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Old 05-30-2007, 11:29 AM   #1
todsandberg
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Default NEW: Reaper Help File (.CHM) - Available for Download

OVERVIEW:
=================================================
I've created a Windows Help file (CHM FILE) based on Reaper's Wiki Manual.

I hope that having a help file available might promote an increased interest in contributing to the Wiki Manual.

I wanted to get a help file out there quickly in the spirit of reaper's rapid release mindset. (It's not perfect, but it is a start)


THINGS THAT WORK SO FAR:
=================================================
- All pages (should be the complete wiki)
- Images (This took me a few hours to get it working)
- Search
- Links within the help file that allow for editing the live wiki
- Created 05/27/2007.
- Offline Viewing & Searching (obviously)
- Internal Links Work
- Creation of file is somewhat automated


THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED:
=================================================
-Filesize (reduce it)
-Doubles within the search (what links here causes doubles in search result)
-Print version (perhaps remove to allow for smaller file)
-Formating of Pages (Print version looks good, but formating is gone in main pages)
+-Columns are not showing up properly (left navigation bar in the wiki)
-Contents and Index could be improved (automatically generated)


STEPS TO USE IT IN REAPER:
=================================================
1. Download File: http://www.sandboxdesigns.com/reaper...0070527_v1.chm (LARGE - 12 MB)
2. Save file to the Reaper folder: C:\Program Files\REAPER\
3. Use it: Help should now show up when you click on Help ==> Documentation


I will continue working on this and see if I can make some more improvements.


Thanks,

Tod Sandberg
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:36 AM   #2
keithS
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Great work Tod.

Just a reminder, if anyone has problems opening the help file (in IE7), uncheck the "Always ask for this type of file" checkbox you may get when launching help.

Once again, thanks Tod.
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:49 AM   #3
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Good work that man!
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:55 AM   #4
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I love seeing low-numbered posts from people offering to share their own efforts. Way to go!
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:59 AM   #5
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Great having the REAPER WIKI available, from within REAPER, without having to be connected to the net.

Nice job!
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Old 05-30-2007, 12:15 PM   #6
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downloading now...

excellent idea, good work & many thanks, totsandberg
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Old 05-30-2007, 12:17 PM   #7
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Thanks a lot !
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Old 05-30-2007, 12:28 PM   #8
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Thanks, nice work
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Old 05-30-2007, 02:42 PM   #9
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Nice one! It'll really be useful on my main rig that's not connected to the net, thanks!
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Old 05-30-2007, 02:56 PM   #10
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Thanks Tod, downloading now.

.. and a HUGE thank you also to Jason and others whose efforts have produced the WIKI in the first place.

On the file size question, what format are you using for the images? I shaved about a third off the User Guide file size by switching from .JPG to .PNG
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Last edited by nicholas; 05-30-2007 at 03:14 PM. Reason: correct typos
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholas View Post
Thanks Tod, downloading now.

On the file size question, what format are you using for the images? I shaved about a third off the User Guide file size by switching from .JPG to .PNG
You're welcome!

The source files are straight from the wiki.
The one's I looked at were .png
Not sure if all are png, I'll have to look. Good thinking.
The program could be converting them to something else...

I'll have to do some trial and error to see if I can get the size down.

Tod Sandberg
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholas View Post
Thanks Tod, downloading now.

.. and a HUGE thank you also to Jason and others whose efforts have produced the WIKI in the first place.
The hard work that Jason and all others have invested in the wiki (and the forums) has been amazing.

My main motivation to creating the help file was so the tireless efforts of Jason and all the other wikizens would be rewarded, as well as more frequently used.

There is nothing worse than to spend a lot of time on something and feel like it doesn't matter (like the feeling that the wiki isn't growing as fast as it could)

I hope that people will want to add more to the wiki (which will then show up in the help file) for everyone to benefit from.

Tod Sandberg
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:32 PM   #13
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Hey Tod,

OT, but do I remember you from the Sonar forum? Or am I mixing you up with someone else?
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:58 PM   #14
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Ok :-)

How cool is that? Excellent stuff :-)
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Old 05-30-2007, 04:26 PM   #15
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Nice work,
here's a link to a chm reader for Mac OSX for us Mac users.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22061
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Old 05-30-2007, 04:39 PM   #16
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Thank you Tod.
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Old 05-30-2007, 05:44 PM   #17
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Great Stuff!!!

I've looked at the 'help' entry many times, even though I knew it wasn't there. It's just something you automatically do. And now I can again!

A question on the wiki though: I've never ever participated by contributing. Might find something I can elaborate about though. So... How do you do that? Just go there and edit? Or do I sigt up first?

Downloading now....
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Old 05-30-2007, 06:28 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholas View Post
Hey Tod,

OT, but do I remember you from the Sonar forum? Or am I mixing you up with someone else?
Must be someone else. I only made it to Cakewalk ProAudio 8.
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Old 05-30-2007, 08:54 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mc UB View Post
Great Stuff!!!

I've looked at the 'help' entry many times, even though I knew it wasn't there. It's just something you automatically do. And now I can again!

