Hi folks,

I just got an e-mail from a gent who is a member of an astronomy
club with about ten Guide users, plus some people who might be
interested in using it. He is thinking about putting together a
"suggestions and tips for Guide users" session for his club, and
asked if I had any to contribute.

It occurred to me that there are a few things that I, at least,
consider very useful that don't leap out at the average user... the
Things Every Guide User Ought to Know, but Probably Doesn't. So
I sent this reply. Any thoughts as to what should be added to this
list? I think I will put it together on a page on my Web site.

-- Bill

--------- Clip from previous e-mail ----------

Regarding "suggestions or helpful tips": a good question... there
are a lot of questions that people come up with as they delve into the
program, but not too many of them are really "standard" things, in
part because the program does a wide range of things. So some people
will ask about scope control, and others about astrometry, and others
about deep-sky objects, and others about planetary details. All of
which makes it tough to come up with general suggestions.

Though as I think of it, I can think of a few:

(1) It's a good idea to grab the latest update from the Web site at

http://www.projectpluto.com/update8.htm

I have to get CDs pressed in rather large batches, so the software
you get on the CD lags behind the software posted on the Web site. That
posted software includes some bug fixes and a long list of improvements.
I'd recommend skimming that list. Many of them will be of no interest
to you, but there are apt to be one or two that will make you a happier
Guide user.

(2) The Guide user list,

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/guide-user/

can be a very useful resource. There are a lot of Guide users there
swapping ideas back and forth. (And I'll be asking _them_ your question.)

(3) Once you have Guide set up the way you like it, with your preferences
for your latitude/longitude, time zone, colors, data shown, and so forth,
I highly recommend using File... Save a Mark, and calling that mark
"Personal Defaults". That way, if your copy of Guide goes astray and
you can't figure out what happened, you can go to File... Load a Mark,
click on "Personal Defaults", and (usually) go back to where you were.

(4) One feature in the updated software is _very_ important. People
often will tell me that they see some line/symbol/star/object on the screen
and would like to turn it off, or change its color, or toggle its labels,
or only see it at certain fields of view. But they can't find the menu
that controls that object.

With the update, you almost never have to find that menu. Just right-click
on the object, and you'll get information about it, plus a "Display" button.
And that "Display" button will lead to controls over that class of object...
click on a planetary nebula or a DSS image and then on "Display", for example,
and you'll be able to turn planetary nebulae green or have DSS images only
show up at narrow fields of view, and so on.

Powerful as this is, it's not a panacea: if there is no planetary nebula
or DSS image on screen, for example, you're stuck with having to go through
the menus.

(5) You can control a lot of settings in Guide by clicking on items in the
Legend area. For example, by clicking on the compass symbol, you can switch
between "north up" (star chart) and "zenith up" (level horizon) modes. A
right-click on the time shown in the legend resets Guide to the current time.
Clicking on the latitude/longitude in the legend gets you the "Set Location"
control. And so on. (As you move the cursor over the legend, the "hint"
text on the program's title bar will tell you what clicking on that part
of the legend will do.)

I'll pass on anything else I or Guide user list folks come up with.

-- Bill