IES-VE User Forum

I want to address this post to IES. It is regarding updated and complete help manuals.

When version 6 was released over a year ago, we were told that manuals would be updated and released shortly afterwards. This has been over a year ago. It might be understandable that when a major release comes out that not everything is ready. Fine. But after a year, it is reasonable to expect by now an updated complete set of user manuals. This is even more-so when that software is a rather expensive software package, though even free software usually comes with an updated help manual.

However, the overwhelming majority of help manuals were released with version 5.9 over two years ago, and have not been updated since. There are now a number of features now available on IES, with absolutely no guidance on how we're supposed to be using them, save for some that are explained in scattered release notes. There are a number of features that have been removed, made obsolete, or replaced.

Now, I can deal with a limited set of features. I can deal with tedious workflows to get around software limitations. To a certain extent, I can even deal with the numerous software bugs. But what I cannot deal with is the absence of updated and detailed reference information on my primary working tool.

Can IES commit to a release date of updated user manuals? I don't think this is being unreasonable.

I don't think you are being unreasonable here and I would also like to see the user guides updated with each software release/feature update.

I would point out that because the user guides are stored online we do make occasional updates after each release to try to add new features/maintain the manuals but as you will see this does not account for everything.

I'm glad you mention release documentation as we do strive to at least provide Release Notes and New Features with each release to cover all changes made to the software. These are always available with the latest version of the software and on the versions archive.

User Guides are recognised as an important part of the software and the team here are working towards this being updated more regularly so I hope we won't be in the same situation this time next year! In the meantime the support team will continue to deal with enquiries that should normally be dealt with by user guides

Phil

Hi Phil,

I know you're just the messenger, but here goes.

First, even the newly released major release version 6.2 does not have readily available release notes or new features. Maybe they're somewhere, but they're not on the download page and they're not on the news release. Nor is this the first time.

Second, having release notes does not replace a complete & updated user manual, nor do the release notes explain all new features.

Third, you may not be aware of this from inside IES, but from the outside (where I am sitting) there are a LOT of functions in Apache for which it is really confusing which one is still in use and which one is now obsolete and left there / only for a specific application not relevant to me / how to use it. This is especially true for Apache Systems. If I were to write a post or an email to Support each time I didn't know what something does I'm pretty sure I would get hated for it, neither do I have the time everytime to compose an email and to follow it up. Furthermore, if I need to know something, I need to know it now, not write it up and wait for an answer in 24/48 hours. Plus, if I have a specific question, even one that I might have asked before, searching all release notes, all forum posts, and all manuals, instead of just checking manuals, is far from user friendly.

IES is the only software I have ever used, whether freeware / shareware / paid software (and I've used a LOT of software in my professional and personal life) that did not have updated user manuals. If user manuals are online, if you add a new feature, how hard is it to update the manual, and to indicate in the release notes (and the file at C:\Program Files\IES\VE 61\apps\Help\index.html) that a specific user manual has changed?

Again, I know you're just the messenger, so please don't take this as an attack. But I do not understand how IES cannot have a complete and updated set of user manuals.

Don't worry, I think it is accepted that you have a very valid point here. I'll raise this once more and try to improve the process here so that user guides can be delivered more promptly.

re: 6.2 release documentation we'll get these online soon.

Phil