Printable Instruction Manual

Discuss with others what you would like to see in later versions of Winlog32.
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AF5CK
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Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:11 am

Printable Instruction Manual

Post by AF5CK »

For some of us who were born before the internet existed (the big rocks were still a little warm) find our comfort level and efficient use of software is enhanced immeasurably by having a complete and comprehensive user manual in a printable format.

Hints and context sensitive multi-level on-line help are great stuff but fall way short of a good printable comprehensive manual with traditional table of contents, index, and glossary.

I have developed software and managed the development of software and know the least fun part of the process is putting out a decent user manual but it enhances the product by a huge margin.

I am so desirous of having a decent printable user manual that I would be willing to assist in its production. I could help with proof reading, sanity checking, and the like but since I am in need of such a manual I am eliminated so far as being able to help author it.

73

Patrick AF5CK
N5PHT
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:06 am

Printable Instruction Manual

Post by N5PHT »

Hello,

Just for a view from the other side I really prefer online manuals. The written ones don't often get updated and when they do it is difficult to augment them into the papers. Especially for free software I would prefer online and energy on the software features and updates instead of paper manuals that become outdated sometimes very quickly. There is an "online" and regular help with this software and I suppose a person could simply print out the pages. I can search the online manuals with a key word and print out sections I am having difficulty with as needed.

Really loving this logging program as it has some great features.


quote:Originally posted by AF5CK

For some of us who were born before the internet existed (the big rocks were still a little warm) find our comfort level and efficient use of software is enhanced immeasurably by having a complete and comprehensive user manual in a printable format.

Hints and context sensitive multi-level on-line help are great stuff but fall way short of a good printable comprehensive manual with traditional table of contents, index, and glossary.

I have developed software and managed the development of software and know the least fun part of the process is putting out a decent user manual but it enhances the product by a huge margin.

I am so desirous of having a decent printable user manual that I would be willing to assist in its production. I could help with proof reading, sanity checking, and the like but since I am in need of such a manual I am eliminated so far as being able to help author it.

73

Patrick AF5CK
AF5CK
New user
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:11 am

Printable Instruction Manual

Post by AF5CK »

Gary, I understand your point but disagree that a printable manual is necessarily more obsolete than on-line help. If the information being presented in on-line help is captured in a data base then when on-line help is modified/updated via the database (as opposed to a collection of text files or similar to be edited and version tracked) the printable version is also updated for free so to speak since its test is taken from the same database that populates the on-line help.

Not a lot of additional effort is required once set up since the "printable manual" is drawn from the same data base that supports the on-line help. I admit there may be some additional work to get started if the help topics are an ad hoc collection of separate text files. The cost benefit analysis I leave to the individual as like beauty it is in the eye (or mind) of the beholder.

If all the help topics drew their content from the database they would be updated through that data base. Then all or a part of the "printable manual" could be printed out on demand by a user. Many users would opt to not print out the whole thing for inclusion in a hard copy library for the very reasons you first mentioned, obsolescence.

I suppose an alternative way to think of such a printable manual is a "recipe" to easily print out the portions of the help feature's background database in the desired format. The main thing to note is that there is no separate document to maintain and become obsolete just a way of formatting and printing out information from the database from which the on-line help draws its information and which we assume is kept in sync with new features and functions. This of course assumes there is or could be a database used as a repository for all the information to be supplied as on-line help.

In database speak the printable manual is a user view of the database in question as is the on-line help as well.

73

Patrick AF5CK
G0CUZ
Site Admin
Posts: 461
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2002 7:12 am

Printable Instruction Manual

Post by G0CUZ »

Hi Patrick

I have been asked over the years to produce a printable document, however, this is a 'one man band' and help files are way down the priority list and I hate doing them.

The latest offering is some online help pages, which you may have found - these have taken me over a year to produce and this only covers about half of the topics required
Help files/pages are a thankless task, hardly anyone reads them and I have repeatedly been told that over the years by the questions I am asked, as I rarely read help files myself (for other software) I can not really say much.

Unfortunately the online help is not database driven, so would not be an easy task to incorporate a printable version.

Then the language versions, please don't start.......

73 Colin
G0CUZ
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