Hi. I also like to read the manual when travelling or away from my studio. One option is to use a free chm to pdf conversion software and pop the result on your kindle / reader. I admit it isn't as pretty as the manual, but it IS as up to date as you can get.

charlyg

I'm a retired PC tech, and electronic tech before that. I have read tons of manuals, but frankly I would rather watch a show and tell video than slog thru another manual. 

And I am a read-to-absorb learner. I get virtually nothing from a video or lecture but a physical book sticks in my mind. I can read and interpret an hour of how-to video in about a fifth of the time, and the ability to look back a half page instantly if something slips by on the first run is invaluable. Looking up a forgotten or misunderstood concept in a library of videos is a hopeless task, but takes only seconds in a full text search of a pdf.

is the online help searchable yet?

Both the website and chm are searchable.

I think realistically every 6 months would be appropriate for a PDF update/snapshot.
 
Upvoted just because...

I would think that Cakewalk would want to have just one manual. So, update the local PDFs at the same time as the on line version. Have an option in the CCC to download the revised  PDF.

IIRC, the last several (two?) monthly updates have included updated docs.  If that's part of the regular routine, this FR could be marked as "Implemented"

scook
Both the website and chm are searchable.

How do I find the chm? All the links under the Help tab appear to go to the web. None appear to go to local documentation.

Going to the web is the default. If the PC is not connected to the web it will fall back to the local help. To force SONAR to use the local help enable "Always Use Local Help" in Preferences > File > Advanced. To see advanced settings make sure the Advanced radio button is selected at the bottom of the Preferences dialog.

Given that the online documentation is continuously updated, I can refer to that more often and report any issues I encounter. Some time back I started using the online documentation but ran in to trouble along the way and switched back to the pdf versions, but I don't recall what the problem was. It might have been difficulties printing excerpts that I could markup and keep at my desk I'll start relying more on the online documentation.
 
With respect to how often to update the pdf versions, I'd say as often as practical but not too often. I like having it available for use offline. Like other's I think adding features and correcting problems are more important than maintaining pdf documentation.
 
Also it's confusing to get a new copy of an old PDF file with each release. I'd prefer that the PDF file not be included in updates unless it's been updated and has a new version number.
 
Bill