System for organizing short forms
Hello Sharon, As a former PRD+ user who switched to Instant Text, I can relate to a lot of what you say, particularly re the need for a system for making short forms. Before I got PRD I used what now seem very primitive, Qyx, MICOM and Wang systems, which allowed some short forms, and that is when I began to think about how to organize entries. When I reluctantly entered the world of IBM clones, I got PRD - for $99! (Later they hiked the price to over $400). I used PRD with WP4.2 and then 5.1. Before deciding on abbreviation rules and methods, I researched what had been done before, looking at Gregg, Stenoscript and other systems that people had used or at any rate made up (some were pretty weird). By trial and error and trying different rules (a syllables rule, variants of abcz, etc.), I came up with the three basic rules of the ABCZ system. Shortly after doing so I found out that Mary Morken also had a system. We had independently decided on the same rule for two word phrases (abab) but differed elsewhere, especially on the main rule. I wanted my main rule to be simple and computer addressable. I felt Mary's was neither of these. We had some good correspondence about the two sets of rules and ultimately decided we would each stick with our own. I went through all the same limitation issues you did with PRD, great as the program was, and then tried PRD plus Smartype with WP5.1. This was a good combination but when Windows came along, I was eager to get visual aids and switched from DOS to use FlashForward with QuickCorrect in WP6.1. I was aware of IT and after version II came out, there was no looking back. All the while I imported, expanded and built on the ABCZ rules and files. Now with a "mature" ABCZ set and the great capabilities of IT V, I feel like I'm in MT heaven. I definitely agree with you that MT's starting out should pay a lot of attention to how they are going to organize their short and long forms.
Speaking of systems and methods, I am looking forward to your article on the methods you used to make PRD short forms easier to remember. Jon Knowles
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