Books, Manuals, or Tutorials? Which is best?

Once you have completed your overview of the program you want to learn using the strategies I recommended, you may be wondering how best to proceed with learning a new program. I think a lot of what you should do depends greatly on the type of learning you are hoping to do.

Manuals

If you bought a software program from a store, you probably have a manual that came with the program. While manuals have gotten more readable and better to follow in recent years, manuals are still best when you are wanting to learn the features of a program that are available. The manual can teach you where to find a particular feature that you may be looking for. When you have used a program of the type you are trying to learn, using the manual can be a great resource on finding the tools you used in other programs.

Tutorials

When you are new to a type of program (3d graphic software, for example), it may be best to start furthering your education with tutorials, rather than a manual. Sometimes, a manual assumes that you know what you are doing to some degree. Tutorials, on the other hand, can be much easier to follow for someone who is a complete newbie.

Tutorials can often be found for one of three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Beginner tutorials assume that the user has no prior experience with any type of software of the type being learned. They will teach not only the fundamentals of the program type, but also generally give step by step instructions on where to find the various tools.

Intermediate tutorials assume that the user has a basic understanding of the software category and generally know their way around the program. It may point out where certain features are, but other things that are considered "basic" are glossed over but might be provided as a reminder.

Advanced tutorials usually assume that the user is fairly proficient not only with the type of program being used, but also with the program itself. Hardly any time is spent on where things are located outside of the advanced features discussed. Advance tutorials get more into the theory of how stuff works and less into the where to find features of the program

Tutorials of all three kinds can be found in audio, video, or text in a variety of places. Some programs may include some tutorials. Other tutorials can be found online. Look around. You might can find some things at little to no charge, but there might be other information that you can learn only by paying for it.

Books

Books bought on a particular program fall somewhere between being another "manual" for the program and providing "tutorials" to teach the user. The best books for learning how to do will focus more on the tutorial method of instruction. That doesn't mean that a book can't be useful if it focuses more on the "manual" method.

Remember, "manuals", whether you bought it separately or it came with the program, work best when you are switching from one program to another. For example, if you already have a solid foundation on Jasc's Paint Shop Pro, reading the manual for Adobe's Photoshop can help you find the similar features.

All three can be useful in learning more about a program once you have a foundation to work with. I always try to spend at least 30 minutes with any new program (or even program version) prior to trying to use the manual. I often figure out just how to do what I want to do without any further help. But then I use the other resources to fill in the gaps and improve my knowledge.