The problem with jaws you mentioned... I have jaws 5.1 and the
current transfer tool software and the double talk synth. I actually
don't have the problem you mention, but I haven't tried it on any
other machines using jaws. I've used window eyes with the tt as well
just fine. Just my experience with that one issue, you do make some
good points though.
As far as the folder thing, where you said you select a bunch of
files and then paste them into the transfer tool. I do this as well,
but if you are focused on the folder you want to paste the books in
in the tree view, then they automatically go in that folder. Doesn't
work if you want to transfer into multiple folders though I
suppose. Just some thoughts.
Holly
At 08:00 PM 3/10/2006, you wrote:
I've had my BC for over two years and love it.
But I'm getting so tired of the clunkiness of the transfer tool.
I thought if I could list my issues here, the Springer folks might read it and eventually improve it.
My first frustration is with the inability to move files. So often I put something in my fiction folder that turns out to be nonfiction. Or, one of my folders gets too big and I'd really like to split it up. At least before you could use Windows Explorer to move stuff around, provided you were careful to get all three files with the same base name. Now that files are named things like bc00039, you can't figure out what they are without the transfer tool. Therefore the transfer tool really now needs a "move to folder" function.
My second issue is the molasses problem. Some here have said it is a JAWS problem, and perhaps so, but with older transfer tool versions and the current version of JAWS, nothing is sluggish. With the current tool version, When I arrow through the transfer tool tree view, it pauses for at least thirty seconds and all keystrokes are ignored. I've tried various versions of JAWS, and that makes no difference, but using older versions of the transfer tool this problem never happens. So maybe the developers can try the new tool and the old tool with the JAWS demo.
My third problem is with it wiping out the clipboard. Normally, you can open two windows in explorer and cut and paste or copy and paste between them. You can open third and fourth and even more windows doing the same thing. And Windows explorer doesn't care that you have several other copy operations in progress. But with the transfer tool, when it finishes the transfer it clears the clipboard. Anything else you were doing in any other window that used the clipboard is lost. Often while I transfer one batch of files, I am trying to select a second batch. If I am careless and press CTRL-C for copy in Explorer, before the transfer tool is finished, the clipboard contents are lost. This is so frustrating. Just leave the clipboard alone, and read from it only.
My fourth gripe is with these clueless error messages. "The bookshare file you are trying to transfer is not in the Daisy format." "This message can appear even when a file is indeed Daisy, when I have unpacked it and read it as daisy. It seems kind of random, not specifically happening on a file, unless of course that file really does happen to not be daisy. Also it would be helpful if the message stated which file, with the filename and book title I was trying to transfer. If I copy twenty files to the clipboard and my transfer is aborted with this silly error, I have two problems: first I don't get my other files transferred, and second, I don't know which file caused the error. How about creating an error log, rather than interrupting the whole transfer with an error the user can't do much about?
My fifth complaint is with transferring Braille volumes. The new tool will complain that a file is already on the device when I try to transfer a file with the identical description. But my only choices are to overwrite or not; no choice exists to simply rename the file title. A Braille book with multiple volumes has the same title unless I manually put in each volume number. That's tedious and I have to tab to the input filename box to find each file's name to figure out what volume it is. Of course the input file name box isn't conveniently in tab order next to the description box. I always transfer with copy and paste in Windows explorer because the Browse method is even clumsier for moving batches of files to the device. If you are sighted, try using those common file dialogs with the keyboard only and transfer thirty Braille volumes that way. It's excruciatingly tedious.
My sixth frustration is with the slightly more convenient "use one folder for all transfers" check box. That's truly time-saving, but if I check it I am also unable to supply unique titles. Instead, have two check boxes, that one, plus a box for "transfer all selected files without further prompting". Also while we're at it, why should the user need to type in the folder name anyway? There's too much chance for error. Instead, have a combo box, so they can simply arrow to the appropriate folder name.
My seventh problem is with its generally unforgiving nature. If I have twenty files to transfer and I mis-type my bookshare password, it tells me the password is invalid and aborts the whole attempt. It seems like a simple "repeat until password is correct" loop could easily improve the user experience.
My eighth and last trouble is with this error message which shows up mostly in some Oreilly books on Bookshare:
Send Error Parse Error at line XXX, Not well-formed (invalid token)
I click OK, and anything else in my transfer queue is gone, plus I don't know what file gave me this stupid error. Can't it just stop parsing that line and skip to the next one and continue? I don't care if I miss out on a few ill-formed lines or tokens or whatever they are, but it is really annoying to loose my entire transfer.
I probably use the transfer tool a little differently than originally imagined, so let me give you what the object-oriented folks call a "use case". It is 4:45 and I'm at work, where I've been doing things for my boss. A two-hour commute looms ahead of me and my bus will appear at 5 PM sharp. I have a pile of bookshare books on my computer that I want to peruse while on the bus, but I don't have a leisurely afternoon to transfer them all. I pull up the directory of books, press CTRL-A to select them all, press ctrl-C to copy, connect the BC, and press CTRL-V to paste.
Then I have to fill in file titles and folders, or accept the defaults, but either way, some goofy error is bound to abort the whole process half-way through.
I really want the tool to just do its transfer all nice and automatic, so I won't miss my bus, and keep its grumping about mal-formed tokens to itself.
--Debee
P.S. programming is time-consuming, and programmers must be compensated for their time. I'd be happy to pay $100 for a good solid transfer tool update that improved the user experience. If enough of us were willing to pay this, could we make it happen?
Also, if this program, along with many others I could name were open-source, other people like me would just get in there and fix it. When a device has to be purchased anyway, vendors wouldn't loose any money releasing device support software as open-source.
-- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.1/277 - Release Date: 3/8/2006
