Indexes for Rbase Docs

[Paul Eichhorn]

Hi, folks.

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>><A real index for the documentation would sure be nice.>

>If you have the latest update to the HTML help for Rbase includes this!
>or goto

>http://www.RSyntax.com
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<sigh>  That's not an index.  It's a table of contents.  If you have an old book, look in the back.  That's an index.

From R:Syntax lets look at Forms:

Forms
        �       Working With Forms
        �       Designing Forms
        �       Building Forms
        �       Managing Forms
        �       Using Forms

This is a listing for the contents of the information.
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From RBase 5.5 index, lets examine the "forms" entry:

FORMS
        access limitations  270
        described  170

forms
        autonumber columns  23
        AUTOSKIP, moving the cursor after data entry  415
        copying  108
        deleting with DROP 137
        displaying  144 to 146, 377
        ENTER, adding data with  147
        recalculating expressions  339, 340
        refreshing  435
        skipping fields  461, 462
        transferring  108

Now THAT is an index.  An index of the contents by specific, separate issues.  You don't want to read through pages of form docs, you want to know about deleting that form with DROP.
Now, in a computer index, all those page numbers could be HTML links to the specific topics.  In fact, you could have even more entrees, perhaps on a collapse-able index to include topics, perhaps even from this list.  You're not wasting paper, or increasing printing and distribution costs:

        sizing forms
        positioning forms
        importing forms
        exporting forms
        converting forms
        multi-table forms
        regions in forms
        setting colors
        MDI forms       
        lookups
        variable forms
        errors in forms
        Help in forms
        eeps in forms
        eeps blowing up RBase
        buttons
        hot keys
        pop-ups
        etc., etc.

Now, there IS a cost in extra content, people to edit, organize and create.  But we have a ton of useful information that is generated on this list alone that is extremely useful, but effectively lost because it is not organized once revealed.  "I KNOW I saw something like that on the list before... now what was it?"

I think the key here is to not only look at this as a cost, but as an opportunity.  RBase is a wonderful tool, too bad it is so hard to tap into or troubleshoot many of the cool capabilities.  I'd like to see a lot more people using it, but there is a ton of "hidden knowledge" that should be unleashed.

Ike