I don't know if you knew this, but my developer is also my business partner.  We've found that it's a good partnership as he can concentrate on the code while I do everything else.

Paul is one of the best coders I've ever met, and we often chat about what we're going to do with SmartDD (and other software he's working on), and of course we have some of our own plans for additional features in SmartDD, but what we quickly realised is, that what you really want are features that you come up with yourself.

So, please tell us.

We've already had a couple of suggestions, and there's one particular idea we want to do for ourselves, so here's a few of the features we intend to put in the next version.

Is there anything in particular you'd like added to the list that isn't mentioned above?

We often see good software with just those few little details missing that stop it from being truly great.  Maybe we're missing something from SmartDD that you think should be added?

Also on a similar vein, is there another item of software that you really want?  You know, that one program that you need above all else?  It might be software that already exists, or a completely new idea.

Or it may even be some knowledge you're missing about earning money online…

If you leave us a suggestion below as a comment, and we use it, we'll give you a free copy when it's done.

Frustrating isn't it?  You buy a product and there's either no instructions on how to use it or they are impossibly difficult, even wrong in some cases.

Think of flat packed furniture or children's toys, we've probably all had trouble somewhere along the line.

We also live in a fast paced society and don't always want to wait to build things.  We want everything yesterday. 

 Maybe we think we can do without instructions.

The problem is worse when you buy goods that are come under the heading digital delivery.  We can have them straight away which satisfies our impatience, but you can't ask questions quickly of anyone any more.

Instead you quite often have to raise a ticket and just wait for someone to get back to you.

In reality when you make, design or produce something, it shouldn't be an arduous task to provide a 'how to' guide.

Especially when good documentation can prevent support issues before they happen.

As the developers of  SmartDD, we (Frank Haywood and Paul Freedman) have done just that.  Getting the automated digital delivery of your goods right is important to us and that's why you will find a comprehensive set of instructions to guide and support you through installing and using the software.

We've tried to think of everything and in addition we normally answer our emails within 2 - 3 hours of receiving them - quite often sooner.  And we always listen to our customers - if you think something needs more explanation we'll look at it for you.

And you might be thinking "what's the point of this post?"

Well, it's the fact that it's something we knew, we'd forgotten, and have re-learned again.  And it's that good and comprehensive documentation is a must.

In our initial eagerness to get the first version of SmartDD out, we cut some corners on the documentation front.  Our intention was to go back and fix it soon after release.  However, things don't always work out the way you plan!

The result?  A slew of minor support issues which of course took a lot of time to answer.  All of this could have been avoided if our documentation was better at first release.

We're now really happy to say that with the documentation we're supplying here and in the download area in the form of pdfs and videos, virtually all of the minor support questions from new customers have disappeared.

The online help is now available.  This blog format will mean we can keep the documents up to date more easily, as well as add interesting tips and articles every now and then.

Enjoy!