The Essential Guide aka The Technical Manual

[sparkiemike]

Those of you that use The Essential Guide which is available free to NICEIC registered contractors will know that recently they withdrew the CD version of this useful guide and it is only available via the Internet.

Apparently there was not enough interest in an off line version. The ESC are now "reviewing user's needs" albeit very low key

There is an Opinion Poll on this page "Would you be interested in an off line version of the Essential Guide?" http://www.esc.org.uk/industry/essential-guide Click on the link if you want to vote.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Can't you download it and burn your own CD if you want?

 

[sparkticus]

As far as I can tell you can't download it. I did prefer the offline approach.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What format is it?

There's usually a way to download anything, if you try hard enough.

 

[sparkticus]

What format is it?

Will login this evening and let you know.

 

[JohnW2]

There's usually a way to download anything, if you try hard enough.

True - but sometimes only in countless small bits if it's been chopped up and primarily designed for on-line viewing. Quite a lot of UK legislation is like that, although they sometimes offer a 'full document' as well.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[sparkticus]

Unfortunately I can't see a way to download the entire content in one go. When it was on CD (and if I remember correctly) you ran an executable which served as a browser and database for the many documents.

The online version appears to be served in my local browser (chrome or IE) as simple HTML (I suppose it would always be HTML anyway in a browser)

If I right click on the main link to the file there is no option to download the target - only the option to download the link.

You can download individual files in PDF format but that results in just a collection of documents with no higher form of browsing/searching etc.

I used to use the CD version regularly but I can't say the same for the online version.


DISCLAIMER
A note of caution that my computer skills where first acquired in the late 70s with DOS/UNIX. I used to write programs in Borland Turbo Pascal and assembly language. I reluctantly started using windows when Win95 came out and even then did my best to "shell out" to DOS. So my knowledge of windows/internet explorer/HTML/any form of data base is primordial at best There may well be a way to download the whole thing that I simply do not know about/understand.

 

[JohnW2]

You can download individual files in PDF format but that results in just a collection of documents with no higher form of browsing/searching etc.

If you have the appropriate Adobe software (and I imagine that other software, maybe free, can also do it), you can combine multiple PDFs into a single PDF.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[sparkticus]

If you have the appropriate Adobe software (and I imagine that other software, maybe free, can also do it), you can combine multiple PDFs into a single PDF.

Yes, that a point. The list of functions below is what is offered via the online version and from memory what was offered on the CD version. Most of those functions are available in Adobe. I do have a method of combining multiple PDF files (use it to attached T&Cs to my quotes etc) It would be quite a lot of work however since there appears to be 100s of files but it could be done.

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[JohnW2]

Yes, that a point. The list of functions below is what is offered via the online version and from memory what was offered on the CD version. Most of those functions are available in Adobe. I do have a method of combining multiple PDF files (use it to attached T&Cs to my quotes etc) It would be quite a lot of work however since there appears to be 100s of files but it could be done.

Indeed, as I said, that's the problem. With some legislation it's also hundreds of PDFs, which can make the combining process a bit tedious. I can't remember whether Adobe allows one to make a 'multiple selection' when choosing the files to combine (I'll have a look later) - if it does, that could obviously speed the process considerably.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[sparkiemike]

At last count there were over 300 pdfs/topics. You must have a lot of spare time if you could be bothered with the mind numbing task of downloading all them and merging. Also the PDFs are password protected so would this need removing as well.

Added to that every few months more pdfs/topics would be added or updated so keeping track of that would be something else to keep on top of.

As £35 per year (or FREE if you are with the NICEIC) I don't think the suggestions above to circumvent getting a legitimate copy are really worth it.

 

[bernardgreen]

DISCLAIMER
A note of caution that my computer skills where first acquired in the late 70s with DOS/UNIX. I used to write programs in Borland Turbo Pascal and assembly language. I reluctantly started using windows when Win95 came out and even then did my best to "shell out" to DOS.

Why DISCLAIM

That is the way the best programmers began and in many cases still work.

I had to "allow" Windows for Workgroups 3.11 onto my machines but I still write in Turbo Pascal as it does the job perfectly without the bloated and often un-reliable / un-stable stuff that Windows uses. My CAD software runs on DOS 6 and is faster than the Windows versions of the same program.

 

[sparkticus]

e with the NIC
As £35 per year (or FREE if you are with the NICEIC) I don't think the suggestions above to circumvent getting a legitimate copy are really worth it.

Oh absolutely agree but I thought the point of this thread was that you can't get the free CD any more with the NICEIC. I'm with them and have not received the CD update for quite some time. Just available online.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

At last count there were over 300 pdfs/topics. You must have a lot of spare time if you could be bothered with the mind numbing task of downloading all them and merging.

Google for website rippers.

Also the PDFs are password protected so would this need removing as well.

Google for PDF password crackers.

 

[sparkticus]

Why DISCLAIM

That is the way the best programmers began and in many cases still work.

I had to "allow" Windows for Workgroups 3.11 onto my machines but I still write in Turbo Pascal as it does the job perfectly without the bloated and often un-reliable / un-stable stuff that Windows uses. My CAD software runs on DOS 6 and is faster than the Windows versions of the same program.

Oh I would not even look at 3.11. I was disgusted that a computer had been turned into something that anyone without training could use except me!! I had no idea what to do with the b----y mouse!!

I acknowledge that in those days I failed to see the "big picture"

As for Turbo Pascal, yes it is brilliant and always has been. You can write nice compact executable "exe"(com's in the old days) programs that can operate under the radar of Windows so called multi tasking environment.

I used to write machine control programs for mostly early PC DOS based and main frames running UNIX for production equipment control. One time I wrote a background ISR to control an LED test rack (tested LEDs for correct fwd bias current) which used the BIOS interrupt 1C (yes the DOS clock) I attached the ISR to the clock and it "ticked away" nicely in the background servicing the rack while the main program (along with a camera/photometer) analysed the optical parameters. The only problem was that I had to increase the rep rate of the ISR which made the clock run ridiculously fast. If I remember correctly (this was 1985) a colleague wrote a fix for it which essentially compensated for the increased rep rate by decrementing the clock register by the number of "extra" reps. Life seemed so simple then