Willy has requested a thread about this subject.
 
Historically, the SONAR Reference Guide (the SONAR help in pdf format) was created from a snapshot of the help for  a version of SONAR within a month or so of release. The pdf would not be updated. Instead the local chm and more recently the web-based help files would get updates. Now the  local chm and web-based help files are updated with the release of program updates. How often should the reference guide be updated?
 
 

Sorry Scook - I voted before I read your post completely. I feel it should be updated "more" frequently, but understand that monthly is probably (possibly) excessive - especially if this affects resources applied to program fixes and enhancements.
That being said, I would believe that it shouldn't be a big deal to generate a pdf of the help file, should it?
No offence to Cake, but an up to date Reference Guide is more important to me than a Start Page or changes to the CCC. Just my opinion.

There should be no competition for resources. The documentation group is different from the dev group.

I would very much like the Reference Guide PDF to be current. I'd like to load the PDF on my kindle and read when away from the computer. Sonar is a complex product and I would like the opportunity to study when the opportunity present itself.
With today's documentation tools, it should be trivial to generate both windows help files and PDFs from the same source material. I suggest CW makes PDF generation part of the release process for documentation.

I'm not sure how often the PDF reference guide should be updated, but I definitely want the documentation group to inspect the whole manual and correct all errors in it first.

Thanks Scook (for resetting my vote)- I still think this is a "5" and revoted to reflect. Thanks for clarifying the resource situation wrt documentation.

I can remember the days when paper ruled for tech manuals.  Rather than a full blown reproduction, an errata was maintained on an ongoing basis until its content was folded into the next edition of the manual.
 
With web pages being what they are, it seems this model would be particularly efficient as it would provide an immediately available resource for users AND a repository of changes needed for the next full production.  Especially considering the fluid nature of Sonar versions these days.
 
 

scook
There should be no competition for resources. The documentation group is different from the dev group.

This might be true as far as competing with resources for Sonar bugs and features, but I have to believe that the documentation people are doing *something* other than eating bagels between Sonar doc productions.  If not, then I have some cost containment measures in mind for Cakewalk. 

Yes. Cut out the bagels. Go work on the hover car, board, device. See what I did there? Ha?