[Bf-docboard] The pdf version of User's manual is 15 months old- How about a new one?

[Raindrops From Sky]

For sure, John! I have followed your book right from the beginning.

Then there is another excellent book called 'Blender Basics', by James
Chronister.
http://www.cdschools.org/54223045235521/lib/54223045235521/BlenderBasics_4thEdition2011.pdf

Both these books are meant for beginners; so they cover only the
basics of each topic.
Too much detail would overwhelm and discourage a newbie; so this is
the right approach.
Once the self-confidence of the user grows, he is expected to explore
the Blender GUI further on his own.

On the other hand, a User Manual must explain the GUI fully, screen-by-screen.
It is supposed to provide reference information to users with all
expertise levels.

I want to create a comprehensive user's manual that goes beyond a
visual tour of Blender.

Here are two examples of my approach:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/lmms/files/UserManual/UserManual_0.4.12.1_2011-08-30.pdf/download
http://www.den4b.com/wiki/ReNamer

The common theme in my user manuals is that they explain how each
screen works, explain the working principles; and provide further
references for the more enlightened reader.

They change significantly based on the needs of the target application:

The ReNamer is a small application with a workflow-based GUI.
Therefore its manual has mostly screen-by-screen explanation (with
examples). However, the manual also treats two complex topics: RegEx
and Pascal script. There are several flavors of RegEx, so it was
necessary explain the flavor used in ReNamer. On the other hand,
Pascal Script is not so widely used, so it is difficult to find good
tutorials on it. So I added a quick guide on the subject.

Check them out!
http://www.den4b.com/wiki/ReNamer:Pascal_Script:Quick_guide
http://www.den4b.com/wiki/ReNamer:Regular_Expressions

On the other hand, LMMS is a complex application with totally
non-conventional controls and a large number of interrelated windows.
Further, the users are not expected to be familiar with the theory of
music. So this manual follows a totally different approach: The
musical/acoustic terms are explained first, with further reference to
Wikipedia. Then a functional diagram of LMMS is given. That is
followed by the screen-by-screen explanation. At all times, the
interrelationship between different windows is highlighted.

Blender is at a much higher level compared to LMMS, with many
underlying principles to be explained. So its user manual has to be
even more comprehensive.

To conclude, the User's Manual I am proposing is quite different from
the existing books.
It is a reference book that can also be read from cover to cover, by
newbies and pros alike.

Best regards,
Narayan

On 9/25/11, John Blain <silverjb12 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Narayan
>
> In this discussion what sort of a PDF manual are you guys discussing? My
> Blender 2.59 PDF manual is there for grabs if you want a book for beginners.
>
> http://silverjb.limewebs.com/index.html
>
> Regards
>
> John Blain
>
> On 24 September 2011 19:09, Raindrops From Sky
> <raindrops.fromsky at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Actually we should NOT expect a 15-months old manual to be in demand any
>> more; especially because the new 2.5x Blender is totally different.
>>
>> Let us not question whether this project is worth the effort.
>> I would be happy to put all the effort in making the new pdf manual.
>>
>> That leaves only the task of installing the extension to export as odt. So
>> let us simply go ahead and do it! :)
>>
>> BTW the pdf would NOT be a direct transcription of wiki, but a totally
>> different creation.
>> Compare the LMMS wiki with the pdf manual I created; and see what I mean.
>>
>> If the "export as odt" extension is not available, I could rip the website
>> with Httrack and make the manual.
>> I propose to release the pdf manual with CC license.
>> Please let me know if there are any issues with this idea.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Narayan
>>
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>>
>