DP5 pdf manual?

[Wesley]

Is there a PDF somewhere of the entire DP5 manual?

The DP manual is annoying. I can't stand this thick heavy book that you can't lay out flat and would prefer to print out just the chapters I intend to read and then spiral bind them in two or three volumes.

TIA

[James Steele]

Is there a PDF somewhere of the entire DP5 manual?

The DP manual is annoying. I can't stand this thick heavy book that you can't lay out flat and would prefer to print out just the chapters I intend to read and then spiral bind them in two or three volumes.

TIA

Nope... there is no offical PDF manual and if there were some unofficial one out there it would be in violation of MOTU's copyright.

[grimepoch]

There is always the option of pulling the book apart! I don't think it voids your warranty Hehe.

[billf]

Is there a PDF somewhere of the entire DP5 manual?

The DP manual is annoying. I can't stand this thick heavy book that you can't lay out flat and would prefer to print out just the chapters I intend to read and then spiral bind them in two or three volumes.

TIA

Well you can always trade in DP and buy Logic and suffer through their monster PDF manual. Personally I think 1100 page PDF's of large manuals are just way too cumbersome to deal with.

[midilance]

The Quick Start manual isn't bad for just the basics. Also, I got that book from Berklee Press and it had some value. Also, the instructional videos are a help.

After these, the full blown manual becomes more helpful because you've got more of a foundation. Then you just use it by going to the index. Actually, back in Performer 4.12 I read the manual cover to cover and used yellow highlighting and found out all kinds of cool stuff. I really ought to do it again. DP is better than we realize at times.

[Wesley]

Well you can always trade in DP and buy Logic and suffer through their monster PDF manual. Personally I think 1100 page PDF's of large manuals are just way too cumbersome to deal with.

Trading in DP for Logic on account of the manual seems a bit extreme to me. It was just a simple question. Printing out just the chapters I need and binding them in two or three volumes where I can lay them out flat on the stand in front of me which I read from is actually better...for me. Wasn't really asking if anyone thought it was a good idea or not. Thanks anyway.

[bdr]

You could possibly print out ther help topics from within DP and organise it as you wish. Also check out Robin Bigwood's great columns on DP in Sound on Sound, all except the most recent 6 are freely available online, a lot of great resources there.

[Mr_Clifford]

Printing out just the chapters I need and binding them in two or three volumes where I can lay them out flat on the stand in front of me which I read from is actually better...for me.

There's always the old humble photocopier..... I'm sure MOTU wouldn't sue you for a single personal copy of a few of the chapters. If you started selling it on ebay...... well that would be another thing.

Remember that the manual is effectively the only copy protection device on DP. Hence why the .pdf maual thing is a bit of a touchy subject around here.

[Frodo]

One thing I've done is to take the manuals to Kinko's or some other quick service document store. They can strip the binding and create coil-bound segments (as opposed to the awful comb-bound segments). The manual can be split into as many different volumes as you like.

This doesn't infringe on any copyrights and allows for smaller bits of the manual to be laid out flat. I've got my manual divided as follows:

From DP5's Table of Contents

Segment 1-- DP parts 1-2 (project and workspace)
Segment 2-- DP part 3 (playing and recording)
Segment 3-- DP part 4 (editing)
Segment 4-- DP parts 5-6 (arranging and mixing)
Segment 5-- DP parts 7-12 (the rest of the manual plus PDFs and blank pages for notes)

That may be more than what some might want to deal with, but it does help.

[mcevilley]

One thing I've done is to take the manuals to Kinko's or some other quick service document store. They can strip the binding and create coil-bound segments (as opposed to the awful comb-bound segments). The manual can be split into as many different volumes as you like.

This doesn't infringe on any copyrights and allows for smaller bits of the manual to be laid out flat. I've got my manual divided as follows:

From DP5's Table of Contents

Segment 1-- DP parts 1-2 (project and workspace)
Segment 2-- DP part 3 (playing and recording)
Segment 3-- DP part 4 (editing)
Segment 4-- DP parts 5-6 (arranging and mixing)
Segment 5-- DP parts 7-12 (the rest of the manual plus PDFs and blank pages for notes)

That may be more than what some might want to deal with, but it does help.

Damn! Now that's organization! I can't even find mine half of the time.

[Frodo]

Damn! Now that's organization! I can't even find mine half of the time.

LOL! I don't know how proud I am of this. I seem to spend as much or more time getting organized as I do getting creative!

[The Sinner]

Could this all be a cleverly orchestrated question to learn the methodoligy needed to fufill a darker purpose?

SINNA - watching too much CSI lately

[Wesley]

I'll just deal with this manual as is for now. Maybe 3rd party versions for DP5 will be released before too long and I can just use this one for occasional reference. I didn't know asking about a pdf version was taboo. I'm new guys. Sorry. Never equated a manual with a "security feature". That's a new one on me. All of my other programs come with a pdf version, even if they come with a printed one as well. I just wish MOTU realized the unwieldiness of a 2 inch thick manual that can't be laid out flat.

[James Steele]

I'll just deal with this manual as is for now. Maybe 3rd party versions for DP5 will be released before too long and I can just use this one for occasional reference. I didn't know asking about a pdf version was taboo. I'm new guys. Sorry. Never equated a manual with a "security feature". That's a new one on me. All of my other programs come with a pdf version, even if they come with a printed one as well. I just wish MOTU realized the unwieldiness of a 2 inch thick manual that can't be laid out flat.

"Taboo" is too strong a word really. You have to understand that UnicorNation has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to software piracy. Piracy is theft. It is illegal. It is wrong. Most of us here on UnicorNation realize this.

In the recent past, there have been posts by individuals asking for PDFs and it soon became apparent in the discussion (due to their lack of understanding of some very basic DP concepts) that they had NO manual and were using a pirated copy of DP. As is the policy here, they were swiftly deleted and IP blocked.

This is certainly NOT the case with you and your inquiry. I totally understand. Many people would like to have a PDF for convenience. I can't speak to any official MOTU policy as this board is not affilliated with MOTU, but many of us suspect that MOTU prefers not to have a PDF manual because it would be easily distributed online amongst software pirates. This way a printed manual provides incentive to do the right thing and BUY Digital Performer.

[Guitar Gaz]

This is certainly NOT the case with you and your inquiry. I totally understand. Many people would like to have a PDF for convenience. I can't speak to any official MOTU policy as this board is not affilliated with MOTU, but many of us suspect that MOTU prefers not to have a PDF manual because it would be easily distributed online amongst software pirates. This way a printed manual provides incentive to do the right thing and BUY Digital Performer.

DP is password driven though so not sure how the manual protects you - if you lose it does that make you seem like a pirate?

I have commented many times on the manual and its difficulities for new users "as they perceive them" - I personally hate having the split page with 2 columns as I find it difficult to read (just used to books I guess that don't have two columns). Also I find too many blind alleys with index references. I know Vision very well and find the manual great - no doubt if I knew DP as well as Shooshie and you others, I would also find the DP manual great. There are other books out there on DP - I have 2 - but in the end I found more use from the DP tips on this site, and asking stupid questions. I found customising the Key Commands one way of sorting out how I used and wanted to use DP - but we all do things differently. I don't think a pdf would make much difference to be honest - as someone else said - there is always the photocopier.