I have previously suggested that some users may be willing to pay for printable documentation, and that could raise much needed funds to support future development. If we employed documentation staff at commercial rates, then no doubt this would be viable, but then we would need to charge for it to cover costs. Converting to PDF format would require a lot more time and effort, not only to create the converted version but to then re-check it to ensure that the converted version is complete and accurate. It is theoretically possible to convert the HTML help into PDF format, but we have not a way to automatically and accurately convert the “image maps” that provide tool tips and links (such as the clickable picture of the Audacity interface on the front page of the manual). This snapshot is then included in the Windows EXE installer and the Mac OS X DMG version and available as a download for other users including GNU Linux from here: Immediately before each release, a “snapshot” of the latest version is taken (after first checking that it is accurate and complete. Audacity is a free program and there is no remuneration for documentation volunteers.Īs the volunteers that write the documentation are scattered across the world, editing is done on line as a “wiki” ( ) which enables volunteers from the Audacity community to write the documentation collaboratively. New volunteers are always welcome (particularly volunteers that are able to translate into other languages). The manual is written by a team of volunteers and is updated constantly so that the manual is up to date for each new release.

We don’t have the resources to maintain the manual in platform specific formats, so it needs to be a cross-platform format, such as HTML or PDF. The probably don’t work on Mac either (I don’t know, I don’t use Mac, but Mac isn’t Microsoft).

The most common format for help files is CHM which is the Microsoft Windows “compiled HTML” format. Why can’t it be like every other manual out there, what is in it that makes it different from all others?

Audacity instructions