Does a DP9 Owners Manual Exist in Book Form?

[tommymandel]

In the old days, posing this question was like hanging an "I'm a Pirate" sign around ones neck. But though I can find the Big Book for DP 8, 7, and 5 acting as laptop stands, and balancing plywood boards turned into to shelves in my 'studio', I can't find my DP9 book.

Is this because, with the coming of .pdf Manuals, the book was no longer printed, or was a buy-me-extra option? Or is mine lurking somewhere around here? Thanks,

and no I'm not a Pirate.

[cuttime]

Nope. DP9 was the first pdf only version. It only shipped with a printed "Getting Started" book. Think of all the trees it saved . The most use I get out of my iPad these days is keeping all my pdf manuals on it.

[mikehalloran]

For many of us, the .pdf manual is a great thing because you can search it. Type a word or two relating to your lookup and it immediately tells you how many pages contain it. The actual words are highlighted on each page. Use the up/down arrows to scroll rapidly through the pages till you see the one that has the directions you need.

For example, type bounce and you'll see that it's found on 46 pages. If I type bounce disk or bounce to disk, that brings up 41 pages containing all of the words. It takes me about 15 seconds to glance at each page in succession. You can also scroll through the index on the left to see if a paragraph will get you there sooner because you recognize it.

Having multiple screens or an iPad next to you is a good idea but not absolutely necessary.

I wish that someone at MakeMusic understood how much better this is than online help files. Finale has not had a searchable .pdf since 2012. With Finale support, you type in your key word(s) and you get a list of links, any one of which may contain your answer. You then must open each link and back out to see which contains the directions you need. I recently looked for something in Finale and it popped up 146 links!!! Fortunately, the answer wasn't much different than as described in the 2012 user guide and I found it quickly there. Making matters worse, MM has now discontinued phone support and often what you need isn't even in the help files.

When Logic Pro 9 came out, Apple dispensed with the 11 pounds of manuals (I weighed the package) that shipped with LP 8 and went to online help files. The user base screamed, myself included, and in less than two months, there were .pdf files. Yes, many still wanted the print manuals but that will never happen again. I sold my brick of paper to an LP 9 user for a couple hundred dollars — she figured that out of date print manuals were better than nothing. "If it makes you happy…"

[tommymandel]

Thanks guys!
I feel better knowing I didn't misplace it.
I'm good with the searchable .pdf idea as well.
The Help in the menu bar has disappointed me a few times, so I'll alias the .pdf and leave that on a Spaces screen.
Thanks sgain.,