paper manual, online manual or PDF on your computer/phone?

[pcake]

which do you prefer when you get an amp, camera, food processor or whatever? do you want a physical paper manual, do you use the online manual or do you want a PDF on your harddrive or mobile - or do you prefer some combination of the three?

i was wondering this because i notice a lot of guys on the camera board i habituate aren't happy that they get a physical quick start guide but must use electronic versions of the full manual. they want to bring the manual with them, and i sort of get that, but when i brought a camera with odd menus along, i used the online manual on my phone. and there was a reason for that - searchabilty. a lot of cameras with odd menus also had odd terms and features, so being able to search a PDF was super useful to me.

what say you, fellow TBers? physical manual, online or on your computer/laptop/phone? or the carrot option, of course

 

[Stumbo]

All of them, including the carrots,

 

[MJ5150]

PDF all the way. I don't like paper. Plus, in a tiny home, space is premium. We no longer have a file cabinet and have no intention of getting another one.

-Mike

 

[fdeck]

Meh, I don't read manuals. Just make it work.

 

[Corbusier]

The manual for the Orange Crush 100 amp is one sheet front and back. In this instance, paper seems just fine.

 

[Oddly]

Online manual.
However, with something like your example of a camera where you could be conceivably away from a means of getting online, then I'd save a pdf to my phone.

 

[Ghook]

PDF on my phone or on Drive. As a young man I rarely relied on a manual. Now I buy a product after I have DL'd the manuel. I wasted a lot of time hunt and pecking not reading the da*n manuel . I even read the manual for my wife's cameras, she never does.

 

[MynameisMe]

I print out only the pages pertaining to me, so PDF.

 

[pcake]

Meh, I don't read manuals. Just make it work.

that made me *LOL*

Online manual.
However, with something like your example of a camera where you could be conceivably away from a means of getting online, then I'd save a pdf to my phone.

that's a good idea in case you end up with poor or no signal. my husband saves his camera manuals on his phone.

 

[farace]

I think it depends on where it's going to be used. I don't mind PDFs on my iPad for many things, but if I have to bring it out to the garage--some gas-powered yard implement, say--I prefer it on paper. Though sometimes I'll take it any way I can get it--for instance, I can't find where I left the paper manual for my Homelite trimmer, and can't find a copy online!

 

[JMacBass65]

If I can't figure out a device without a manual, the device is poorly designed. But......If I do want to check the manual for specs or something, I'm happy to go on line and download a PDF, and save it to a file on my computer. About the only paper I tolerate these days, I use to wipe......never mind.

 

[Nashrakh]

If I can't figure out a device without a manual, the device is poorly designed.

Remember your first time behind the wheel? I certainly wouldn't have gotten ANYWHERE in that thing without guidance.

 

[garp]

Much prefer the old-fashioned printed manuals, but I've noticed that some manufacturers don't even produce them any longer because "everything is on the internet." Meh. More evidence of the decline of Western civilization.

 

[JRA]

do you prefer some combination of the three?

I think it depends on where it's going to be used.

for me: a PDF is fine for quick referencing, but if i have to 'study' a lot of material (especially with a lot of cross-referencing) i'd prefer it to be paper --- in my hands.

 

[Beersurgeon]

I like both PDF on my computer and a paper copy. Getting older, I like to have a manual handy and learned that I have saved time by reading the manual first....

 

[Mike N]

Paper.

 

[viribus]

If we’re talking about a camera with any advanced capabilities at all such as exposure controls etc, I want a paper manual.

For a lot of stuff, a PDF I can access on my phone or iPad is ok. I have a few PDF manuals stored as books I can access at any time.

 

[mrcbass]

As long a I can paperize it if needed, I'm fine with a PDF. I hate troublshooting one technology while fighitng with another - and underlining and highlighting my PC monitor gets messy sometimes.....

If I get a paper manual or have to print it, it goes in a binder I have for all my musical stuff -only way I'd ever find it if I needed it....

 

[fhm555]

which do you prefer when you get an amp, camera, food processor or whatever? do you want a physical paper manual, do you use the online manual or do you want a PDF on your harddrive or mobile - or do you prefer some combination of the three?

i was wondering this because i notice a lot of guys on the camera board i habituate aren't happy that they get a physical quick start guide but must use electronic versions of the full manual. they want to bring the manual with them, and i sort of get that, but when i brought a camera with odd menus along, i used the online manual on my phone. and there was a reason for that - searchabilty. a lot of cameras with odd menus also had odd terms and features, so being able to search a PDF was super useful to me.

what say you, fellow TBers? physical manual, online or on your computer/laptop/phone? or the carrot option, of course

Online manuals have been a godsend to me on more than one occasion. I do repairs on all manner of stuff and some of it is old enough a paper manual would be impossible to find, but it’s rare i can’t find something online, even if it’s some photos of the manual pages. Stuff i do regularly i prefer a PDF on my computer. All that said, i grew up on paper manuals and would prefer them to anything else if possible. I’ve got a ton of old service manuals for cars, motorcycles, etc.

 

[pcake]

Online manuals have been a godsend to me on more than one occasion. I do repairs on all manner of stuff and some of it is old enough a paper manual would be impossible to find, but it’s rare i can’t find something online, even if it’s some photos of the manual pages. Stuff i do regularly i prefer a PDF on my computer. All that said, i grew up on paper manuals and would prefer them to anything else if possible. I’ve got a ton of old service manuals for cars, motorcycles, etc.

when we unpacked after our move in 2013, we found manuals for cars and products we hadn't seen in years - decades, even