v19 HELP menu
Prior versions’ HELP menu invoked the familiar and helpful options:
Contents (incl. Licensing, User Guide, Command Reference, System Variables.
Index
Search
Favorites
v19’s HELP simply directs to Bricsys website?
Comments
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Dig in and you'll see it's a new-style rethink of a Help system. Not complete but that's for us to press for.
I've been using it and it's much more explanatory, with videos etc, aiming to explain from scratch, instead of the typical technically correct but pedantic and often circular descriptions, which though 'true', only really make sense when you already understand it!
Many people hope its advantages will be brought into an offline version, not necessarily traditional chm, which can in theory be printed out and read like a book.
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It shouldn't be either/or. When I had a problem that tech support provided the information for, there was no way to find it on the web site. In the previous help system, it would have been available in the offline help file. What about the command reference? I do not consider this unnecessary. Search for it on the web site and you get pages of individual listings instead of the alphabetical dropdown where you can find the details of using the command. Maybe I am just old, but I LIKE reading details about how things work rather than watching some video. I have no problem with adding more options to help people but the key word is adding. Not replacing. So now I will be keeping V18 to use for looking up commands. Of course, all the new additions in v19 will be missing.
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Actually Command Reference is about the only thing that's there in near traditional form - scroll down the first page that clicking Help in the program, brings you to.
The v18 chm Help file is at C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD V18 en_US\Help\en_US\Bricscad.chm . You can put it on your desktop and open it independently, while using v19.
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I really miss paper manuals.
For electronic help my preference is local. Online help is useless if the internet is down. An internet connection is not as fast as a local app. "Time is money" applies. "Eye candy" is unnecessary in an office environment. One of the lighting reps I work with talks about a '3 click' rule -- if a web site takes more than three clicks to find what someone is looking for they will change to a different vendor's site. Fancy interfaces might be good for new users, but they tend to be time wasters for experienced users.
At this point I use https://www.bricsys.com/bricscad/help/en_US/CurVer/DevRef/index.html on the desktop for Bricscad help and I use Autocad 2010 .chm files for functions and commands that are not in the Bricscad html page.
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Normally there are 2 help files in Apps.
The prefererred more recent online help with priority and
a local help file as an automatic fallback when no internet
connection available and updated with service packs.I like Bricscad's new online help system.
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I also vote for an offline help file in chm-format.
The computer where I use BricsCad has no internet connection.
Meanwhile there is a bricsys_offline_help.pdf available for download, but this is more a manual than a helpfile. Especially it's not context sensitive.
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I would also prefer offline, or at least a "readable" format, I just hate when people constantly click between TV channels and music, and this same system for helpfiles is annoying at the very least, click here then press "back" then click there, now scroll a bit or swap tabs, often I want to read through a sequence of related information, for example, what do all the variables related to hatching or dims do, but rather than being able to read, it's an exercise in pressing buttons left right and center. Give me a book any day or at least a linear format online.
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I agree, I much prefer the built-in help offered in prior versions. There is a version of the help pages available at the very bottom of the Help Center page; scroll to the end, it's easy to miss. The formatting is somewhat awkward, though. It looks like it was auto-generated but at least it's available.
That said, I like the on-line help as well. It is well structured and, of course, can more easily embed on-line resources and media. Not possible to use at some customer sites, however.
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I petitioned Support regarding request in original post.
Response:
In V19 you have the two options accessing Help._ *Help Center Online *_
https://help.bricsys.com/hc/en-us__PDF download offline version of the Help Center___
https://static.bricsys.com/help/bricsys_offline_help.pdf0 -
@Robt Deans said:
I petitioned Support regarding request in original post.
Response:
In V19 you have the two options accessing Help._ *Help Center Online *_
https://help.bricsys.com/hc/en-us__PDF download offline version of the Help Center___
https://static.bricsys.com/help/bricsys_offline_help.pdfSad. Sounds like the PDF is all we're getting. I don't understand why the existing V18 help files couldn't be revised and extended to cover V19.
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I think that new PDF file is great. It's got a good navigation panel, and you can zoom in on the actual help screens. Lack of zoom was always a problem for my old eyes.
But if you want, you can continue using the v18 Help files. Just double-click on "Bricscad.chm" in Program Files\Bricscad V18\Help.
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I may be wrong but I think both comments above mine,
from both users registered a few hours ago are SPAM
and the linked websites potentially dangerous.0 -
Thanks a lot Bernard.
Hope it was no false alarm
As I also get a 404 error on Mac when I try to open Help on Mac
(V19B)Or just a wrong link ?
https://www.bricsys.com/bricscad/help/en_US/V19/BricsCAD/index.htmlWindows V19 works well
Mac V18 too.0 -
@Richard Webb said:
... I don't understand why the existing V18 help files couldn't be revised and extended to cover V19.Ditto
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