On 1/3/03 5:31 pm, Jeff Schewe wrote:
> From: Duncan McNeill
>
>> These shortcuts - and I guess that I am not the only one to find them
>> of great use- didn't just 'happen', they were carefully coded- and to
>> glibly state that they are undocumented certainly fails to convince me.
>> Could it be that there are certain combinations vouchsafed to alpha,
>> beta, or even omega testers that will make power presentations 'worth
>> the money' for attendees?
>
> Duncan. . .
>
> You are wrong. There is absolutely no truth to this theory. The Photoshop
> engineers and the alpha testers work very hard to get everything possible
> into the program-sometimes that happens up to the last possible moment. Such
> was the case with the imaging numbering feature.
Jeff, I would not doubt that for a minute...however...
> The problem is that the Q&E teams, responsible for documenting features and
> writing the manual are trying to write about a moving target. As features
> change, they have to go back and re-write the documentation. As you might
> expect, this goes on up till the last moment, BUT, the manual has to be
> printed. . .which means a led time of about 4 weeks or so. So, anything
> changed or added after the manual and documentation gets shipped to the
> printer just doesn't get written up.
I think "most" people understand that and except the limitations imposed by
deadlines.
> Some stuff gets added literally at the last moment. Last year at this time,
> Martin Evening and I were in California shooting our Photoshop Masters DVD.
> At the filming was Marc Pawliger (getting away for a weekend at a nice B&B).
> Marc was kind enough to to do a tech review of our programming. During that
> session, Martin & I complained about the lack of functionality for starting
> a numbering at a specific number. He took that back and a solution was
> written into Photoshop that came AFTER the cut off date for the manual.
>
> So, should they NOT have written in the functionality? They did it at our
> request, but it didn't get documented. I would rather have it in even if it
> doesn't get documented.
Why wasn't it included in the ReadMe?.....There is no mention of it in the
ReadMe under: The following features are incorrectly or incompletely
documented elsewhere in the Photoshop User Guide and/or Quick Reference
card.
> Photoshop 3 had an incredible number of undocumented features. . .and I mean
> a LOT! Various engineers would literally write in functionality and not tell
> anybody. That caused a lot of problems. Starting with v4, every effort is
> made to document -as best as possible, everything in Photoshop. Some things
> slip through the cracks. Could they do a better job? Yep, and they really do
> try. But we're all human ya know.
I don't think many people doubt the sincerity or the hard work put into
updating Photoshop...however...
> On the other hand, users are not particularly well known for actually
> READING the friggin' manual or the READ ME when installing or checking the
> web site for updates or new info.
Yep, absolutely spot on. I answer a lot questions on the Photoshop
Discussion Group and here as well and now only answer if I think a user has
made the effort to look in the UG or the help file and is truly stumped or I
pass on tips which can only be found by "advanced" users...however...
HOWEVER, the tips about using the hash signs to sequentially increase the
digits sandwiched between them could have been given to the tech support
people and nearly a year after the release of PS7, they still aren't aware
of it. I personally learned it from one of Martin Evening's seminars but
then remembered it only partially until you posted it here.
So, now that the help file is available in HTML, why isn't that simply
updated and then users informed and given the chance to replace their
installed version? Furthermore, the help file has mistakes and lots of
missing links to important pages but it still hasn't been updated - I
suspect it's too late now. I found the missing links by simply making a site
of the folder in Dreamweaver and then viewing the links in map form. Surely,
the team putting the file together know of something so basic?...
BTW, the above are rhetorical questions and not aimed at you personally.
While I don't buy the conspiracy theory for a second, I think the team's
efforts could be better co-ordinated. As I am not privy to the structure, I
am not accusing anyone in person. Just adding my tupence worth to the
discussion from the safety of my keyboard. <G>
--/ Shangara Singh :: Photographer
Adobe Certified Expert ~ Photoshop 7.0
PortfoliosOnCD for Photographers
Exam Aids for Photoshop ~ Illustrator ~ Dreamweaver
http://www.shangarasingh.com
===============================================================
GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
