This came in my E mail today.. 
 
http://page.cakewalk.com/Audio-Setup-Checklist.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTVdSa1kyRmlaV0l3TTJOaCIsInQiOiJaN0ZjZk5jRDk3ZDNDTkFDOXU2VE96NUNGclA1SnorY2p4RnNPSHozVHo5Z0R2eHYwQXg1RWphTG93VThDZnlBXC9Kd3hwendEeTJKMDdwaUpcL0M2K0RNN1o2V3lLeWtJVVMyUDdQWHFMc2IwPSJ9
 
I find it falls short in a lot of ways. 
 
First 

I hear garbled playback

• Go to Edit > Preferences > Driver Settings > Mixing Latency
  • Click ASIO Panel
• Set latency (ms) to highest possible settings
• Close ASIO Panel
• Click Apply
• Click Close

OK that might solve the problem but you've left the user at a ridiculous setting. Would not increase your buffer until the issue stops be better advice? 
 

I can’t hear my MIDI tracks

• Click the + (Add Track) button in the Track view
• Click the Instrument tab
• Click Create
• Start playback

This one has me scratching my head too... You still won't hear anything until you insert a soft synth. 
 
Hate to bug you guy's but I find the help files almost useless sometimes and this is why we need this forum, otherwise we are left in the dark. 
 

Let's write a version we think would actually be helpful.

Products that have well thought out, clear, informative instructions will always get a big thumbs up from consumers. 
Yamaha once wrote such a great manual for one of it's mixers that everybody wanted a copy, even if they didn't own a Yamaha mixer. It became the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement  Handbook  https://www.amazon.ca/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008
  a bible for sound engineers around the world.  
 
Having us write the manual Bob, is the opposite of what should happen. Good manual writers are probably hard to come by. You need both understanding of the product and awesome writing skills. 
But they could certainly do better than what we have. 
Or at least make it easy to find. 
I gave up looking for the tool editor the other day. Luckily someone re posted the link on the forum. 
 

Agreed that the basics need to be clearer, but of course there's a lot more than basics involved. Doing complete documentation for a DAW is a major undertaking for companies. I think you'll find that by and large, the best manuals are ones where the manufacturer hired someone to do them.
 
With a couple other companies, I suggested a Wiki-style crowdsourced manual where the manufacturer would have an editor. My premise was that the time required to edit would be less than the time required to write. It was never tried, and probably has issues I didn't foresee, but with a program like SONAR there are so many nooks, crannies, and applications I feel it's too much for any one person to handle.

Cactus Music
Products that have well thought out, clear, informative instructions will always get a big thumbs up from consumers. 
Yamaha once wrote such a great manual for one of it's mixers that everybody wanted a copy, even if they didn't own a Yamaha mixer. It became the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement  Handbook  https://www.amazon.ca/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008
  a bible for sound engineers around the world.  
 

I used to recommend the user manual for the old Mackie 8-bus console to recording newbs.  A real hoot to read, and without your realizing it, you were picking up solid recording/mixer signal path knowledge.
 
In fact, all of Mackie's manuals were irreverently entertaining in that way.  (I haven't read any recently, though I think those original writers are long gone from Mackie).

Yes Mackie wrote some down home, fun to read manuals, I'm not so sure they still do.. 
 
Thanks for you thoughts Craig, you came to mind when I was thinking of someone who can actually write.. you do get long winded however :)  just kidding..  you obviously type fast, like Beep. 
 
It's the basic starting out part I think needs some down to earth in your face , logical , straight up,  plain talking updating. 
 
The first paragraph: 
Thank you for purchasing Sonar and welcome to the endless creative possibilities now in your life. 
But before you even open Sonar you will need to consider your hardware first. 
Please follow the instructions for optimising your computer for audio. 
You will also need an Audio Interface for optimum performance. Example a nice new Tascam us 2x2. 
Please don't complain to us if your trying to use on board audio codex or an old outdated system. 
etc etc... 

Anderton
With a couple other companies, I suggested a Wiki-style crowdsourced manual where the manufacturer would have an editor. My premise was that the time required to edit would be less than the time required to write.

Having done a lot of technical writing (and final editing of co-worker writing), I don't believe this. Time to edit can easily exceed time required to write from scratch if approach, styles, etc don't match, writing is too wordy and not to the point (very often the case)
 
Writing manuals is an expensive tasks and actually there are not too many people out there who can do that properly. BTW, the same applies to books you can buy i.e. being a knowledgeable engineer does not make you a writer yet. I just recently threw a (relatively) renowned technical book into the trash because it was too wordy, not to the point and not informative enough where it should have been...
 
Videos seem to be todays solution to everything, but I don't believe in the lasting value of that, either. They get outdated as quickly as manuals but don't allow for incremental updates. (plus I personally hate to sit through a video to hear about something that text search could have revealed in seconds)
 
The safest bet for software development is to design intuitive GUIs that don't require much explanation ...

Rob[atSound-Rehab]
 
The safest bet for software development is to design intuitive GUIs that don't require much explanation ...

While I agree with this sentiment, it's easier said than done. The deeper our tools become, the steeper the learning curve. There is no real way around this.
I do share your thoughts on text and I agree that while video may seem like the tool of the future, it still doesn't capture what reading can (its ease of search functions).
 
However with the increasing use of You Tube, video is over powering text now a day.
And there are some things that simply cant be explained in text as can in video (seeing is believing).
 
Back to the OP's original post, I would like to see future enhancements to the Help files. the E-zine is key for me with new Sonar features. I would also like to see a more productive way to download the help files through command center. Downloading a 500+GB file for just a few updates is preposterous.
 

Having a Learning Assistant Teacher for a Daughter and long talks about the subject of how we are all different when it comes to learning.  ( there's a hanging sentence for you editors)
 
Anyhow this is the reason we should not limit teaching resources available to the new user to any one format. I found this so true when teaching guitar. With some students it was a waste of time to write anything down on paper. They needed me to "show them how" This is where the video format now available shine.
 
Myself I have never watched more than 2 minutes of any of these videos. I find them slow and I don't have time to sit there watching them. The people who make them seem to be poor communicators and dull as a brick.  So videos are a pour choice for me. I can scan documentation and modern PDF files to quickly find the one paragraph I need.
But it's disappointing to find that spot in the document and it's poorly written and does not contain the whole story.
 
I agree with Rob- make the software obviously helpful using well thought out GUI. Little pop up balloons that give brief instructions or link to further reading ( or videos)
 
I realize it's added expense to producing a product, but myself think it is money well spent if you want to win over new clients. Producing the most amazing DAW on the planet will not get you far if no one can figure out how it works.

CW implemented the Help Module in 2016.03 update. I have it open on my system. Does anyone else use it?  
As far as the PDF manual is concerned, I am very much in favor of it being updated as soon as possible. I use it often. I also consider it the "Bible" for Sonar. Much of the help I offer on this forum is based on providing excerpts from it.  At present it is woefully out of date. Its CW's fault due to their rapid and constant improvements.