Thank you for telling me you can use SignWriter Java!

Thu Jun 5 13:48:33 UTC 2003

SignWriting List
June 5th, 2003

Dear SignWriting List members, Stuart, Stefan and everyone -
THANK YOU for sharing with me about SignWriter Java. I am just stunned
and thankful that it is working for you - And I am glad I released it,
problems and all...thank goodness...because now maybe it really will
get finished!

If you knew what it was like before, you would have seen why I couldn't
release it before...For some reason, the new Java 1.4.1 release changed
everything...there were many problems that literally magically
disappeared with that new release - it makes you wonder what some of
the programming was, that made such a difference, but it made it work
generally well enough that I could release it to you...

And now look what has happened - Stefan and others now have a way to do
the better looking graphics - what a blessing!

But one thing is obvious, until the problems with the program are
fixed, and until some of the other features are built into it,
SignWriter Java cannot be used, without ALSO using SignWriter DOS.
Because right now, there is no way to change the dictionary within
SignWriter Java...you have to prepare the dictionary in SignWriter DOS
and then move it into the SignWriter Java folder to use it in
SignWriter Java, so that forces us to continue to use SignWriter DOS no
matter what...SignWriter Java is more of a "conversion" program right
now, to good graphics...but the DOS program is still our central editor
program...

Later I will post to the List, all of the design issues the way I
envisioned it working....and you will see what I am talking about
better...

And now, a side note...I live in a house along a wild canyon - that is
a deep valley with wild life, like coyotes, bob cats, big wild rabbits
that are called hares, falcons, large hawks - really wonderful! But
sometimes nature can be a little scary too...and guess what? a hive of
bees started growing in my attic...the bees came through one of the
ventilation eaves in the roof, and they were making honey in the
attic!! I then found bees swarming inside my house...this was serious
because I can die from a bee sting, and there were around 50 to 100
bees swarming, flying through the heating vents into the living
room...and dying near the window...like a bee grave - very weird...so
on Monday the bee-exterminators came and got rid of the hive in the
attic but today the exterminators are coming back to "bee-proof" my
house...this may take two days because they have to put protection on
my chimney and all around the house...they place netting on the holes
where bees could enter...bees can swarm down the chimney into the
fireplace - can you believe? This is because I am living on this wild
natural place, so I guess I have to live with nature - ha!

So it may be several days before I am back on the list - I am sorry
about that but you will hear from me again on Sunday, I hope!!

THANK YOU, once again, for trying SignWriter Java, and thank you also
to Ingvild Roald, for trying to write a European grant to find funding
for SignWriter 5.0...I hope that the European Signwriters will band
together to get the money needed to pay programmers to complete the
program....

Have a wonderful week, everyone -

Val ;-)

----------------------

On Wednesday, June 4, 2003, at 01:14 PM, Stefan Woehrmann wrote:

