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You need to be running the current version of the program
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The first thing we do when we receive an email is to check whether you are a registered user of our current version. If not, you’ll receive an automatic response that will direct you back to this page. (In order to free us up to serve the needs of those who are running the current version, and insure that we respond promptly to them, and to avoid having friendship influence the decision, we don’t spend time trying to figure out the nature of the problem described in the email—whether it is simple or complex, whether you are a friend or somebody we don’t yet know, we can only provide free support if you are running the current release. This rather simple—and, especially given the extent of our support, we think very fair—rule helps you understand the requirements and saves us from agonizing over every request for “just a little help” on a “small” issue.
There are a few exceptions:
- It has been our practice (although of course we reserve the right to change this at any time) to offer support for the previous version for a short period of time (usually a month or two) after a new version is released, so as to give people time to upgrade.
- Depending on the circumstances, we may choose to offer support to somebody who has upgraded to the current release, but who is, for various reasons, still using an older one. (Sometimes, for example, users are at the very last stages of getting a manuscript off to the publisher, and don’t want to install a new version right at that time. If you find yourself in this position, and need support, you can purchase the upgrade, but not install it.)
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Support is provided only to the original licensee
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We have, by all accounts, a very generous user license. Since only simultaneous use by others is restricted, not use by somebody else when you are not using it, we sometimes get support calls or emails from the assistants, spouses or partners, etc., or the licensee. Given the level of the support that we provide, we are simply not able to provide that to a second person, primarily because the second person is almost always an occasional user who has had no incentive to learn on their own how the program works. This means that in most cases we end up explaining the same thing twice (once to somebody who doesn’t really care that much). And this takes time away from the time we can give to other users and which we would otherwise be able to devote to improving the program.
Again, there are some exceptions:
- If the other person is your assistant, who regularly uses your copy (again, only when you are not using it—see our user license), and is more knowledgeable about the program than you are, we’ll (at our discretion) talk to them, but only after receiving a request from you, the primary user, that we do so.
- We will of course talk directly to any IT person or computer professional who is helping you get the program set up. But again, you need to initiate the first contact.
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Technical support involves fixing problems in the program or explaining how users can do something
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In technical support, our goal is to help you resolve problems (including with installation and with system-compatibility issues), diagnose and fix bugs, give appropriate suggestions, and otherwise help you get past the issues which would prevent you from using Nota Bene to accomplish what you need to be doing.
While our focus is always on providing as much help as we can, rather than telling you what we cannot do, the following, among other things, are not normally considered part of regular technical support:
- Training you how to use the program
- Repeating what is already described in the help system or tutorials
- Actually making the changes to your files that need to be made (we tell you what to do; we do not, except in unusual circumstances, actually do it for you)
- Creating customized style-formats or data capture rules
- Preparing camera-ready copy for submission to a publisher
- Offering detailed suggestions about how to organize your research or project
However, we can do any one or all of these for you as part of a consulting arrangement. (Please write to technicalsupport@notabene.com.)
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