-2006 12:03 AM

Hi Mark, The name of the pu
 
Hi Mark,
The name of the publisher was lulu.com

For other users, this is a great site to get books and CD's published as you don't have to invest any capital in the project. You simply upload your PDF files (or disc iso files for CD's) and the store the image, and print them on demand.

The price of the books is basically their costs (which are very low) and any markup you wish to add.

Also Lulu take care of all the payment for the books and postage. So there is really nothing for you to do, except prepare the orginal documents and music etc.

You can see my music book at: http://www.lulu.com/content/153438


Cheers ... Clyde

Mark Walsen (markwa) 12-09-2006 03:08 AM

Hi Clyde, Thanks for remind
 
Hi Clyde,

Thanks for reminding me that lulu.com is the printer web site you use.

The normal version of the printed documentation will be black and white, which works most of the time, except for a few screen shots where color is important. I'll need to find those cases and use some extra circles or arrows in the graphics.

I'm also thinking of offering a color version of the printed users guide, but I'm afraid the printing cost will be a lot.

Cheers
-- Mark

John Smith (johnsmi) 12-13-2006 12:07 PM

Hi Mark, I'm also a "
 
Hi Mark,
I'm also a "printed manual person". Just wondered what the likely cost will be for mailing to the UK though? (For Composer user guide)

Looking forward to V2 release - hope it's going well for you (and for all us NC folk too of course) :-)
Regards,
-John S

John Smith (johnsmi) 12-13-2006 12:14 PM

Hi again, Oops - I've jus
 
Hi again,
Oops - I've just read the lulu site - which of course I should have read before posting my query! Sorry for the wob.
John S.


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