Issues with the Manual? Report here

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Víctor Paredes
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Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by Víctor Paredes »

Hi, I know several of you have found errors in the manual. Many of them are because some features have changed in new versions and the manual keep having old instructions.

So I want to ask you if you find any error, please share it on this thread. Once we recollect the problems I personally will send the list to the Smith Micro guys.

If you think that some chapters needs more examples or better explanations, please post it here too.

Post the page and the section of the manual to make easier the revision.

Thank you very much.
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Mozbo
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Post by Mozbo »

General Manual Error - ALL DIAGRAM IMAGES SHOULD BE NUMBERED for easy reference! Just titling *some of* them is not sufficient, nor accurate.

From the "Quick Start" manual,
Page 2 - The figure displayed in the AS interface is from Version 6. Version 7 shows LIZ, a New Character.

Page3 - OMISSION:
To select a fill color, click the Fill color square to open a color palette.
Should read:
To select a fill color, simply choose a color from the Swatches color box. You can change your color choices from the .Default.png by clicking the down arrow.

Page 3 - OMISSION:
Hold the Shift key while dragging to force the shape to be a circle, rather than an oval.
Should include the sentence: Hold the Shift and Alt keys together while dragging to start your circle from the center.

Page 4 - OMISSION:
You can also change the color of the outline by changing the Stroke color in a similar manner.
Should read:
To change the color of the outline, you can hold down the Alt key and select a color from the Swatches color box to change the Stroke color.

Page 8 - OMISSION:
From the Style panel, select a brown color for the Fill color as shown below.
Should read:
From the Style window, click on the fill color box to bring up the Color Picker, and select a brown color for the Fill color as shown in Fig. '1.2.3' (omitting "below." The image is not "below" the text - another reason diagram images need to be numbered...)

Page 9 - Duplicate of Fig. 1.2.4, the Add Point image.

Page 11 - OMISSION:
After creating the hills, choose Edit > Select None to deselect any selected points.
Should read:
After creating the hills, choose Edit > Select None or hit the Enter key. (This instruction does not appear until page 21 - Should be given from the start...)

Page 11 - INCORRECT SYNTAX:
The Style window will display the settings for the fill: its color, its line width and color, and the styles used to display it. To remove settings that you have used in previous projects, click the Reset button to reset the fill colors to their default settings.
Should read:
The Style window displays the Fill settings: the color, line width and line color, and the styles used to display it. Click the Reset button to restore the Style default settings.

Page 12 - INCORRECT SETTINGS/POOR EXPLANATION
Following the Gradient settings, when you click "OK" after selecting the Gradient settings, the colors are upside down...Either the Gradient settings instructions should be reversed, with brown selected first, then green, OR (better) there should be a diagram image displaying the results of the green on the bottom and brown on top, to introduce the next *corrected* instruction.
Page 12 - OMISSION:
You’ll notice a line with a filled circle at one end, which represents the start color of the gradient (green in our example). The empty circle at the other end represents the end color of the gradient (brown in our example).
There needs to be a diagram of the backwards gradient, showing the Gradient Direction Line. The sentence,
You can adjust this indicator to control the blending and direction of the gradient.
Should read:
You can adjust this indicator by clicking on the empty circle to control the blending and direction of the gradient, and clicking on the solid circle to move the gradient.

Page 22 - ERROR:
Select a brown fill color from the Style panel.
Should read: Select a brown fill color from the Swatches color box.

Page 24 - OMISSION:
...if you want to get rid of a point, but it’s too far back to use undo...
How many steps back does the Undo key go???

Page 24 - OMISSION:
To reset your view to its original position, select the View > Reset command from the menu bar.
Should include:
Or press the Esc. key.

Page 26 - OMISSION:
Choose File > Preview to see how the treetop looks.
Should read:
There are several ways to see how your treetop looks. You can choose File>Preview, or click Ctrl+R, choose "Preview" from the drop-down Display Quality menu button beneath the workspace window, or uncheck the Show Shapes box next to the Display Quality menu button.
NOTE:(This button has NO "tool tip" label, and is not described anywhere in the manual that I have yet seen... It is next to a square shape with one red point in the corner that seems to do nothing...)

Page 34 - POOR INSTRUCTION:
With the Bone Strength tool active, click and drag side-to-side on each of the bones in Frank’s skeleton to adjust its strength.
Should read:With the Bone Strength tool active, click and drag left to decrease, or right to increase the bone strength of a selected bone.

