Printable User Guide

Question

Level 1

136 points

Printable User Guide

Maybe I'm odd, but I am extremely uncomfortable reading a 200+ page PDF document at my computer, so of course I tried to print out sections of the User Guide so that I could actually read them. However, the User Guide has a weird page size and it won't print right. I tried printing it from Preview, and after suffering defeat, moved the PDF file to a Windows machine and tried printing it from Adobe Acrobat 7. It has completely defeated me.

The User Guide is too huge to be a PDF. Is there a printable version with standard-sized pages? Or is it available in print form? I would like to read this document.

iMac Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on Jan 15, 2006 3:11 PM

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Answer 1

Max Fabre

Level 3

530 points

Jan 15, 2006 5:08 PM in response to Ken Collins

It's hard to answer definitively, since printers and drivers may differ.

However the PDF is set up for printing on A5, single sided (all the margins are on the left). I've tried it on a Canon iP90 and it works fine. You may wish to adjust for fine print and special effects if your driver has them - but be prepared to spend a bit of ink.

There is a scaling option in Preview Preferences, too, which you may need to check. 100% works for A5 with this file, but if you'd prefer A4 try 200%, or you may consider using your printer's scaling option as an alternative (mine has "scale to paper size" as an option).

The iP90 also has an option to reset the margins for two sided printing with a booklet stapled left (though you have to print odd pages first and turn them over for the evens. You may care to experiment with the equivalent, if you have it on your printers. I'll only be running the pages I need to for reference to the new features of Pages 2 myself. Otherwise it's a pretty long job, even for a laser.

And no, you're not odd. Why would anyone buy Pages if they didn't want hard copy? Computers will never obsolete books, they only help us write them.

I suggest you also provide feedback to the Pages team. The guide should come as a booklet with the package. You want it when your computer's busy!

Cheers.

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

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Answer 2

Ken Collins Author

Level 1

136 points

Jan 15, 2006 5:35 PM in response to Max Fabre

None of that works for me, because I'm in the US. We don't use standard measurements. Only five countries use our chaotic measurement "system," and the second-most important one in terms of world trade is Liberia. So I can't get or use A4 or A5 paper. I'm stuck with 8.5 x 11 inches, which is shorter and wider than A4. When I print out the manual, each page takes up 50% of the page with huge margins on all sides. If I try to print it two-up, it's not legible, and if I try to magnify it beyond 100%, it is too huge to fit on the page.

I have a duplex printer and Adobe can print a range of pages as a booklet, so the hard part is easy. It's the easy part that's hard--getting the thing to print out a legible size and without wasting a humongous amount of paper.

I need a localized, nonstandard solution for the US.

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Answer 3

Suz.

Level 2

306 points

Jan 16, 2006 9:03 AM in response to Ken Collins

didn't your app come boxed with the two paperback manuals, one for Pages and one for Keynote? Mine did (tg). The PDF is the same exact thing as those are.

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Answer 4

DennisG

Level 5

6,518 points

Jan 16, 2006 10:00 AM in response to Suz.

Suz,

The PDF and the printed manuals are very different. The printed manuals are abbreviated quick-start guides, while the PDF versions are very comprehensive.

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Answer 5

Suz.

Level 2

306 points

Jan 16, 2006 12:20 PM in response to DennisG

The looked pretty much the same to me (at a short looksee)...I guess it's a good thing that I didn't trash...thanks for pointing it out to me.

I love instructions to things. That's why I'm so disturbed that my HelpViewer still doesn't work right.

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Answer 6

Ken Collins Author

Level 1

136 points

Jan 16, 2006 2:31 PM in response to Suz.

After a lot of experimentation, I was able to print it out at 150%. The margins were uneven, so it is evident that it was set up for a different page format.

The PDF is quite different from the little printed book; it is 255 pages long and very detailed. I'm sure Adobe thinks differently, but any documentation that is longer than about 30 pages needs to be available in printed form. (One of my jobs involves writing documentation for custom software.)

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