Re: Xy Manuals Online

["Kenneth B. Frank" kfrank@xxxxxxxx]

Several of you have asked about whether we would make available the
files from which our manuals were produced, so users could have the
equivalent of on-line reference material.

That probably wouldn't work per se because our manuals were built with
such customized printer drivers and unique styles that it really isn't
suitable for the type of application you envision.

As an alternative, however, we have begun the process of creating a
Windows "Command Reference" help file, and I am willing to make that
available for you to use if that is of interest.

Since that file is a work in progress, what I would propose is that (a)
anyone who gets it takes it with that in mind (meaning no griping about
it!), (b) that to the extent possible you give us feedback about it so
it can be made more accurate and complete, and (c) to the extent any of
you are willing to participate, we would be happy to add many of the
undocumented matters that are the subject of your discussions. To
really facilitate this part we would require someone to provide us with
text we can then convert. If any of you are willing to "chair" sections
of the file, we can give you more extensive instruction as to how we set
these files up. (We create the help file from our own text files, using
a tool we internally call "Rhonda", which is a set of routines and
dialog boxes that work inside of XyWin to convert text to help.)

We would be willing to recompile the file regularly and make it
continually available, so it could be a dynamic resource for everyone.
If this is of general interest let me know.

K.