There are 3 options to choose: Recreate, Open or Cancel. The first time this happened, I have to admit, I was taken aback. I didn't think "Recreating" the "Untitled" Document Type were good ideas, so I picked Cancel and opened Macintosh Help. I could find nothing about this message. I couldn't look into Palimpsest Help, because it is a Palimpsest document. So, I held my breath, tried again, and chose "Open." Lo and behold, the document opened seemingly without any further hitches.

Once into the application, I opened the Palimpsest Help document and again found nothing about this rather glaring occurance. I believe I am doomed to see this error box appear every time I open a Palimpsest document until I work up courage enough to choose the "Recreate" button. Sorry, but given my long and checkered history with this application, I'll need some serious motivation to attempt THAT.

Darn! Screen freeze number 2 and I forgot to save after each and every paragraph. I think I lost 3 paragraphs that time.

Let's see, I was writing about using the Palimpsest Help and Manual documents...

I started reading "Getting Started with Palimpsest." It recommended I use Palimpsest's "Browse Mode." Using Browse Mode, hypertext is displayed in a different color than text which is not cross referenced. As I switched to Browse Mode, some text colors changed to reveal their hypertext status.

However, the operation of following hypertext did not work as documented. A recommended shortcut is to use the "Hypertext Tools" option. This brings up a toolbox of buttons that are supposed to act as shortcuts for menu commands. Notice I said, "Supposed to."

First, with Browse Mode on and Hypertext Tools visible, I clicked the mouse within the hypertext. The Hypertext Tools disappeared and the summary box describing the details of the hypertext's definition popped up in a new window. Not knowing what to do now, I clicked back on the original text window. The Hypertext Tools reappeared and I tried to use the "Show Destination" button. Alas, I was greeted with yet another error dialogue box. This one said:

I couldn't even open the section "Documents and Section Types" manually from the Open option in the File menu. I was able to open this destination reference only by first opening the Palimpsest Manual and choosing the Documents and Section Types section. Really, is this how a Macintosh application is supposed to work? I think not.

Enough with the "play by play" commentary. This narration was typical of my experience with Palimpsest. I attempted many times to use this application and each session was riddled with screen freezes and data losses.

In case any ATPM readers who have stuck it out this far are wondering whether I contacted Western Civilisation and asked them about my problems with their application, the answer is, "Yes." I e-mailed them while attempting to review version 1(2), which was even less stable than version 1(3). Their reply in essence was that thousands of Palimpsest users had "made it work" on their Macs, perhaps I should check the extensions. Let me just say that as an experienced Mac user, I'd already tried running the application with extensions off and with a minimum set and still the software was very unstable.

I don't know about the rest of you, but an application that needs to be "made" to work sounds like it belongs on a different platform than Macintosh. The hallmark of Macintosh applications is that most users can set about playing with them immediately upon installation. Serious instability issues should be addressed in a "Read Me" file that can be opened by any application, not just the newly installed software. Having a "Getting Started" file that requires detailed knowledge of the software its describing is a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

I hope that Western Civilisation makes a serious effort to revamp Palimpsest, because I think it has the potential to fill a serious void in the world of electronic authoring, research and communication. First, they need to solve their stability problems. Perhaps some of the software features can be modularized, so that users can get used to one group of related features before tackling another. Secondly, the manual needs a total rewrite. Although the manual that accompanies version 1(3) is a vast improvement over previous versions, it is still verbose. Concept definitions are lost in verbal mud. The terminology as presented is complex and hard to retain. Clearer, more concise definitions are needed. Thirdly, they need to ensure that the descriptions of how things work in the application are accurate.

Screen freezes 3 through 8 occurred while putting some final editorial touches on this article. So, if the grammer and prose is not on par with our usual standard, please know that I only have so much time to devote to ATPM and Palimpsest has eaten far more than its fair share. Again, I urge ATPM readers who want a more positive slant on the application to read Matt Neuberg's review in TidBITS and check out the Palimpsest area of Western Civilisation's Web site. Download the demo if you're interested, but if you have the same experiences I've had, don't say you weren't warned.