Am I the only one that would like an updated printed manual?

[Resonant- Serpent]

I managed to score a boxed version of Bitwig when I first bought the program a few months back, but the manual in the box is for version 1. So much has changed between 1 and 5, that I'd really like an updated manual.

I learn more quickly with the printed page, and I like to write notes in my manuals.

Amazon has a Print On Demand service that's easy to use and comparatively cheap for the product. There wouldn't be a monetary outlay for getting it printed since it's just a PDF file that gets made when someone wants it. My wife uses the service to print her books, and the printing and binding is quality. You can get it in soft or hard cover. It's free to make an account.

Any chance this could get instituted?

[muzicxs]

You can open the latest manual (PDF) from within Bitwig and print that's as you like?

[nowiamone]

You are not the only one, i would love a printed out manual, favorably in 1-2 months, when it’s updated to v5.1
Only thing hindering me is that it seems to cost around 55 Euros in good quality, which sadly is a bit too much for me!
What's hindering you though? As muzixs said, the PDF is available to open, from Bitwigs help menu, and their website.

[granted]

The biggest issue for companies and printed manuals is that a feature has to be complete to put that feature in a printed manual.
With an PDF or online manual, if the feature ain't done you can just press "DELETE" from the PDF or online manual.
Problem solved.
Imagine a printed manual versus the "paid" plugins fiasco with Bitwig. LOL.
Printed manuals are the bane of "Agile software development".

I also liked printed manuals ...

[Scotty]

Going back to Notator on the Atari, printed manual updates came in the mail and you pulled and replaced the old hole punched pages from the impacted section of the binder. We aren’t likely going back there but that was how I first experienced it.

[Milkman]

Negative. No printed manuals or documents for me. Online manuals and docs only, which are also all stored on my local file server and also my backup archives.

[Jac459]

Am I the only one? ==> yes you are.
Or I guess one of the very few.

Embrace the new way of consuming knowledge, they are much much better.

[Resonant- Serpent]

I could get it printed by a copier, but it would be in a ringed binder and not a proper book binding. What I want is a book that sits on the shelf with my other printed manuals. I have found an online service that would print out the current pdf and put it in a ringed binder, but the cost is higher than what Amazon would charge for an actual book. I can't load the Bitwig manual into Amazon since it's copyrighted material. Local printers won't print anything that looks like a manual because of copyright and they don't want to get sued.

Multiple studies show that most people learn faster and retain more knowledge when reading from a printed page instead of a screen.

[pranaearth]

Instead of a printed manual, I would like a manual that is current with correct information. I follow the workflows and instructions to the T and many of them just don't work. Either because the graphic symbols have changed or features have been moved to other parts of the program. I am a RTFM type of guy and some parts of Bitwig have been frustrating to learn because of these error/outdated information.

[Jac459]

I could get it printed by a copier, but it would be in a ringed binder and not a proper book binding. What I want is a book that sits on the shelf with my other printed manuals. I have found an online service that would print out the current pdf and put it in a ringed binder, but the cost is higher than what Amazon would charge for an actual book. I can't load the Bitwig manual into Amazon since it's copyrighted material. Local printers won't print anything that looks like a manual because of copyright and they don't want to get sued.

Multiple studies show that most people learn faster and retain more knowledge when reading from a printed page instead of a screen.

Well it depends how you learn from the screen.
If you use the fact that you are able to use video, audio, written and context sensitive information, the usage of a computer for learning is trashing paper based learning.
No professional training is done anymore with paper.
In particular in the context ofusic software, having a multimedia platform showing the result of what is done is way way more efficient.
Imagine you are learning polymer, it is showing you the sync button and you can hear at the same time the sync effects, your chance to remember are 1000 better...

Some people are learning visually, some through practicing and seeing, some by hearing.
With paper you adress only one part of the population .
With a well done multimedia content you can produce aonething so much better...

[Dionysos]

Some people are learning visually, some through practicing and seeing, some by hearing.

Learning styles are a fairly well debunked myth.

This doesn't mean that a mix of media isn't probably the best way to learn, and that how one learns is different from person to person.

A well-written paper manual that you can keep on your lap or next to the computer to quickly look things up or follow along a described process is amazing, and it's a shame it's fallen out of fashion.

And let's not kid ourselves to believe that it's fallen out of fashion because it's not a good way to learn. It's simply cheaper and easier not to produce a printed manual. Not just for software, it's the same for household appliances or electronics, too. You're lucky if you get a usable quick start guide with a QR code on it.

[Jac459]

Some people are learning visually, some through practicing and seeing, some by hearing.

Learning styles are a fairly well debunked myth.

This doesn't mean that a mix of media isn't probably the best way to learn, and that how one learns is different from person to person.

A well-written paper manual that you can keep on your lap or next to the computer to quickly look things up or follow along a described process is amazing, and it's a shame it's fallen out of fashion.

And let's not kid ourselves to believe that it's fallen out of fashion because it's not a good way to learn. It's simply cheaper and easier not to produce a printed manual. Not just for software, it's the same for household appliances or electronics, too. You're lucky if you get a usable quick start guide with a QR code on it.

I couldn't access your link unfortunately.

But I think I disagree with you on the book aspect. I loved books and spent my university time not going to university and learning better from books.

But I really feel it is a pattern which will die... we are the last generation using it.
Our kids won't.... it is obsolete.

One of the big risk I was seeing about the disappearance of books is the disappearance of "slow pleasures".
"Slow pleasure" for me is the capacity to start an activity not immediately gratifying but gratifying in long term. Typically reading a book.
Observing my kids, they managed to create their own "slow pleasure" for example with coding, new language learning music creation...

[Dionysos]

But I think I disagree with you on the book aspect. I loved books and spent my university time not going to university and learning better from books.

But I really feel it is a pattern which will die... we are the last generation using it.
Our kids won't.... it is obsolete.

People said the same thing about a decade ago when e-readers got big. Now those are on the decline again and books keep being popular. I think your anecdotal evidence may be giving you a wrong impression – books aren't going anywhere.

The pack-in manual is dead, absolutely. But again, I think that's for cost reasons, not because people don't find them useful. (And I also realise that it's probably always been a minority of people who didn't straight-up ignore any piece of paper packaged with anything. That doesn't mean that a QR code is an appropriate replacement for people who like to read manuals. It also doesn't help that most manuals are badly translated, incomprehensible pieces of garbage.)

[BobDog]

Big iPad and GoodReader, perfect for pdf files.

E-readers are not up to pdf, I have had loads of them. Not quick enough for moving around, good for novels though.

[BobDog]

HTML manuals, no thanks. Perfect example of how crap they can be: https://manual.yamaha.com/mi/de/fgdp50/en/