Almost every electrical appliance comes with a user manual that explains how to use the product. It talks in detail about the different functions of the device and how you should use them. But you get these manuals in print. That means you have to remember where you keep the manual if you want to refer to it while using the respective device. This is often challenging for many, especially for people who don't keep their things organized at home or in their office.
Importance of e-manuals
Paper manuals have multiple downsides due to which many people prefer e-manuals. For example, you can't carry your laptop's manual everywhere you go. You may have to guess certain functions or the features of the functions online. This becomes a cumbersome process, especially if you have to finish some urgent work. Moreover, print manuals are quite heavy and you may not want to carry them everywhere. For instance, manuals of DSLR cameras are sometimes heavier than printed books.
With e-manuals, you have the freedom to leave the printed counterpart in your home. You can access e-manuals everywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Plus, you can read the manuals on various devices. For example, you need to troubleshoot something on your laptop that prevents you from connecting to your internet. You can always access the e-manual on your smartphone and follow the troubleshooting steps on your laptop.
Finding e-manuals online
Now that you understand why e-manuals are better, you will want to know how to find these manuals online. One way is to visit the official website of the appliance's brand and search for its online manual. This often depends on luck because many companies don't upload their manuals of different products online. That means you may get the e-manual of a company's smartphone online but may not get the manual for that brand's laptop.
In such cases, you may resort to third-party websites that provide e-manuals of different products. From digital cameras to LED TVs, you can get manuals of almost every appliance. Manuals Brain, for example, is one of the most trustable websites, with more than 2,385,971 manuals from 34,845 brands and 1,271,452 products. In fact, they even have user manuals for products from the 80s and 90s.
Should e-manuals replace printed manuals?
The argument here is whether e-manuals are better than paper manuals or not. Just because e-manuals are better doesn't mean paper manuals can't exist. Both can co-exist because there are still non-tech-savvy people who don't know how to use smartphones or the internet. You cannot abolish paper manuals on the basis of its competitor's popularity.
Yes, e-manuals provide a wide range of benefits, but that doesn't mean it should replace paper manuals. E-manuals have become popular lately because of their easy accessibility. Plus, you can find online manuals of products that may not exist in the market anymore. For example, your grandfather's film camera. You can still use it if you know how to use it. Therefore, paper manuals will exist but when it comes to accessibility, e-manuals are way ahead of printed manuals.