> Hi Valerie, Bill, Stuart, Mark, Dan and other enthusiasts -
>
> just would like to share my progress in working with SignWriter Java  -
>
> first of all - I can convert even long documents from SW 4.4   to the
> new
> converted format -
>
> and there are only very few symbols that need a second "polish up
> routine"
> ... ;-))
>
> Well there has been a problem because of the left border - the first
> symbol
> is pushed very far to the left - so there is
> not a millimeter space -
>
> but today I found a solution !!! in order get fine  screenshots for
> other
> documents that finally can be printed !
>
> Look at the attached gif  that shows an example of my document that is
> prepared for my young students - signed German is to be translated in
> German -
> My students will read the document just as if they are reading a
> German text
> !  I am experimenting with different writing styles  ( more or less
> Mundbilder - ) But that is a different subject ....
>
> Keeping in mind this problem I leave the first "imaginary box in my
> SW44
> document open "  (just type the space bar )
>
> 2) After converting to a SW55 document I get the impression as if
> there is
> more space in one line - at least on my large screen - (ha) -
>
> 3) Well - now I switch to typing words and with the help of the space
> bar I
> have got no problem to set the left margin where I want to so
>    that the following line is wonderfully in a line  -  and - that is
> an
> advantage it looks much better to have some space on the left of the
>      lines.
>
> 4)  There is a problem to find the "Umlauts and sharp S " of the German
> Language -  but I can find the words - or - if the problem cannot be
> solved
> without too much trouble I should insert my entries with ae or ss and
> that
> would help ;-))
>
>
> The routine to correct the signs that are not converted properly takes
> some
> expereince - but I feel experienced now to get it down in a reasonable
> time!
>
> I still try to find out some special problems - but I am confident
> that I
> will be successful.
>
> Even if the program is not perfect right now - it is a major advantage
> - and
> it is so easy to create wonderfull looking documents -
>
> Keep you informed ;-))
>
> Stefan ;-))
>
>
> -----Ursprungliche Nachricht-----
> Von: SignWriting List [mailto:SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA]Im Auftrag von
> Valerie Sutton
> Gesendet: Dienstag, 3. Juni 2003 01:21
> An: SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
> Betreff: Thank you for telling me you can use SignWriter Java!
>
>
> SignWriting List
> June 2, 2003
>
> Hello Everyone, and Stefan!
> Many thanks for informing me that you could get SignWriter Java to
> work. What a miracle! Just three days ago I did not know it worked at
> all on Windows, so this is really a wonderful gift from heaven. And
> yes, it is a major gift from me to you too, since I have not been paid
> at all this year, and SignWriter 5.0 has been a painful chapter in
> software development for me...I cannot tell you how many features I
> have prayed for, and most programmers didn't really want to do it...but
> today I begged our last programmer to at least make it possible for Mac
> OS X users to re-size the dictionary window, and he did it with a quick
> fix to the source code - very easy - but if I hadn't begged him, on the
> Mac we would still be struggling - so I am grateful you are willing to
> understand that it is not perfect - I pray that Dan and Daniel, and
> others, will be able to fix each little problem, one by one...
>
> For now, everyone, I have posted a good portion of the source code on
> the web - there are still a few sections that need to be posted, but
> programmers... if you want to go look - go to the download page to
> download the sources...
>
> http://www.SignWriting.org/forums/software/sw50
>
> And thanks once again, Stefan, for showing me that you can print...I
> cannot print anything at the moment, even though I did two versions
> ago...so the printing needs to be stablized - this will take time, but
> now at least you have the good looking symbols and people can do things
> themselves now - thank goodness!!
>
> I am going to take the evening for myself and see if I can do the
> impossible - namely relax and try to be good to myself - now that I
> have given to you, I need to learn to give to me...hmmmm....what should
> I do with myself? I can try to dance around the living room...as I did
> thirty years ago ...smile....
>
> Val ;-)
>
> -------------------------
>
>
> On Monday, June 2, 2003, at 03:32 PM, Stefan Woehrmann wrote:
>
>> Dear Valerie,
>>
>> thanks so much for your decision to give us the chance to experiment
>> with SW
>> 5.0 -
>>
>> I spent some time on working with it today - Mac X - version after I
>> downloaded the java - program
>> (Win 98 and Win XP )
>>
>> - I had no problem to resize the dictionary window to what size I
>> wanted
>> - I could change the view preferences
>>    - menus ( I prefer menu in sign and words - later I will change to
>> signs
>> ;-))
>>    - type left to right could not be changed ..
>>    - large fonts could not be changed -
>>             does this option influence the printed output ? If so -
