CompuServe Messages

Dear Ed, Piggybacking on what you said to Greg Pyros concerning manuals for Animator Studio.. Let's be clear: Animator Studio has the equivalent of the Tutorials manual in Animator Pro plus an introduction to animation concepts. It DOES NOT have the Anim Pro equivalent of a Reference manual. The idea – as I guessed it and Autodesk seems to have confirmed in some messages on this board – is that the great on-line help is meant to replace the old Reference manual. While I think the on-line help is GREAT – maybe the best on-line help I've ever seen – I am one of many here who like complete reference materials in book form. I think we need BOTH this excellent on-line help and a Reference manual. Why? Because – unless you like reading from the screen of a portable computer – you can't read on-line help while sitting at a coffee shop, in a restroom, reading a couple of pages before falling off to sleep, on planes and all the other places where good old books come shining through. I know that Autodesk is looking to see how this new idea flies so I want to give them feedback. I have long felt that the printed documentation for both Animator and 3D Studio were the best in all the land. I remember several people lined up at a 3DS user group meeting to thank the writer! I can't think of any other software products where people were not only pleased with the documentation but felt it was worthy of special commendation Usually documentation is the weakest link of a software product. So, YES, I miss having a book that shows EVERY command, what it does, and examples of using it. It is a strength of your products. Please don't give it up! I would pay an additional $50 for this feature and I'm not rich :- Sincerely, Peter Nowell Synergy Productions