A "Paper" Copy of the Manual

[Jim Smith]

I'm old & Analog Guy. I like reading stuff from Dead Trees. I know there is never going to be a time when Software Manuals are printed. But I would really really like to have a Manual, not the Help, but a Manual that I can load on an iPad and just "leaf through".

[PVA - Admin]

If you expand the help's index on the left, its in manual structure. With chapters and subsections.

[img:center]https://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=14028&filename=Screen%20Shot%202016-01-14%20at%209.09.01%20AM.png[/img]

The main way the help is used now is via search, but you could still just read through it start to finish if you wanted to, unless I am misunderstanding the distinction you are making between the older manuals and the online one we have now?

[Jim Smith]

Thanks, but yeah, I'm a visual learner so I'd like it with a layout like a book. For example, I can go to some of my old textbooks and know what I'm looking for because I have a mental visual map of where on the page & where approximately the page is within the book.

The thing is one like me, can physically browse through a book much more readily than one can online. (I'm old)

At least having an Ebook like structure would help. In fact if this were open source it could possibly be added to with additional chapters & illustrations added to by folks from this BB.

Think Encyclopedia Vector-Britannica

[LarryO]

The biggest help that paper tombs had were extensive indexes in the back to find generalized areas and specifics. Like if you want to find a means to cut an image. With today's often dumb search tools the you might enter CUT IMAGE and it would return references to every time the word cut is used and every time the word image is used. This results in too many items to scan often on multiple pages in no particular order. A great deal of thought went into indexing a volume, not so much these days for search tools. This is especially true when you have a concept of what you want to achieve but don't know what the terminology might be that was used in the electronic manuals to begin a search parameter.

This is also why many internet stores fail to achieve their full potential because the potential buyer doesn't find what they are looking for without wading though everything the store has to offer, and in some cases never finding out if the object is even in the inventory list to begin with.

Edited April 13, 2016 by LarryO

[Jim Smith]

^ 1++