nisus.com

In a previous post, see http://nisus.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5382, I made the following comment:

I find it difficult to envisage how Nisus support could be better. Actually there is one: more frequent bug fixes - such as the one NWP 2.0.5 that has just come out - would be an improvement. Every six months or so rather than yearly would be be more helpful. Please post your response if you would like Nisus to produce more frequent bug fixes, although I guess this should be in its own separate topic.

It's been over a year - thirteen months - between NWP 2.0.4 issued on 2012/08/10 and NWP 2.0.5 on 2013/09/10. Such extensive delays mean we all waste time coping with bugs and work-arounds for a seriously long period of time.

Please post your support here to encourage Nisus to issue more frequent bug-fixes - every six months or so would be a great improvement... Nisus say they do listen to numbers, so the more people who post their support for this issue, the more they'll consider issuing bug-fixes more frequently!

Thanks, Cris

That's not a bad idea, Cris. On the other hand, I can see people getting upset if their favorite (!) bug is not fixed in the very next bug fix.

I'm just astonished at what is listed for 2.0.5. I can’t download it right at the moment -- I need to top up my expensive prepaid, slow, 3G dongle service rather more than usual. I laughed at myself, though, when I was sitting here getting frustrated about that -- the fact is that with the simple way I use NWP most of the time, nearly all that stuff won't affect what I do. I only know those bugs exist from comments on this forum.

I can see a lot of people will be pretty happy about the fixes, though.

Cheers, geoff

Yes, this has bugged me for some time too... (sorry about that!) I can't see why Nisus don't issue minor point release bug-fix-only releases 3 or 4 times a year, with feature enhancements once a year or so.

Having to wait a year or more for bug fixes bundled with feature enhancements like the new macro stuff is too long, they need to separate bug fix releases and feature releases more. The macro enhancements and so forth probably justify it being called 2.1 rather than merely 2.0.5 anyway.

dshan wrote: can't see why Nisus don't issue minor point release bug-fix-only releases 3 or 4 times a year, with feature enhancements once a year or so.
Having to wait a year or more for bug fixes bundled with feature enhancements like the new macro stuff is too long, they need to separate bug fix releases and feature releases more.

The latest version, NWP 2.0.5, contains a total of 248 separate items, of which just 16 items are listed as macros. But one of the macro items does say "Added: macros: a variety of new commands".

It's actually a good idea for Nisus to issue new versions with minor enhancements along with bug-fixes, since it's debatable whether minor changes should be seen as enhancements rather than bug-fixes. I understand convention to say that a version contains bug-fixes and minor enhancements, while a release also contain new features. So 2.0.6 will be a new version, while NWP 2.1 and 3.0 will be new releases.

I'd be happier if Nisus issued bug-fix versions with far less issues, say a hundred or so at a time. This would mean updates two or three times a year, about the same frequency as OSX updates, which I think Apple has about right.

CrisB wrote:
I'd be happier if Nisus issued bug-fix versions with far less issues, say a hundred or so at a time. This would mean updates two or three times a year, about the same frequency as OSX updates, which I think Apple has about right.

Apple usually issue 4-5 updates to OS X a year -- today 10.8.5 was released, less than 14 months after 10.8. But whether it's 3 Nisus updates a year or 4 I'm not real fussed, as long as they issue fixes more than once a year!

I cannot imagine anyone who would not be happy if Nisus released bug-fixes and enhancements on a more frequent basis. At the same time, I think the comparison with Apple to be perhaps somewhat skued. How many engineers do Apple have working on OS-X? How many engineers do Nisus have working on NWP and NWE? Also, I'm not a programmer, but I could well imagine that each new enhancement is more time consuming and fraught, as it has to work smoothly with the increasing complexities of the rest of the code.

But yes, more frequent issues would make users feel more secure about the future.

Mark

Yes, please: twice a year would be ideal.

Yes, I support frequent bug fixes, especially for a newly discovered bug: We have discovered some annoying behavior in the latest upgrade (2.0.5) to Nisus Pro. If I change the font size using the arrows in the character palette, it will give an incorrect reading, saying the font is one size, whereas it is really something other.

An example: I change selected text using the arrows from 14pt. to 12pt., and the text is actually 10pts. If I type in 12, the text goes to 12 as it should.

Thanks for listening to our requests.

Yes, I certainly support the issuing of more bug fixes. There is an annoying new bug in 2.0.5 described under the topic 'Bug in Lists palette in 2.0.5 ?' I use the Number field in the palette to change the number in a numbered list. In the past this has worked fine, but in 2.0.5 the number shown in the palette is not transferred into the document, so one cannot override automatic numbering.

I use lists a great deal, and I wouldn't like to wait a year for this one to be fixed, especially as the only workaround seems to be to avoid numbered lists, i.e. to number them manually.

--Malcolm

While I generally support more frequent bug-fixes, I'd be content if we got updated regularly on fixed bugs, like in kind of a bulletin stating, e.g., "fixed: bug A", "fixed: bug B", etc. so that we know what to expect from the next release. Regarding the frequency of bug-fixes, I second the "twice a year" stance.

I've been thinking about this a bit further. It seems to me that when a bug in software actually affects functionality and there is no easy workaround (true of one or two recently reported bugs in 2.0.5), then the producer of purchased software has some obligation to rectify that bug as soon as possible. I have had to go back to 2.0.2 (the only downloadable alternative) in order to have proper lists functionality.

--Malcolm

This is now a poll, please choose your option and vote.

Thanks, Cris

Hi, Cris.

I'd like to vote, and vote yes, but phpbb returns "The submitted form was invalid. Try submitting again."

Cheers, Henry.

As I implied in my posting above, I really don't see the point of this; I cannot imagine anyone saying no to more frequent bug-fixes or updates.

I have been using Nisus Writer since the original version was still in beta, nearly 10 years ago I guess, and long before the split into NWP and NWE, and I trust Nisus. I don't want them rushing out enhancements just to show they're working on it; I'd rather trust them to bring out upgrades when they're ready and contribute significantly to the power and usability of the app. As for bug-fixes, in my experience Nisus don't want bugs hanging around any more than we users do, but the time it takes is the time it takes.

That said, I'm not a power user ... I'm not trying to manage the installations of NWP in a company, rolling out macros so that everyone's output conforms, nor, at the moment writng scholarly tomes for which complex macros would make my life easier. But I can appreciate many users needing that, and I can also appreciate that there are many users like me, for whom the upgrade from 2.0.4 to 2.0.5 will make little difference, though I believe it will be a move forward for the phspaeltis and Kinos of this world, whom I applaud.

But, take part in this poll ... no, not even to say I have better things to be doing.

Mark

Henry, thanks so much for your constructive feedback. As you say, this poll is indeed not working. Yet I can't see what I've missed out and how to get it working...

Sorry, the poll will have to wait until i find out how to resolve the issue... But I promise it'll be fixed well within a year.

Cris