From: tjonz@caliban.Corp.Sun.COM (Todd Jonz)
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc
Subject: MS-Word, RTF, and help files
Date: 9 Oct 1992 01:13:36 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: na
Reply-To: tjonz@caliban.Corp.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: caliban.corp.sun.com


Vince Mammoliti writes:

	> Microsoft has a toolkit, which includes the .hlp lib complier.  I
	> currently have it. But have not used it. They recommed to use
	> MS-Word because it includes the hidden charaters to allow the cross
	> pointers for help.

Oh no, Vince, look what you've done!  You've pushed one of my hot buttons and
caused me to post a flame that I will undoubtedly regret by midday tomorrow!

Any software capable of generating an RTF file may be used to build help
files.  Microsoft recommends that you use MS-Word for one reason and one
reason alone: to sell copies of MS-Word.  (RTF stands for "rich text format",
and I've heard speculation that it was given this name in hopes that it would
help make Microsoft rich.)  Why do I find this so thoroughly offensive?

	o  I see no good reason to use a WYSIWYG editor in preparing a Windows
	   help file, because "winhelp" is going to reformat it for you to a
	   great extent anyway at runtime depending on the actual window size.

	o  It would have been a very simple matter to define an ASCII mark-up
	   language that would accomplish the same thing.  This would probably
	   parse a lot faster than the RTF input, so you wouldn't be able to
	   go out for lunch while the help compiler is chewing on it.  But, of
	   course, this wouldn't sell any additional Microsoft applications
	   products.

	o  I bought Word for Windows 1.1 three months before 2.0 was released,
	   and Microsoft grandfathered two month old copies with free
	   upgrades.  What a bunch of capitalist running dogs.  By contrast,
	   Borland is grandfathering Quattro Pro users back almost a year and
	   a half at 50% off the regular upgrade price.

	o  I bought Word purely so that I could build help files.  I should
	   pay ~$400 to generate help files for the applications that I
	   developed with my ~$100 compiler?  Gimme a break!

	o  Although this should go without saying, I'll say it anyway: Word
	   bites.  If I had to pay for a full-blown word processor just to
	   build help files, I sure wish that I'd waited six or eight months
	   for FrameMaker to hit the street.  I hope it eats Word's lunch.

If Microsoft sold superb, reliable software, or provided excellent customer
support, or offered unique products unavailable elsewhere, I'd probably feel
differently.  This only thing that Microsoft does better than their
competition, however, is manipulate the market.  The only way I know of that I
can personally combat this state of affairs is to spend my dollars elsewhere,
and I will go out of my way to buy someone else's products wherever possible.
Buy your systems software from OEMs, VARs, and VADs (I got Windows from
Logitech when I bought my mouse), your development tools from Borland, and
your spreadsheets, word processors, desktop utilities and games from anybody
else!

When the clock radio roused me this morning, NPR's Morning Edition was airing
a story about the Federal Trade Commision's ongoing examination of business
practices at Microsoft.  It sounds like they're going to come down on them
pretty hard, and as far as I'm concerned, it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.
Brace yourself, Billy Boy: the Feds are going to do to you what you've been
doing to your customers for the last ten years!

Okay, now where are my blood pressure pills....