>> can I
>> change that in the "Locale Properties Folder " ?
>>
>>    - colors can be changed - but grey, black and white are fine !!
>>
>>
>> There is a wonderful advantage that it seems to be so easy to create
>> very
>> quick nice looking gifs of the document-
>>
>> Well - for now there are printing problems -
>>
>> I could not print anything directly but managed to print via Adobe
>> Distiller -
>>
>> the resulting document shows "very large" symbols - and there is no
>> room
>> left on the left side  -
>>  (I  attached the pdf - file - so You can see, what I am talking
>> about)
>>
>> (I bet that the program will allow different printing formats in the
>> future
>> , which would be very helpful in ordr to create the excercise - sheets
>> for
>> my class. )
>>
>>
>> The screenshts look great and are most welcome to create nice looking
>> graphics for my website !
>>
>>
>> So thats it for today - thanks very much again for your gift ...
>>
>> Have a great day
>>
>> Stefan ;-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I could convert SW.44 files in SW 5.0 if I rename the files before -
>> no
>> capital letters allowed ( aha !!)
>>
>> I could work with the German dictionary  - a lot of fun -
>>
>> I could
>>
>> - of course I realized that there is a printer problem
>>
>> -----Ursprungliche Nachricht-----
>> Von: SignWriting List [mailto:SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA]Im Auftrag von
>> Bill Reese
>> Gesendet: Montag, 2. Juni 2003 16:06
>> An: SW-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
>> Betreff: Re: Bug...ASL Dictionary Windows refuses to resize....
>>
>>
>> Val,
>> I'm using a 19" monitor with a screen resolution of 1280x1024.  I have
>> a
>> lot of area on my monitor.  When I opened SignWriter Java's dictionary
>> window it was very long but still fit within the bounds of the
>> monitor.
>>  I was able to resize it without a problem.
>>
>> A method I use in Win98SE when a window is too large to fit on the
>> screen, is to drag one edge of the window to the edge of the monitor.
>> This will resize the window, even if it is almost off the monitor's
>> screen.  Then I move the window into the screen area.  I repeat this
>> until the window fits within the screen.  I'm not sure if this works
>> on
>> a Mac.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>> Valerie Sutton wrote:
>>
>>> SignWriting List
>>> June 2, 2003
>>>
>>> Dear Philippe and Everyone -
>>> I am answering this tech support question to the List because I know
>>> others will find the same problem in SignWriter Java. For reasons
>>> unknown to me, as soon as Java 1.4.1 was released, a lot of the
>>> previous problems in SignWriter Java went away...but several new
>>> problems started too...and this is one of the new problems that Java
>>> 1.4.1 seemed to create...
>>>
>>> When you open the dictionary, the dictionary window is supposed to be
>>> fairly small, with buttons on the bottom of the dictionary window,
>>> for
>>> Insert, Cancel, Next, Previous and Lookup. With all other
>>> dictionaries,
>>> such as the Norwegian dictionary, those buttons show up fine, but the
>>> ASL dictionary has a problem...the dictionary window extends off the
>>> screen, and the buttons are hidden from view, and it refuses to let
>>> you
>>> resize the dictionary window so you can see the buttons...so the
>>> window
>>> resizing has a bug in it related to the ASL dictionary only - can you
>>> believe?
>>>
>>> For now, when using the ASL dictionary, you will have to use
>>> keystrokes
>>> instead of those buttons...If you want to insert a sign from the
>>> dictionary into your document, then tap the Enter Key once or twice
>>> and
>>> it will insert....sometimes you will have to do it twice...for Next
>>> and
>>> Previous, use the PageUp and PageDown keys. For Lookup, type the word
>>> in the dictionary and press return or enter and that will look the
>>> sign
>>> up for you. So you can do everything without the buttons for now,
>>> until
>>> the bug can be fixed!
>>>
>>> Val ;-)
>>>
>>> -----------------------
>>>
>>>
>>> On Monday, June 2, 2003, at 05:30 AM, Philippe Gallant wrote:
>>>
>>>> Valerie,
>>>>
>>>> I did download again and use the new version.  I played a little
>>>> then
>>>> I noticed at the dictionary, when I type a word and I see
>>>> signwriting
>>>> symbol but I dont see the buttons on the bottom because the window
>>>> went way below of my window.  I am using MAC 10.2.6.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you,
>>>>
>>>> Philip
>>>> On Sunday, June 1, 2003, at 08:29  AM, Valerie Sutton wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear Stuart and Phillipe -
>>>>> An updated version of SignWriter 5.0 for the Macintosh is now
>>>>> available for download....
>>>>>
>>>>> Download SignWriter MAC
>>>>> http://signwriting.org/forums/software/sw50/
>>>>>
>>>>> I know you already downloaded it, but you will need to start again
>>>>> and download again...This is a better version now. Plus there is a
>>>>> manual, with instructions. I would LOVE your feedback!
>>>>>
>>>>> Val ;-)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Philippe Gallant
>>>>
>>>
>> <danke sw50.pdf>
> <textbau1_beispiel_sw55.gif>