Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!arisia!ebert
From: ebert@arisia.Xerox.COM (Robert Ebert)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Software Authors please note.
Message-ID: <6515@arisia.Xerox.COM>
Date: 17 Feb 90 02:11:20 GMT
References: <7257@ll1a.att.com> <10883@claris.com>
Reply-To: ebert@arisia.UUCP (Robert Ebert)
Organization: Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
Lines: 31

In article <10883@claris.com> peirce@claris.com (Michael Peirce) writes:
>In article <7257@ll1a.att.com> markn@ll1a.att.com (Mark Nettleingham) writes:
>>
>>	If at all possible send out any files in either MacWrite or
>>MacPaint format.  Use only fonts supplied with the system or at
>>least restrict your documents to shareware fonts.  And please,
>>please, specify which applications, font types, and sizes are
>>required to read your documentation.
>
>I agree with this 100%.  Of course, if someone does want to have some
>fancy font displayed somewhere, the safest way to handle it is to paste
>the fancy text into MacPaint (or whatever) and generate a bitmap.  Then
>put the bitmap into your dialog or documentation. 
>
Of course Mike agrees, he works for Claris, who makes MacWrite and
MacPaint.  Apple stopped distributing MacWrite and MacPaint with new
Macintoshes a couple of years ago.  I've owned a Mac II and an SE/30
and I *still* don't own MacWrite.  (I use Word)  If there is to be a
standard for documentation, please, PLEASE let it be TeachText, which
is distributed (free) by Apple and hence guaranteed to be owned by
everyone.  If you can't do that, standardize on plain text.  I think
everyone owns at least one DA or editor that can handle text files.

Hypercard stacks are fine too, since everyone gets Hypercard now.
Of course, I really hate Hypercard documentation since it always
takes me a while to figure out the how the documentation writer
intended HyperCard to be used.  (Sure, Apple, promise us consistency
and then give us the greatest inconsistency-generating tool since
computers were invented!)  Anyway, flame off.

			--Bob