Hi striplar,
Users won't even know what's possible unless they're told what all of the components and services Mach4 offer do
The scripting manual does a fair job introducing the basics, but just the basics. Were it complete there would be so much information that the
vast majority of users would be lost.
Years ago when at University we had a VAX11-70 in the Department. The reference manuals were a rack of ring binders that covered half a wall.
As a newbie it was daunting. What various undergrads had done was condense the manuals down to a single ring binder, the basics. From there you could
get a feel for what it was you needed to know and then search the manufacturers reference as required. By the end of my four years I'd added a page or two
to the basics.
Mach4 documentation is at best the basics only, the detailed reference is some way off. Steve is our reference at this point in time....he has the time and energy to
develop new stuff but obviously loathes documenting things which are already done. That's just who he is....but I think you are coming to see the true genius
of what he is building and its truly awesome. If his inclination is to develop new stuff then I reckon 'go get'em Steve'.
It feels like it's all a big secret and that you have to be an insider to get access to this stuff when it ought to be out there for everyone to see
I agree, although its not a deliberate strategy, its just the way things have worked out. Whether you know it or not you are becoming one of the insiders!
I suspect that most users just give up on anything but the most basic customisation unless they're very determined, because it takes too much time to find the information they need.
Yes, you have to be determined. Even were there much better documentation it still requires imagination and determination to master it all.
Craig