The "new" default Project Settings are 240 frames, which is WAY too long, and the Quick Start does not explain about frame adjustment until the end. There should be a paragraph somewhere near the beginning either telling how to adjust the Animation length, or reset the default Project Settings...Yeah, users can EVENTUALLY figure it out, but a Quick Start Guide should help you get started quickly, and that means getting rid of the approx. 170 frames of timeline you never use during those tutorials...

This is just what I found in the Quick Start. I've more from the main manual, but want to go back to playing with ASP7. I've spent enough time for a while documenting manual errors...
Later!
~M
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promytius
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by promytius »

selgin wrote:Hi, I know several of you have found errors on the manual.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but in English, it is errors "in" the manual; this may explain many of the errors in the book, if the authors have a different native language.
In the Quick Guide to Anime Pro 6, which I just bought from tigerdirect, I found a few errors on the first two pages I read:

p4 - Starts off with a "why do I do this" for "Next, choose EDIT>SELECT NONE" Never explains why, and sets up the next two errors.

p4 - After you pick the TRANSLATE POINTS tool it says "Click and drag the bottom point" IF you followed along correctly, there ARE no points to select; isn't that the function of the "SELECT NONE"? No, first you have to click once IN the object to activate the selection points!

p4 - "Click and drag" No, "Click AGAIN and drag".

p5 - "Press PLAY...to watch it go." NO, you are on frame 72! You will see NOTHING.
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by sbtamu »

promytius wrote:
selgin wrote:Hi, I know several of you have found errors on the manual.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but in English, it is errors "in" the manual; this may explain many of the errors in the book, if the authors have a different native language.
Please sir.

I think you need to do a little investigation before you make this kind of remark. Selgin is from Chili and English is not his Primary language. He also has nothing to do with writing the manual, he is our forum Mod.
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promytius
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Post by promytius »

thanks for supporting my theory!
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Post by GCharb »

promytius wrote:thanks for supporting my theory!
What sbtamu meant is that selgin is a moderator on the forum, he is not the one who wrote the manual and therefore the fact that his native language is not English has nothing to do with the manual not being to your standard!

Like it was said, pretty much all manuals have errors in them, even manuals that come with software costing thousands of dollars.

This said, it does not mean that those who write manuals should not make every effort to make then without errors, but that's what being human is all about, isn't it! :)
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by Tidou »

Hi,

Like me, another user (of Debut version) was disappointed to not able to do group layer. In fact, when we start with Anime Studio Debut Tutorials pdf , we learn use masking with group but it can be useful to advertising:

«In this Debut tutorial, you learn to do something that you can't do with Debut version.»

... because group seems to be a very standard tool ! (yes, it's specify in comparison list that it's not available in Debut)

Thanks for future users.
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hayasidist
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by hayasidist »

any "group type" layer - such as a bone layer - will allow you to do masking... just beacuse it is a bone layer doesn't mean you *must* put bones in it!

also, Debut does not stop you opening a file with Group layers in it and using it as in the tutorial
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by Tidou »

Thanks hayasidist.
hayasidist wrote:any "group type" layer - such as a bone layer - will allow you to do masking... just beacuse it is a bone layer doesn't mean you *must* put bones in it!
Ok, then I don't know why group layer is not available in Debut version.
hayasidist wrote:also, Debut does not stop you opening a file with Group layers in it and using it as in the tutorial
That's why beginner can be confused. Because we are encouraged to start with tutorial.pdf
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by daveindezmenez »

Just starting but so far:

On page 50 of the Tutorial manual (I've got Anime Studio Pro 11), the picture of the box for cycling is a much simpler one than actually comes up when you follow the tutorial in the actual software.

Tutorial 2.2, where you are making a shape with a hole in it, simply doesn't work as it is written.
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by synthsin75 »

daveindezmenez wrote:Tutorial 2.2, where you are making a shape with a hole in it, simply doesn't work as it is written.
That tutorial needs to use the new point editing shortcuts (which I believe are the default). It still says to hit the spacebar to finalize a shape.
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Panha
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Re: Issues with the Manual? Report here

Post by Panha »

There is no explanation of "Frame-dependent warping" in Layer setting of the warping/curver layer. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xy0kQh ... sp=sharing
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