AkelPad

Surveyor · Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:16 pm Post subject: AkelPad Documentation

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▓ Cool

DOCUMENTATION Links Cool

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▓ Documents now being posted (officially) at:
▓ http://akelpad.sourceforge.net/files/docs/
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▓ and unofficially (newest and pre-release versions!) at:
▓http://members.shaw.ca/atbcls/akelpad/
▓ Current User Manual available is:
▓ - v12.11.20 (for AkelPad 4.8.0 - November 20, 2012), and
▓ - v1.2.7 (for AkelPad 3.7.0)
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▓Macro compiler/decompiler (MacTool) also available at above webpage
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Hello! Surveyor (new member) here.

I am amazed at AkelPad's capabilities, but the documentation "leaves much to be desired". I have some time (semi-retired) and some skill at this, so I have undertaken to compile a User Manual in compiled HTML (.chm file). I can't figure out how to attach what I have done so far, so I have emailed "Instructor" with a copy. I would be happy to continue in this work, and possibly document plugins, as well.

BUT, in order to continue, I will need some questions answered from time to time. For now, the 2 things I can't figure out properly are:

1. in the Find or Replace dialog, how do you enter HEX code for searching?
2. Window/Tabs/left-right (in MDI mode) What does it do?

Also, if you find this project suitable, it would be nice to include a help file in the packages, and add a menu item to the Help menu (only About there now). Context-sensitive help is also possible, but not really necessary, I think (requires additional source code modifications, of course).

If you find my file satisfactory (preliminary only, for now, but gives an idea of what can be done), could you post it to the Forum so that others may have a look and comment? Thanks - great work in creating AkelPad. There is a lot more power to it than casual users will see, especially once plugins are used!

- Surveyor

Surveyor · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:15 am Post subject:

A preliminary copy of the User Manual (documentation) can be downloaded at:

http//mypage.direct.ca/a/atbcls/temp/AkelPad_v3.4.7_User_Manual.chm.zip
link now void, see top of thread

Work continues in completing the first release, and reducing the size of the CHM file by modifying the images (which make up most of the size). Images are important to the ease of use.

Note
Instructor has kindly placed a copy of the preliminary documentation at:
link now void, see top of thread
I will update this with him as work progresses.
The link at mypage may disappear in the future, if I get a new ISP!

- Surveyor

Surveyor · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:27 am Post subject:

Surveyor here - greetings from Canada!

I have been busy on the documentation; my wife slips food under the door occasionally and I sleep at my desk (just kidding...).

Here is another preliminary version (v0.2) which can be obtained at the following links:

AkelPad-Eng.chm - 349 KB
AkelPad-Eng-lean.chm - 267 KB
links now void, see top of thread
The "lean" version is identical to the normal one, except images have been altered to conserve space.

As before, I trust that Instructor will be posting these updates at:
http://akelpad.sourceforge.net/files/docs/

I appeal to readers/members for some assistance on a few upcoming topics in the manual. I would appreciate any thoughts you have regarding

info related to Settings -> default codepage and codepage recognition
hyperlinks - how to create, how they work
a method to migrate ALL existing registry settings to an INI file, for portablility. Currently, I think some visual settings are not "picked up"when you change from registry to INI.
typos, additions, subtractions or corrections in the current text

If you have comments or can help, post a reply or send me an email. Thanks.

- Surveyor

Instructor · Site Admin Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 5293

Emails returns back.

Surveyor · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:31 am Post subject:

(drum roll, please!)

Version 1.0 (final) of the new User Manual is now released! It should be posted on the "/docs" site soon - see first message of this thread for the link. In the meantime, try the other links for "AkelPad-Eng.chm" and "AkelPad-Eng-lean.chm" - they are no longer preliminary.

The final version has not been completely reviewed by Instructor; check back for any revisions, although they should be minor.

This has been a worthwhile project - AkelPad is an excellent tool!

- Surveyor

Surveyor · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:36 pm Post subject:

Message to all AkelPad users,

Documentation is now being posted in 2 places:
- on my freebie ISP website immediately, and
- on the AkelPad Sourceforg site, although there may be a 1-2 day delay, depending on circumstances.

See top of this thread for links to both places. Special thanks to Instructor for his usual prompt response and help in the documentation. I know that real life (work, families, etc) sometimes interferes with the fun things we really want to do - like programming!

- Surveyor

Surveyor · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject:

A small supplement has been posted for the recent update to AkelPad 3.5.1.

I intend to release "a few" supplements, then integrate them into a new version of the User Manual in the future, in order save users (and me!) some effort.

Update - supplement idea is not practical; I hope to update manual as new features, etc. are added. ( Apr 1/08 )

- Surveyor

DV · Joined: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 831 Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

IMHO, Command line parameters must exist as separate section because it is related to general AkelPad's features. IMHO again, it has nothing in common with Installation issues.

Surveyor · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject:

To DV,

Thanks for your comments - you are the first (other than Instructor) to reply! You are probably right; I included that section there near the end of my preparation of the user guide. I will (undoubtedly!) be releasing an update for new features/changes as they occur - I will consider moving that section to its own "appendix".

- Surveyor

Surveyor · Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: I'm BACK!

Surveyor here!

My last (posted) revision of the documentation was "way back" on April 1st, 2008 and was current for AkelPad version 3.5.4. I see that much work has been done in AkelPad since then! At that time I was involved with

retirement and winding down my business, and
moving (some distance)

so my time was spread "pretty thin". I am now officially retired and officially moved so I would like to continue with the AkelPad documentation project, since AkelPad is an EXCELLENT tool and is continually under development and improvement.

Stay tuned (hopefully) for the following future documentation:

User Manual updated to version 4.x.x
addition of a separate manual to cover (some!) plugins. A little taste of this can be found at http://akelpad.sourceforge.net/files/docs.
Take note: my affiliation with "direct.ca" has been discontinued and any links to my former "site" may be invalid. See new link at top of this forum!

REQUEST - I would appreciate ANY thoughts, help or "ramblings" (on documentation) AkelPad users can provide. Send your comment to this forum, or by email (link on my profile is now updated to my current email address). THANKS!

- Surveyor

Instructor · Site Admin Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 5293

Waiting for a new releases! Smile

u_u86 · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 16

Documentation amazing! Helped me to learn some hidden tricks and understand what mean few commands. Thanks to author for perfectly work! Smile

infimum · Joined: 02 Mar 2008 Posts: 26

Truly amazing work, Surveyor. Very well written.

For those who are reading this, there is also Plugins Manual available in the Plugins section.

Surveyor · Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:05 pm Post subject:

Thank you all (Instructor, u_u86, city_zen, infimum and others) for the kind words!

Preparation (and maintenance) of the manuals is a fair bit of work, but I think it is a worthy project. I am a big fan of freeware and open source software in general, but much of it suffers from the same illness , ...

KDJ · Joined: 06 Mar 2010 Posts: 1326 Location: Poland

Hello Surveyor.
Can you do such a beautiful documentation to AkelPad 4.4.4?