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no 2012 user-guide as pdf anymore?

29 REPLIES 29
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Message 1 of 30
Anonymous
570 Views, 29 Replies

no 2012 user-guide as pdf anymore?

Is there really no PDF for the user-guide and the release notes and the known bugs anymore?

The wiki looks like crap and gives me many error codes - I guess Firefox 4 has some display problems or the database doesn't work...

What is so bad to hand out a well structured pdf?
Where you can easily find some reference information?

Please!


Daniel
29 REPLIES 29
Message 2 of 30
BKM
Advisor
in reply to: Anonymous

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/flame_help_2012_linux.tar.gz

It was well complained about... HTML is the new PDF. You can download a local install HTML help with the link above.

Flame/Smoke Editor
Check out the Premiumbeat Smoke Blog
http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/category/smoke-2/
Message 3 of 30
kweiner
in reply to: Anonymous

Hi Daniel,

I am sorry to hear you are having problems with the wiki.

What kind of error codes are you getting? FF is supported; we use that almost exclusively internally.

As far as the look of it, what are finding problematic?

Thanks,
Kandis
Message 4 of 30
daquake_1
in reply to: Anonymous

I'll miss the pdf option. Always had it up and searches found what I wanted right away. The new wiki site is quite sluggish and its not nearly as convenient as the pdf would have been.
I'm all for trying new things and I'm intrigued with the wiki site... but the pdf manual should have stayed as an option. It will be missed.

James
Message 5 of 30
kweiner
in reply to: daquake_1

Hi James,

Thanks for your feedback.

I'm curious about your experience with the search. What is the issue you are having with it? We believe the search should be better than PDF, so I am curious as to why you are not having that experience.

I agree with you about the performance. It's not really where we want it. But work is ongoing to improve it.

I hope you will keep sticking with the wiki. This is just the beginning and we hope to continue to improve on the experience.

Thanks
Kandis
Creative Finishing doc lead
Message 6 of 30
imag4media
in reply to: Anonymous

Not against trying the wiki, but is there any way peeps have figured out to load onto an ipad? I work at a bunch of facilities and i've found having the manuals on the ipad to be an indispensible resource.

Cheers-
Andy D.
Message 7 of 30
daquake_1
in reply to: imag4media

Agreed! Regularly use(d) the pdf on my iPad via Goodreader.
Message 8 of 30
Jeepers_1
in reply to: Anonymous

I'm sorry to say, I really do not like the Wiki html format. PDF was far better. I miss being able to mousewheel scroll through pages quickly, I miss the visual look, I miss the speed, and I miss the more plentiful graphics/screenshots.

I am actually going to continue to use the 2011 PDF file and only resort to this wiki when it's something that is 2012 specific. Not a good sign...

I think this was a step backwards, at least when it comes to the interface. There should at least be a PDF file available as an option.
Message 9 of 30
minefilms
in reply to: Anonymous

agreed having a PDF manual has so many advantages, seems strange not to offer both.
Message 10 of 30
Jeepers_1
in reply to: Anonymous

Autodesk? Can we get a PDF file as an option at least?

I've been on the box since 1996 and up until now the documentation was always at least progressing in the right direction, 2011 being the best yet. Hate to see it become a frustrating and less useful tool...
Message 11 of 30
kweiner
in reply to: imag4media

Are you talking about having offline access to the wiki on your ipad? The wiki itself runs on portable devices. I view it with my iTouch! Waiting for my ipad. Others in the office view it on their ipad, wireless or 3G, no problem.
Message 12 of 30
kweiner
in reply to: Jeepers_1

Hi Jeepers,

Our hope is that the wiki will become a more useful tool than the PDF, which is why we went this direction.

I hear your frustration, and the frustration of others, that we have not quite hit the right solution (for online/offline viewing).

We take your feedback seriously and are working on a solution.

Feel free to contact me offline if you want to discuss. kandis DOT weiner at Autodesk Dot com

Thanks for your patience.
Kandis
Creative Finishing doc lead
Message 13 of 30
dcmfx
in reply to: Anonymous

I too was disappointed in seeing a wiki help manual, instead of the old reliable easy to search and view pdf file. Hopefully you will bring that back!
Message 14 of 30
imag4media
in reply to: Anonymous

Ok. Another useful thing that I can't seem to find in the wiki, is a simple chart of all the hotkeys, both flame and smoke.
Sometimes I'd rather browse the hotkey ref than search a wiki.
Any insight?

Thx.
Andy D.
Message 15 of 30
bryan.kenny
in reply to: Anonymous

Hi Andy,

For hotkeys, within Smoke or Flame, you can get the most up-to-date information in the Hotkey Editor. Press Ctrl+Alt+F8.
What is nice about this method, is that depending on which module you access the Hotkey Editor from, you'll see the different local, shared, and global hotkeys specific to that module in the Hotkey Catalogue list (it is also searchable).

Thanks, Bryan
Flame/Smoke Doc Team


Bryan Kenny

Help-Learn Tech Writer
Message 16 of 30
Jeepers_1
in reply to: Anonymous

I recently finally sat down with the hot key editor & scrolled through one by one -- I actually learned a whole lot from it & am faster now. The interface is a little frustrating though -- such as trying to 'sort' by hotkey name or function doesn't work the way you would expect. Still, glad to have it, thanks
Message 17 of 30
imag4media
in reply to: Anonymous

Yep. Know about the hotkey editor within the app, but again, its a handy thing to have sitting on ipad/laptop next to me.
Sitting in front of clients it can be a lot more subtle if I check pdf, rather than have an onscreen overlay, that can give them unnecessary concern. Especially handy for those of us that bounce between flame and smoke. (yes i know i can now set flame hotkeys in smoke and vice-versa, but i would like to keep to the methodology the way I have been working.)

Thx
Andy D.
Message 18 of 30
tomerdagan
in reply to: Anonymous

Please PDF
Message 19 of 30
daquake_1
in reply to: Anonymous

After trying to give the wiki a chance... even with considerable speed/stability improvements: it will still lack the instantly available and transparent accessibility that the PDF has offered. I am sure that in time this wiki approach for user research will no doubt prove beneficial to artists, but it can not replace the PDF manual so far as I see.

James
Message 20 of 30
Jeepers_1
in reply to: daquake_1

Agreed. I can see the theoretical long term use of a wiki structure, but as a quick access manual it cannot replace the PDF. I think both should be offered. For now I still rely on the 2011 PDF for pretty much everything.

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