An owner's manual (also called an instruction manual or a user guide) is an instructional

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

or booklet that is supplied with almost all technologically advanced consumer products such as vehicles,

home appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

and computer peripherals. Information contained in the owner's manual typically includes: *

Safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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. * Programming instructions; for

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

controlled products such as VCRs, programmable calculators, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s. * Maintenance instructions. * 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 A specification often refers to a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. A specification is often a type of technical standard. There are different types of technical or engineering specificati ...

. *

Warranty In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the ...

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 repair information, such as a

circuit diagram A circuit diagram (or: wiring diagram, electrical diagram, elementary diagram, electronic schematic) is a graphical representation of an Electrical network, electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, whil ...

; however as products became more complex this information was gradually relegated to specialized service manuals, or dispensed with entirely, as devices became too inexpensive to be economically repaired. Owner's manuals for simpler devices are often multilingual so that the same boxed product can be sold in many different markets. Sometimes the same manual is shipped with a range of related products so the manual will contain a number of sections that apply only to some particular model in the product range. 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 A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

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 Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

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 Technical communication (or tech comm) is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual ...

document intended to instruct people how to install a particular product. An installation manual is usually written by a

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

or other technical staff. Installation is the act of putting something in place so that it is ready for use. 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 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.

Car owner's manuals

All new cars come with an owner's manual from the manufacturer. Most owners leave them in the glove compartment for easy reference. This can make their frequent absence in rental cars frustrating because it violates the driver's user expectations, as well as makes it difficult to use controls that are not understood, which is not good because understanding control operation of an unfamiliar car is one of the first steps recommended in defensive driving. Owner's manuals usually cover three main areas: a description of the location and operation of all controls; a schedule and descriptions of maintenance required, both by the owner and by a mechanic; and specifications such as oil and fuel capacity and part numbers of light bulbs used. Current car owner's manuals have become much bigger in part due to many safety warnings most likely designed to avoid

product liability Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has ...

lawsuits, as well as from ever more complicated audio and navigational systems, which often have their own manual. 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. In 2017, IBM released

IBM Watson IBM Watson is a computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language. It was developed as a part of IBM's DeepQA project by a research team, led by principal investigator David Ferrucci. Watson was named after IBM's fou ...

Artificial Intelligence to understand and answer questions in natural driver language. "Ask Mercedes" was the first in a wave of these vehicle assistants which can support both speech and text-based input.

Popular culture

The

noun phrase A noun phrase – or NP or nominal (phrase) – is a phrase that usually has a noun or pronoun as its head, and has the same grammatical functions as a noun. Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently ...

''owner's manual'' has been used by

analogy Analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things (or two groups of things) because of a third element that they are considered to share. In logic, it is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as oppose ...

in the title of numerous instructional books about entities that are not manufactured products, such as pets, body parts and

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

es.

User guides

The equivalent document for

computer software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

is called a

user guide A user guide, also commonly known as a user manual, is intended to assist users in using a particular product, service or application. It is usually written by a technician, product developer, or a company's customer service staff. Most user gu ...

since users are typically

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

es rather than owners of the software.

Unicode

The Unicode symbol (in the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block) is intended to signal 'read operator's manual'.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owner's Manual Documents Technical communication