A question on the wiki though: I've never ever participated by contributing. Might find something I can elaborate about though. So... How do you do that? Just go there and edit? Or do I sign up first?

Downloading now....
A wiki is that it's fast and easy to make changes (and even create new pages off an existing page).

Don't let perfectionism get in the way... (Like I would ) If you're not totaly accurate, someone else will likely correct it.
You just need to create a login. Then you can click edit to modify existing pages.

You can try it out in the "Sandbox" I just created
http://www.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/Sandbox
A sandbox is a place where you can try out the technology without having to worry about messing something up.

Click on the edit tab at the top, or the edit links in the sections.

Each time you make a change to a file it keeps the history, so at any point the file can be "rolled back" to a previous state (ie fix a mistake). You can also view changes to a file in the history tab to see what changed in between two versions.

Here is a quick Primer on HOW TO WRITE IN WIKI
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing

Tod Sandberg
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Old 05-30-2007, 09:03 PM   #20
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Tod,

I saved the file to the Programs/Reaper folder, and it does show up under Help/Documentation. But I keep gettiing the "The page cannot be displayed" message. I can't get any actual content. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks.

Ken
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Old 05-30-2007, 09:56 PM   #21
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Tod this is fantastic. Thanks. Thanks Jason and other contributors. and Thanks Nicholas... I have printed and bound your effort and what a wonder that is!
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Old 05-31-2007, 12:18 AM   #22
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kenTheriot - I had that. Put the CHM file in your REAPER directory and call it from the Help menu..
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Old 05-31-2007, 04:28 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kenTheriot View Post
Tod,

I saved the file to the Programs/Reaper folder, and it does show up under Help/Documentation. But I keep gettiing the "The page cannot be displayed" message. I can't get any actual content. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks.

Ken
Access the file directly from the file system first - you will probably get a prompt. Uncheck the 'always ask' checkbox and then press ok. Now the file should open from within Reaper as well.
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Old 05-31-2007, 07:08 AM   #24
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Hey, thanks Tod

Much appreciated.

BTW, I couldn't help but smile when I realised that the help file is six times the size of the programme install file itself.

Not your fault though Tod, that Justin is just so stingy with his code
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Old 05-31-2007, 07:48 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catscandal View Post
Access the file directly from the file system first - you will probably get a prompt. Uncheck the 'always ask' checkbox and then press ok. Now the file should open from within Reaper as well.
Hmmm..Problems here too. I get all the contents listed in the left
pane, but they all come up empty when clicking on them.

Is internet access required for it to work??

JJJ

Oh, and thanks Todd!
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Old 05-31-2007, 11:04 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catscandal View Post
Access the file directly from the file system first - you will probably get a prompt. Uncheck the 'always ask' checkbox and then press ok. Now the file should open from within Reaper as well.
I accessed the file from Windows Explorer and got the same result: "Action canceled - Internet Explorer was unable to link to the Web page you requested. The page might be temporarily unavailable." this is what happened from within Reaper as well.

And I DO have an internet connection.

Ken
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Old 05-31-2007, 01:16 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJJ View Post
Hmmm..Problems here too. I get all the contents listed in the left
pane, but they all come up empty when clicking on them.

Is internet access required for it to work??

JJJ

Oh, and thanks Todd!
No internet access is required for it to work, but some links (like "Edit" links would go to the internet if you're connected -- This would allow for quickly fixing typos in the Live wiki)

I've never seen an error, could you post a screenshot?

Tod Sandberg
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Old 05-31-2007, 08:04 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by todsandberg View Post
No internet access is required for it to work, but some links (like "Edit" links would go to the internet if you're connected -- This would allow for quickly fixing typos in the Live wiki)

I've never seen an error, could you post a screenshot?

Tod Sandberg
Sure can...

JJJ
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Help.JPG (29.9 KB, 291 views)
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Old 06-01-2007, 08:21 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJJ View Post
Sure can...

JJJ
Can you open it outside of reaper? (from Windows Explorer)
Maybe try downloading it again?

I'm going to recreate the help file when I get some time...

Once I do, let's see if it works for you.

If you subscribe to this forum post it will let you know when I post the new version.

Tod Sandberg
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Old 06-01-2007, 08:43 AM   #30
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Got the same issue here too,

MC
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Old 06-01-2007, 12:44 PM   #31
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Same here, seems to default to the internet links. I disconnected, did a reboot and temp clearance which then enabled it ok. After more surfing though, I notice it comes up empty disconnected from the net again.

It works fine on my other machine that's not connected to the net though, so thanks, that's where I need it.
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Old 06-01-2007, 01:02 PM   #32
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I sometimes have similar trouble opening chm files across a network. Make sure it's on a local drive and that might work.
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Old 06-01-2007, 01:49 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoxOfSnoo View Post
I sometimes have similar trouble opening chm files across a network. Make sure it's on a local drive and that might work.
It's not networked, it's on the C drive on a PC connected to the net directly.

No biggee since I have broadband, just reporting it's behaviour.
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Old 06-04-2007, 12:49 PM   #34
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Default WiKi Manual

Nice Job - What it's all about, I am new to Reaper so I will find this really useful
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