December 2017

From: Dr Christopher Mabb, Scientific Word Ltd.
To: Our Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook Technical Typesetting list

1. Beamer problem:    A new user from Serbia reported a problem with the Beamer shell not working on a Mac. As a temporary workaround, removing the multimedia package from the document solved the problem. It turned out there was a bug in that Beamer version, which is now corrected (documented here).
   If you've been having that problem, simply reinstall Scientific Word/WorkPlace to get a fresh installation of TeXLive.



2. Promotion!    Buy Scientific Word now – be a Professor by 2042!
   Over the last few weeks we've been getting in touch with some of our early users who were quick to get on board with Scientific Word v1.0 in 1992 (and some who were users of T3 before that: story here and here). A quarter of a century is a chunk of time in anybody's book, so we thought it would be good to look up those early adopters who are not users of the current version 6.0 (shame!) and see how they're doing.
   It turns out they're pretty much all professors of departments! Isn't that interesting, we thought: those who jumped at an innovation like this WYSIWYG-interface to LaTeX for Windows 3.0 in 1992 should be the movers and shakers of 2017.
   And so we propose our Christmas Conjecture: those who buy Scientific Word in 2017 will be Heads of Department by 2042! Don't hold us to it – but let's see... (still a couple of shopping days left to Christmas!)
   You can even pay with your leftover bitcoin – on our Licence Calculator just click the green Subtotal or yellow Total link for currency conversion.



3. Help us support you:    You'll have realised by now that we're quite proud of our Unbeatable Expert Technical Support. So we don't like not being able to solve a problem for you.
   What's frustrating is when we discover we would have known the answer easily enough – if only we'd realised that that was the question being asked. Einstein is reported to have said:

   If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.

   So whatever help you can give us to show us the problem you're having is very much appreciated. Phrases like:
   
   
   • It doesn't work
   • The compile fails
   • Something's gone wrong with it
   
   are not as much help to us as screenshots, .sci files, PDFs, videos and log files!



4. Some v6.0 tips:    One of our users Emailed to say:

   I've been looking in the Newletters to find a way to:
   - insert an equation & number it within a body of text (in v.5 there was 'Insert equation').
   - put brackets around a matrix object

   We sent the following pointers:

   I think you’re misremembering slightly: in v5.5 it was Insert – Display. In v6.0 this option is on the Math Objects sub-menu: so Insert – Math Objects – Display. The numbering is automatic in most documents, but you can toggle numbering on/off from right-click – Properties – Equation array properties – Number None/Auto.
   Assuming you’ve already got your matrix (Insert – Math Objects – Matrix) then

   1. Highlight all the cells (or use right-click – Matrix select – Matrix) and then
   2. Choose the brackets you want from the Math toolbar (View – Toolbars – Math toolbar) or from Insert – Math Objects – Brackets.

   Trust this gets you sorted.

   Maybe it will help some other users too...



5. v5.5 videos (again):    We mentioned these last time (Item 8). And just last week we were asked:

   Does the course end with a certificate after passing "The Advanced Challenge"?

   Our answer:

   It’s a great idea to include a certificate at the end of the Advanced Challenge; the answer is that we haven’t awarded a certificate in the past, but we are going to start doing that... thanks for the suggestion!
   The way this will work is that users will have one opportunity, for 12 months after buying the Training Course video download, to Email us the .tex file and PDF document of their Advanced Challenge. If their work is to an acceptable standard (a ‘pass’), we will Email them their certificate of completing the Course. Optionally (at the user’s request) we will also Email a critique of their .tex file with suggestions for improvement.

   For those who've previously bought the v5.5 Training videos, your 12 months starts now!
   And for those who haven't, just click these links to learn more about our v5.5 Training Course videos: more than 50 lectures/topics in over four hours of 720HD video content (with several exercises to complete throughout). This video training can be yours for just £197 + VAT, with Educational discount to £147 + VAT... including a glossy* new certificate for your wall as well, once you've mastered the Advanced Challenge.
   (* glossy, once you laminate it!)



6. Christmas:    Christmas gifts... God's gift.
   Who'd have thought it: the answer to the meaning of life wrapped up in 7lbs of baby? (As mathematicians might say, the solution was counter-intuitive.)
   If you haven't found the answer, we recommend that's where to look... in a stable in Bethlehem. Luke tells the story well in Chapter 2.
   What else did you think Christmas was about??