Tip: Paperless manuals and user guides

[Jamie Todd Rubin 17]

I used to have piles of manuals for various gadgets. Often they'd disappear when I need them most (how do you change the battery in the thermostat?). Since going paperless, I have moved to a completely paperless set of manuals for all of my devices, gadgets and anything that comes with a manual--and I've done it without scanning a single document. Here's how:

1. Collected all my existing paper manuals into a single pile.
   
2. For each manual, I went to the manufacturer's website and located a PDF version of the manual.
   
3. Add the PDF file to a new note in Evernote and tag the note "manuals"
   
4. Repeat for the rest of the manuals in the pile.
   

For every new item I get that comes with an instruction manual, I do the same thing as soon as I open the box. Then I trash or recycle the paper manual that came with the item.

Finally, I created a Saved Search called "Manuals and User Guides" that looks for anything tagged "manuals". I think I have about 20 or so right now and I no longer have piles of manuals sitting around the house. Better yet, when I need to know how to use the Picture-in-Picture feature on my TV in the downstairs family room, I can pull out my iPhone or iPad, open Evernote, click my saved search and instantly find what I'm looking for without getting up from the couch. :-)

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

[Jamie Todd Rubin 17]

Love that idea! Thanks for the tip!

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

That rocks! Thanks for posting this!

(Evernoted!)

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

I should add, perhaps, that when NFC enabled tablets come out (something I would expect with the next iPad) you should be able to replace the QR codes with tiny NFC stickers. But this solution is generic. You can make your home all Star-Trekky this way. Frankly, if I were responsible for any product that required a manual, I would put a permanent QR code on it that inked to the manual in a form that was readable on smart phones.

[Jenni Lathrop 17]

For each manual, I went to the manufacturer's website and located a PDF version of the manual.

That is brilliant and so simple... I can't believe I never thought about that! I've always shied away from including the user's manuals with new purchases because I the thought of sitting down and scanning that all in was not a good one (I don't have a document scanner, just a flatbed scanner).

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I also have our manuals in Evernote. Most are scans but some are downloads. I still have two, full, four inch three ring binders of manuals I still need to scan/toss. (sigh) However, I'm sure some (many?) of those are for things we no longer have, so won't need to be scanned.

[Jeff510 95]

I should add, perhaps, that when NFC enabled tablets come out (something I would expect with the next iPad) you should be able to replace the QR codes with tiny NFC stickers. But this solution is generic. You can make your home all Star-Trekky this way. Frankly, if I were responsible for any product that required a manual, I would put a permanent QR code on it that inked to the manual in a form that was readable on smart phones.

Yes, a big reason I'm waiting on the Galaxy Nexus with NFC is that I can then use Touchanote to do just that kind of thing.

[Jeff510 95]

By the way, another thing I do is snap a picture of the product label with the model number/serial number info. It's often a pain to go look at that if you need it. The pic can go in this note, or as I do, in a notebook for Product label pictures.

[gbarry 2,658]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

Uh, would work for everything! I'm so stealing this. This deserves its own thread. Someone get on this. Where's an admin when you need one?

[Jeff510 95]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

That is a great idea, and it's not just for tablets. I just tried it on my Droid, and it worked!

And I just thought of a use case...At work, we've gone to a very strict PC password policy. Change every 30 days, 12 characters minimum...upper, lower, special characters, no repeating of past passwords, etc... Obviously, hard to keep track of.

Well, I put the password into a note. Just the text, didn't identify what it actually represents in the note. And then I copied the Evernote note link into a QR Code.

When I use the Barcode Scanner app on my Droid to read the code, and then click to open the link, it opens the note in Evernote and displays it. I could stick the QR Code somewhere in my office, even on the laptop, and only I could get the info with my phone and account.

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

That is a great idea, and it's not just for tablets. I just tried it on my Droid, and it worked!

Ironically, I don't have a camera-enabled tablet, so I only currently do this on my Droid. But I can't stand reading a PDF on my phone, so while I use this strategy for many things, and have the manuals in Evernote, I'll wait until I get a camera tablet before I start using QR for PDFs.

[nova47 60]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

WOW

[David Lozzi 8]

Love this idea, can't wait to start doing it!

[saybar 1]

I have one addition to that you might like if you have an iPad 2 or other tablet with a camera.

1. Create a Note Link to your note with the manual for your thermostat
   
2. Paste that Note Link into a QR code generator (like this one) and get a graphical QR code you can stick to your thermostat
   
3. When you need to change your thermostat battery, point your iPad at the sticker and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual).
   

Also works for warranties.

Great suggestion. Thanks!

One other thing I do is put my manuals in a separate notebook so as I premium user I can keep them locally on my iPad/iPhone.

[Lester Greenberg 0]

I should add, perhaps, that when NFC enabled tablets come out (something I would expect with the next iPad) you should be able to replace the QR codes with tiny NFC stickers. But this solution is generic. You can make your home all Star-Trekky this way. Frankly, if I were responsible for any product that required a manual, I would put a permanent QR code on it that inked to the manual in a form that was readable on smart phones.

I am new to the Forum so this is terrific. I did notice a new company at the Evernote conference who had a product for this very thing. Extremely cool for anyone who needs help remembering how to work the AV system at home!

Update: I kept reading and noticed the company I was thinking of, Touchanote. Bummer that NFC is not yet out in full yet.