As you may or may not know, I’m a strong advocate for documentation in electronic formats. Whenever possible, I avoid printing — documentation, or anything else for that matter. Part of that is the environmentalist in me. But I also don’t see the need for having a pile of paper, whether or not it’s bound, in front of my while I’m using or learning software.

Everything I need can be in a PDF file or an online help system. If I find some useful bit of documentation on the Web, then I bookmark it. Services like Delicious and Google Bookmarks make it easy to get access to those bookmarks no matter where I am.

Over the holidays, I was playing with my nephew’s iPod Touch. While getting my fingerprints all over that device, a few of the thoughts I’d been having about not having printed documentation bubbled to the surface of my brain.

Electronic documentation isn’t for everything

In fact, electronic documentation can be a pain to use on or with a device like a iPod Touch or a smartphone. You have to flip between the help screen and the application. That slows you down. And forget about the average mobile phone or MP3 player. Who really wants to boot up their desktop or laptop computer to read the documentation, especially when you want to start using the device ASAP? Not me!

That’s where printed documentation definitely comes in handy. Depending on the device, printing a manual doesn’t need to kill all that many trees. A short 10-12 page guide, which literally fits into the palm of your hand, is usually more than enough. That, according to my nephew, is about the size of the manual that came with his iPod Touch. An even shorter one came with a device called the WikiReader that I reviewed last year.

Admittedly, both the iPod Touch and the WikiReader are simple devices — the WikiReader more so. But even with complex devices, like medical equipment or various types of machinery, it’s easier to have a printed manual on hand than it is to read a PDF or help file on a screen.

For technicians in the field repairing large pieces of equipment, like printers or copiers, hard copy documentation is a must.

Why not use a mobile device to deliver the documentation?

That could work in some situations, but mobile devices have their limitations. They tend to run out of juice just when you need them the most. They can easily be lost, stolen, or damaged. Some people might find it hard to read small screens. As well, people working in the field might not have wired or wireless network access, so getting to a central repository of information will be impossible.

Sure, they could have the documents on a laptop but there might not be enough space for these devices in a work area. Again, there are the ever-present dangers of the battery running dry and not being able to plug in. Once, I saw a printer repair technician knock a laptop computer off its precarious perch on to the floor three feet below. A grown man crying isn’t a pretty sight …

Printed manuals can be lost and damaged, too. But it’s cheaper to replace them than to replace an expensive piece of electronics.

Thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment.

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

Related posts:

1. Is printed documentation dead?
2. Creating documentation for the small screen
3. How much documentation does a mobile device need?