First published on CLOUDBLOGS on Feb 15, 2013
We’re pleased to announce a new release of the downloadable documentation for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. The downloadable files contain the product documentation for Configuration Manager with no service pack and for Configuration Manager with Service Pack 1. You can choose from three different formats:
-
Chm (help file)
-
Docx (Word file)
-
PDF
Download link:
Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
Downloadable Chm - Help Update Wizard
The first option uses the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Help Update Wizard, similar to how we’ve done this previously with Configuration Manager 2007. Use this wizard to install a local help file, which contains a copy of the guides in the
TechNet Documentation Library for System Center 2012 Configuration
.
After installation, you can load the help file from a Configuration Manager console or independently, for example, from a shortcut on your desktop. After you have installed and opened the local help file, you can expand the
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
node to confirm that it now contains the Configuration Manager guides that are published on TechNet. You can then use the Search tab to search for text in titles or in the body of the topic, and use the Print option to print all topics under a selected node.
Word and PDF
We continue to pilot Word and PDF formats, to provide a more portable option for the docs. Let us know how you get on with these and which format you prefer.
Unlike the other System Center components, we have not offered the downloads by guide because there is too much linking between them. Having a separate download for each guide would break the offline experience for links that go to other guides and you wouldn’t be able to search across them.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Downloaded Documentation
We know that downloadable versions of the documentation are important to you, because you don’t always have Internet access (or might not have reliable connectivity). Some people find them easier to read, search, and print. However, we cannot keep them as up-to-date as the content on TechNet, where we can update individual topics on a regular basis as we get more information from the product group or in response to customer feedback.
Whenever possible, use TechNet for the most current information.
Search:
As an alternative to using the downloaded documentation because you find it easier to search because it returns topics from the Configuration Manager library only – try using the scoped search string that we provide in the
Information and Support for Configuration Manager
page. This provides a Bing search string that is scoped to the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Documentation Library, so you don’t get results for Configuration Manager 2007, for other Microsoft products, or from external sources. Use the instructions and examples provided to help you create your own searches, using AND, OR, and NOT operators.
Print and save to PDF
:
As an alternative to using the downloaded documentation for printing multiple topics (for example, the whole Site Administration guide), try using the
Print/Export Multiple Topics
feature that is available in the TechNet Lightweight Library. This feature has been in beta for while and is now officially released. You can find more information about how it works in this blog posting:
http://thirdblogfromthesun.com/2011/08/export-then-print-multiple-library-topics-beta/http://th...
This functionality is currently restricted to 100 topics at a time, but there are fewer than 100 topics in most guides. So for example, you could select and save in PDF format all the topics in the Site Administration guide. Then print them or view them on your mobile device.
Send feedback:
As always, if you have feedback about the documentation, email us at the usual address of
SMSDocs@microsoft.com
.
--
The Configuration Manager Writing Team
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
