A-Shell documentation is provided primarily in the form of Windows compiled help (.CHM) files. Beginning in December 2008, we are making the transition to having web-based (HTML) be the primary documentation format. See "File Formats," below, if you have problems or want more information about file types.

Having trouble opening CHM files? See our page CHM Problems. Want to print one of the documents? See the note on Printing below.

Available as:  Windows help (.chm)     Text (.txt)     Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)     Microsoft Word (.doc)     HTML (on-line)

Primary Docs
Following is the main A-Shell documentation set and its component parts. Note that these docs are all current, meaning they are the up-to-the-minute versions that describe the "Developer Version" of A-Shell. See the Downloads page for version information.

Specialty Docs These documents apply to optional or add-on components of A-Shell, or to related but separate software products.

 

CHM files are not particularly well-suited for printing. They are fine if you want to print a few pages or even a full section, but not if you want to print an entire doc/manual for reading and reference. The best format for printing is PDF. If you wish to print the docs, therefore, make sure to get a PDF version of the doc(s) you want to print. If you don't see them here, contact us and ask about a PDF for the doc in question.

Although web-base HTML help files, or compiled Windows help (CHM) files, are recommended for most readers in most circumstances, other file formats may be applicable to some situations. Sometimes, for historical reasons or by special request, the A-Shell documents may be available in other file formats. If you would like to get the documentation in a format you don't see, it may be available on request . Continue reading for information about document formats and files types, and why you might prefer one or another.

 CHM (Compiled HTML, standard Windows help files): CHM files are compilations of HTML pages into a single document which includes an expandable table of contents, hypertext index entries, and graphics, and which has been significantly compressed.  This makes CHM files ideal for downloading to and accessing from your computer. CHM files are opened using built-in components of Windows, so no additional programs are required to view them.  If you are running Windows 98 or later, you have what you need in order to read CHM files.  If you download them to your Windows computer and then double-click on them, they should be properly opened and displayed in the familiar help-file context. Note that of the various file formats in which the A-Shell documentation is available, CHM is the most convenient, the easiest to manage, and the first choice of the documentators at MicroSabio.  Note also that A-Shell can be easily configured to display CHM files from within A-Shell itself; see "Help Menu Links" in the A-Shell Setup Guide for more information.

 Adobe Acrobat / PDF (Portable Document Format) :  Various A-Shell docs have been available as PDF files in the past, and may be available on request; inquire if you are interested. Files of this type consist of exact replicas of printed pages, just as they appear in a printed manual.  If you plan to print a copy of the document, this is the best type of file to download.   PDF files are not hypertext documents or pure help systems, but most documents (including all the PDF files on this site) come with an interactive table of contents.  This file format and the program(s) needed to read these files are the property of Adobe Systems.  If your computer does not already have a copy of Adobe® Acrobat® , which you will need in order to read the files, you may download a free copy from the Adobe Acrobat download page.  

PDF Printing - Important note: If you intend to print the PDF documents, be sure that your printer is configured to interpret colors as either black or white; if the printer tries to interpret colors as shades of gray, all the color printing in the document will appear as gray--i.e., light and not very readable black.  The PDF documents do not have extensive color printing, but they do have some.  On pure black and white printers, configured as black and white printers, the colored text prints fine.

 TXT : Text files are universally readable by all computers and all operating systems, so you can download or display them regardless of your system.  They do not contain any formatting, however, and are therefore the most difficult file type to read.

 HTML: These are documentation files formated as standard web pages, with hyperlinks, tables of contents, and linked indexes. Unlike the CHM files, however, these files reside on the MicroSabio website, and individual pages are downloaded and displayed on your PC only when requested. This type of file is preferred over PDF because of the hyperlinks, and preferred over all other files types because you never have to update them; you just link to the files, which are continuously updated by MicroSabio so you always see the latest version. The only downside of HTML compared to CHM is speed: obviously, you'll get much better response times when jumping around your document using (local) CHM files as compared to (on-line) HTML files.

 DOC:  This is the native file format of Microsoft Word, and is the original source of most MicroSabio documentation files. We write the docs in Word, in other words, and translate into all the other formats with various types of conversion and authoring programs. So all of the documents are readily available in Word format; if you want them, just ask.