Owner's manual
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An owner's manual (also called an instruction manual or a user guide) is an instructional
- Safety instructions; for liability reasons these can be extensive, often including warnings against performing operations that are ill-advised for product longevity or overall user safety reasons.
- Assembly instructions; for products that arrive in pieces for easier shipping.
- Installation instructions; for products that need to be installed in a home or workplace.
- Setup instructions; for devices that keep track of time or which maintain user accessible state.
- Instructions for normal or intended operations.
- VCRs, programmable calculators, and synthesizers.
- Maintenanceinstructions.
- Troubleshooting instructions; for when the product does not work as expected.
- Service locations; for when the product requires repair by a factory authorized technician.
- Regulatory code compliance information; for example with respect to safety or electromagnetic interference.
- Product technical specifications.
- Warranty information; sometimes provided as a separate sheet.
Until the last decade or two of the twentieth century it was common for an owner's manual to include detailed
Owner's manuals for simpler devices are often
With the increasing complexity of modern devices, many owner's manuals have become so large that a separate quickstart guide is provided. Some owner's manuals for computer equipment are supplied on CD-ROM to cut down on manufacturing costs, since the owner is assumed to have a computer able to read the CD-ROM. Another trend is to supply instructional video material with the product, such as a videotape or DVD, along with the owner's manual.
Many businesses offer PDF copies of manuals that can be accessed or downloaded free of charge from their websites.
Installation manual
An installation manual or installation guide is a technical communication document intended to instruct people how to install a particular product. An installation manual is usually written by a technical writer or other technical staff.
Installation is the act of putting something in place so that it is ready for use.[1] An installation manual most commonly describes the safe and correct installation of a product. The term product here relates to any consumer, non-consumer, hardware, software, electrical, electronic or mechanical product that requires installation. The installation of a computer program is also known as the setup.
In case of an installation manual, the installation instruction is a separate document that focuses solely on the person(s) that will perform the installation. However, the installation instruction can also be an integrated part of the overall owner's manual.
The size, structure and content of an installation manual depend heavily on the nature of the product and the needs and capabilities of the intended target group. Furthermore, various standards and directives are available that provide guidance and requirements for the design of instructions.
The international standard IEC 82079[2] prescribes the required installation topics for an installation instruction. Among these topics, are procedures, diagrams and conditions for installation activities, such as unpacking, mounting and connecting.
For machines the European Machinery Directive prescribes that an instruction manual must contain assembly, installation and connecting instructions, including drawings, diagrams and the means of attachment and the designation of the chassis or installation on which the machinery is to be mounted.[3]
Car owner's manuals
All new cars come with an owner's manual from the manufacturer. Most owners leave them in the
If owners lose their car manual, they can either order a replacement from a dealer, pick up a used one secondhand, or download a PDF version of the manual online.[4]
In 2017, IBM released
Popular culture
The noun phrase owner's manual has been used by analogy in the title of numerous instructional books about entities that are not manufactured products, such as pets, body parts and businesses.
User guides
The equivalent document for
Unicode
The OPEN BOOK (📖) Unicode symbol equals read operator's manual.[7] OPEN BOOK has Unicode code point U+1F4D6.
References
- ^ Definition of "installation" from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary
- ^ IEC 82079-1:2012, p. 31, 5 Content of instructions for use
- ^ Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending Directive 95/16/EC , p. 25-26, 1.7.4.2 Contents of the instructions.
- ^ "How to Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online".
- ^ "'Ask Mercedes' – the End of the Car Manual as We Know It". IBM. 29 November 2017.
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz Diplomatic Sales".
- ^ Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs (PDF), Unicode, Inc., p. 12, retrieved 4 June 2020
External links
- Media related to Owner's manuals at Wikimedia Commons