Availability of Version 10.40 X-plane 10 Manual as a download instead of a desktop version?

Question

The x-plane 10 manual supplied as a PDF via installation, upgrade and or download is version 10.25 and located in the Instructions sub-directory.  It is well laid out and easy to locate sections via the contents pages.  Sections and pages are numbered.

The on-line desktop version of the manual is 10.40.  This version is not a clean easy to read document.  Depending on where it is viewed there may be a contents section down the side of the page.  Sections and pages are not numbered making it difficult to use, particularly as a quick reference.

Two questions:-

1.  When will the download version of 10.25 be upgraded to 10.40? and

2. Is there any intention of creating a more professional looking desktop manual, currently 10.40, to resemble the version provided in the X-Plane software download or disk version?

Glenn

Comments

Any manual is welcomed, so thanks for that. IMO sections and pages should always be numbered, and TOC should always be included. Then you can convert the manual to a PDF in iBooks and read it anytime off-line. I do not mind the on-line version too much because it is hyper texted for quick moving to sections, and the back button takes you back to the TOC at anytime (one thing though, if I close the TOC I do not know how to get it back?!).  Love X-Plane!

Answer 1

Hi Glenn,

Somehow we have missed getting the newer manual included in the last few updates. We do have a pdf of the 10.40 manual, but it is based on the online one you don't like--the formatting is very simple and it is basically a one page document.

For the online manual, the way the table of contents displays is dependent upon the size of your browser. If the window is too small, the ToC is only located at the top of the manual. I think it is much more useful when it's always visible at the side, so try enlarging the window if you can.

Can you give me more specifics on what you find easier to use about the PDF manual? Is it just that there are individual pages and that they're numbered?

Comments

Thank you for the response.

I am a Civil Engineer by profession (now retired) wanting to get into Flight Simulation.  Although I have copies of FS2000, FS2004 and FSX I have chosen to go with X-plane 10 as my preferred flight simulator.

During my daily 8am to 5pm working life I have always insisted upon having hard copy documentation whether it be on-file or manuals related to the project.  Although since the early 1980s the theory of having electronic versions to reduce the hard copy need has always been at the fore-front I accepted that concept but also made sure that the documentation was freely available in hard copy and current version format for others who had a need for it.  It meant that they would not need to search on some obscure storage device which may be difficult to navigate. They would be able to look at a hard copy at any time to make the relevant quick reference and or decision.

It is this past history mentallity that I was seeking to print a current hard copy version, correctly formatted for quick refence ie a contents page with all sections numbered and pages numbered.  The PDF X-Plane 10 Manual document supplied with the software under the sub directory Instructions meets my preference for style etc of the document.  This document is about 190 pages in length when viewed through Adobe PDF Reader.

The Read Online version of the manual does have a side bar contents page providing access to the relevant chapters and sections when clicked. The chapters can also be expanded to show sub-sections.  If the "preview file" option is selected through "File" top left corner, the document appears to be over 300 pages in length.  If the Read On-Line version is converted to PDF through "pdfcrowd" as suggested at the end of the second paragraph, first page, the length of the document then becomes 482 pages in length.  The print font size is also very large.

The on-line download PDF version has no contents page and as you mention it appears as a single "long page" document.  However if the preview document option is chosen it is split into  157 again with no Contents page and the individual pages not numbered.  Again this makes a subject search difficult.

Thank you for considering my lengthy rambling "waffle".

Glenn

 

 

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Agree 100% with Glenn's comments. I find it difficult and annoying to be flipping back and forth, guessing at best, where I might find a specific answer to a particular question in the 10.40 desktop manual.

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To oldngray635

Thank you for your support.

Glenn