SooSL 0.9.6
====================================================
Windows (10/11)
macOS 13 Ventura +
Linux (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Noble Numbat, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Resolute Racoon and Debian 13 Trixie)**
----------------------------------------------------
*(Both Intel and ARM)
** If Linux not available at time of Windows and macOS releases, it will soon follow...
  Will possibly work with other Debian and Ubuntu based releases, but untested...
----------------------------------------------------

SooSL enables you to make a dictionary of any sign language using videos.
It also serves as a viewer for the dictionaries it creates.
  
In SooSL, you can index signs so you can find them later by handshape, location, etc. 
You don’t have to know the written word for the sign.
SooSL uses many icons and only uses written text in one menu and a few dialogue boxes. 
This makes it easier to use for users who don’t know English. 
The small amount of written text is available in French, Spanish and Romanian in addition to English. 
(If you want other languages, contact us!)

This is a beta version of SooSL software. It can be used to do real work, but we're
still working on significant design changes, so expect future versions to be somewhat different. 
We will work hard to migrate your data from one beta version to the next.

Copyright SIL Global 2009 - 2026; more copyright and licensing information given at the
end of this document.

Installation instructions
=========================
If you already have SooSL installed there is no need to uninstall or remove it.
(Windows exception: If you want to install to a different location than before,
 then you will need to uninstall it first.)
If SooSL is currently running, close it before proceeding with installation.
SooSL will remember your old settings along with the locations of any project files.

Windows
-------------------------
1. Download 'SooSL-<<version>>-win64.exe' from www.soosl.net/software.html.
2. Save the file to your downloads folder.    
3. Double-click on the .exe file to run the installer program.    
4. Follow the instructions. 

For "silent" installation under Windows, run the installer in a command prompt window with either the "/SILENT" or "/VERYSILENT" command line parameter. For more information about these command line parameters and others that may be useful, see: https://jrsoftware.org/ishelp/index.php?topic=setupcmdline.
    
macOS
-------------------------
 1. Download 'SooSL-<<version>>-macos-<<arch>>.pkg' from www.soosl.net/software.html.
 2. Locate this file and double-click on it to open if it does not automatically open and begin installation.

Linux
-------------------------
Linux is now available in the packages.sil.org repositories and is installable
through your usual package management software. Wasta-Linux has these repositories
available by default; other Ubuntu users may need to enable them following the 
instructions at: http://packages.sil.org. Additionally, Debian users may need to 
edit the SIL repository in "Software & Updates" to include "contrib":
"http://packages.sil.org/debian trixie main contrib".

If you've never installed SooSL before, SooSL "may" not start on your first attempt, but please try again, as it probably will run on your second try.

Downloading and installing a demo sign language project
=======================================================
a. Download a demo project from www.soosl.net for your version of SooSL.
b. Start SooSL     
c. Click the blue spanner/wrench icon (top right) & click "Import Project"     

[Note: If the demo project does not immediately open in SooSL, click the 
 blue spanner/wrench icon (top right) & click "Open Project".  
 Highlight the project name you want and click "Ok".] 
 
After installation
================== 
If the program looks awkward on your computer's screen after installation, 
click the reset button at the bottom-right of SooSL's program window (red heart icon).  
  
Help with SooSL
===============
English help files while running SooSL ...
    * Click on the blue '?' icon at top, right of program window (next to the blue spanner/wrench icon)
    * Also, as an item in the tools menu (blue spanner/wrench icon (top right))
    * Available on the web at: https://www.soosl.net/help/en/index.html.

Contact us ...
    * Use the contact form on our website: https://soosl.net/contact.html.
    * In SooSL, click the blue spanner/wrench icon and choose "Send Feedback".

What's New?
===========
To display "Release Notes" while running SooSL:
    * Click on the blue spanner/wrench icon in the top right of the program window.
    * Select "About SooSL" from the menu that appears.
    * Click on the "Release Notes" button in the window that appears.

Other places:
    * See RELEASE_NOTES in the /docs folder of your SooSL installation.
    * See https://soosl.net/software.html#WhatsNew for the current version.
    * See https://soosl.net/older_software_and_sources.html#Changes for older versions.

Copyright & Licensing
========================================
(Windows and macOS: See COPYING.txt for full version of GPL-3 license.)

Files: * (except vlc.py - see below)
Copyright: 2009 - 2026 SIL Global (https://sil.org)
License: GPL-3+
 This package is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
 (at your option) any later version.
 .
 This package is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 GNU General Public License for more details.
 .
 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>
 .
 On Debian systems, the complete text of the GNU General
 Public License version 3 can be found in "/usr/share/common-licenses/GPL-3".

Files: /usr/share/soosl/vlc.py
Copyright: 2009-2017 the VideoLAN team (https://www.olivieraubert.net/vlc/python-ctypes/)
License: GPL-2+
 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
 (at your option) any later version.
 .
 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 GNU General Public License for more details.
 .
 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 .
 On Debian systems the full text of the GNU General Public
 License can be found in the `/usr/share/common-licenses/GPL-2' file.



