I would like to propose that a detailed manual for VI be done-- even if it's available only by downloading a PDF. I'm not certain what type of manual has already been prepared, but this request comes as one who watched the VSL DVD demo and several live demonstrations of the Pro Edition only to find that some features didn't work as neatly on my system as it did in the demos.
To the VSL team who has lived with this library, functionality is very simple to their thinking. Not all of the functionality is difficult to understand, but the fluency of the team with VSL and VI might lack a certain objectivity, if you would pardon the term, with how users might approach a library with such vast content. What comes to mind is in how easy and how musical the original PE features of VSL were touted to be-- and aside from my own hurdles, I've read the posts of other users over the years on this forum who have had and are still having similar difficulties from installation to instantiation.
I would propose that the VSL team employ someone who is not part of the VSL team to learn VI from scratch and subsequently to write a step-by-step "how-to", no matter how simple it might be. Their current printed materials tend to focus on WHAT the features are rather then HOW they are employed. Many elements of the instructional DVD lose something in translation. Although it was helpful for what it was, it just didn't go far enough.
Before I continue, I would like to thank Herb for agreeing to put VI file and sample names in English!!!
I'd like to see:
1. A complete print out of the file and folder hierarchies, and a DETAILED walk-through of the installation process, including how the library might be divided across the two 250GB hard drives recommended by the VSL team.
2. A clear graphic showing and explaining the windows and buttons on VI-- One thing I noticed was that the selection wheel in the middle of the GUI has six buttons, four of which are duplicated in the upper right hand corner. This may not seem all that big of a deal at first glance BUT it should be explained clearly---
---WHY these particular four buttons are duplicated on the GUI
---WHY one set of selection buttons are activated upon the mouse click while the other set of buttons are activated upon the RELEASE of the mouse click.
---Whether the duplicate buttons are redundancies (and WHY); or IF different features or operational modes are unlocked when the same duplicate buttons are activated from their respective locations.
Here's the clincher--
---Why it is-- or what it is that necessitates at least one of the buttons located on the selection wheel (which is not repressented in the upper right hand corner) can be activated in the upper right hand corner by an INVISIBLE hot spot....!!
4. How to create custom user matrices from scratch in detail with no assumptions made as to how easy it might be.
Objectivity is crucial. Were it not for this forum, the VSL team might not be aware at all what users are struggling with. Thank goodness the VSL team listens to its users!! The only problem here is that it often takes days to post a question and to wait for an answer. It takes hours or entire days sometimes to search through the entire forum to locate discussions on related issues. This alone has brought a few of my projects to a halt, or has forced me to find other means of meeting deadlines until such time the VSL problems are addressed, tested, and corrected. User error is one thing, but in some cases the problem has necessitated replacement files, which also take valuable time to locate, prepare, and upload for access in the user area.
Having a detailed and *objectively* written manual cannot be underestimated. I hope that the VSL team will take this suggestion to heart without offense.
Thanks for listening.
Best,
JWL
To the VSL team who has lived with this library, functionality is very simple to their thinking. Not all of the functionality is difficult to understand, but the fluency of the team with VSL and VI might lack a certain objectivity, if you would pardon the term, with how users might approach a library with such vast content. What comes to mind is in how easy and how musical the original PE features of VSL were touted to be-- and aside from my own hurdles, I've read the posts of other users over the years on this forum who have had and are still having similar difficulties from installation to instantiation.
I would propose that the VSL team employ someone who is not part of the VSL team to learn VI from scratch and subsequently to write a step-by-step "how-to", no matter how simple it might be. Their current printed materials tend to focus on WHAT the features are rather then HOW they are employed. Many elements of the instructional DVD lose something in translation. Although it was helpful for what it was, it just didn't go far enough.
Before I continue, I would like to thank Herb for agreeing to put VI file and sample names in English!!!
I'd like to see:
1. A complete print out of the file and folder hierarchies, and a DETAILED walk-through of the installation process, including how the library might be divided across the two 250GB hard drives recommended by the VSL team.
2. A clear graphic showing and explaining the windows and buttons on VI-- One thing I noticed was that the selection wheel in the middle of the GUI has six buttons, four of which are duplicated in the upper right hand corner. This may not seem all that big of a deal at first glance BUT it should be explained clearly---
---WHY these particular four buttons are duplicated on the GUI
---WHY one set of selection buttons are activated upon the mouse click while the other set of buttons are activated upon the RELEASE of the mouse click.
---Whether the duplicate buttons are redundancies (and WHY); or IF different features or operational modes are unlocked when the same duplicate buttons are activated from their respective locations.
Here's the clincher--
---Why it is-- or what it is that necessitates at least one of the buttons located on the selection wheel (which is not repressented in the upper right hand corner) can be activated in the upper right hand corner by an INVISIBLE hot spot....!!
4. How to create custom user matrices from scratch in detail with no assumptions made as to how easy it might be.
Objectivity is crucial. Were it not for this forum, the VSL team might not be aware at all what users are struggling with. Thank goodness the VSL team listens to its users!! The only problem here is that it often takes days to post a question and to wait for an answer. It takes hours or entire days sometimes to search through the entire forum to locate discussions on related issues. This alone has brought a few of my projects to a halt, or has forced me to find other means of meeting deadlines until such time the VSL problems are addressed, tested, and corrected. User error is one thing, but in some cases the problem has necessitated replacement files, which also take valuable time to locate, prepare, and upload for access in the user area.
Having a detailed and *objectively* written manual cannot be underestimated. I hope that the VSL team will take this suggestion to heart without offense.
Thanks for listening.
Best,
JWL
