RSD User Guide? - Post ID 261230

User 2809145 Photo


Registered User
3 posts

Your response was a pleasant surprise and is appreciated.

Well, the point has been made by multiple users that the unsystematic approach required due to lack of an organized user manual, readily searchable or with a good index, reduces the first time or occasional users' productivity. Hence, untapped value can be realized by providing an organized manual. If there was a "RSD for Dummies" manual, I'd buy it in a flash, to quickly get "up and running". Anyhow ...

Yes, I have seen all the information that you described, and it has been good, except for templates that "came with" RSD have not been found. The only templates found thus far are web site examples or "previews", not actual *.rsd files. The only possible reference to *.rsd files that I found was a theme pack for purchase (which I presume are *.rsd files? - if so, could well be worth the purchase and perusal). Are there other *.rsd template files available, that "came with" RSD that I am missing? (OK, I found just one thus far, comfortcare.rsd, in the software and web design forum; are there others?)

Many thanks.

In the meantime, work continues to learn RSD's use, RSD's value is beginning to show, and proficiency in its use improves, although slowly. Wish me luck. :)

Wayne//
User 103173 Photo


VP of Software Development
0 posts

Wayne Gilraine wrote:

Yes, I have seen all the information that you described, and it has been good, except for templates that "came with" RSD have not been found. The only templates found thus far are web site examples or "previews", not actual *.rsd files. The only possible reference to *.rsd files that I found was a theme pack for purchase (which I presume are *.rsd files? - if so, could well be worth the purchase and perusal). Are there other *.rsd template files available, that "came with" RSD that I am missing? (OK, I found just one thus far, comfortcare.rsd, in the software and web design forum; are there others?)
Wayne//

Yes, you purchased these with RSD. You downloaded the software but never downloaded the RSD themes that came wit your order. We also sell these individually on our website at http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/ … heme-pack/

To download any registered software, please go to Your Purchases from within your account. Once the software list appears scroll down to the section Software You Own then click the "download" button next to the software you wish to install.

http://www.coffeecup.com/files/predefined/software-you-own.png

To access purchased themes/layouts, graphics, fonts, and/or PDF's, please be sure to select the appropriate tab at the top to access the download.

https://www.coffeecup.com/files/predefined/themes-download.png
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User 2809145 Photo


Registered User
3 posts

Thank you, I had not observed that *.rsd template files were available there, at the "myproducts/themes" page.

Can you describe what CoffeeCup means by the acronym "PDF" in the myproducts/PDF page? It appears to not mean "portable document format" such as Adobe pdf files. The PDF link directs one to a page of other software packages, so is "software" and "PDF" the same thing here?

Thank you.
User 103173 Photo


VP of Software Development
0 posts

Wayne Gilraine wrote:
Thank you, I had not observed that *.rsd template files were available there, at the "myproducts/themes" page.

Can you describe what CoffeeCup means by the acronym "PDF" in the myproducts/PDF page? It appears to not mean "portable document format" such as Adobe pdf files. The PDF link directs one to a page of other software packages, so is "software" and "PDF" the same thing here?

Thank you.

Actually it does. A PDF is an Adobe file extension. We sell e-books as well and they are available in a PDF format.

https://www.coffeecup.com/store/books/

These questions should be posted in another discussion area as it really does not related to the RSD User Guide.
Learn the essentials with these quick tips for Responsive Site Designer, Responsive Email Designer, Foundation Framer, and the new Bootstrap Builder. You'll be making awesome, code-free responsive websites and newsletters like a boss.
User 81177 Photo


Registered User
21 posts

I have been tinkering with RSD for some time now and I may not be a guru but I'm not a slacker either. I spent hours today alone combing through what ever I could find to help with the building of a website. I must agree with the above stated commentaries that there is a need to create a more organized and easily read Owners Manual.

I prefer concise with images. Some of the videos provided by users that I have been able to find are minus sound, done so quickly it gives me a headache trying to see just what they're clicking on and a 3 min vid that I have to keep replaying in places just to catch the right frame is sad, not to mention frustrating. The vids that CC has provided isn't that much better, sorry to say.

I've probably spent better than 2 hours just reading through the forum posts aside from the 3.5 hours of hunting and watching various videos. I realize that the CoffeeCup Tutorials on YouTube is primarily users sharing their Tuts.

I learned a lot from reading the grunts and groans of growing pains, and appreciate every last one. If I could do something to help and be more constructive, I dearly would.

Thanks for all that you do, Scott.
Walk in a beauty Way
User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

Kitty, did you see the link at the top of this forum?
http://www.coffeecup.com/forums/respons … -and-more/
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User 222975 Photo


Registered User
3 posts

I guess I will jump in on this one. I think what Jay was hoping for is much like I do with documentation. Pretty much like to read it like a book. With RSD this has been a bit of a challenge for me as it is not as simple as flipping to the page I want. For example, at this moment I'm looking at how I can rename some of my Classes. With a book (PDF, Kindle, etc) my first approach would be to jump to the index or reference section and look for Classes. Or being in electronic form I might just do a quick search by keyword (classes) or type out the question and review the results.

In this case it is not that simple. Looking for information or how to instructions are floating about but since it doesn't read like a book it just takes more time to find what I'm looking for. For the video tutorials I have not been all that impressed. They give me an idea of what can be done but don't really drill down to the specifics I'm looking for. I may just need to watch more videos. I have gone through a couple tutorials where we created the framework with the layout and found that useful in learning this program.

Overall I think I am going to really like this program but as has been noted there is a learning curve and of course I'm in a hurry to get things done.

So if I were to make a suggestion, as this is a new product and is continuing to develop maybe a wiki type page for this product would provide the reference area needed for all the tutorials and knowledge articles can be quickly accessed. It may not be the book I like to read but would certainly be a great spot for me to just read through the highlight descriptions and select an article that matches my search desires such as the aforementioned Classes renaming. I'm sure it is very simple, I just need a little nudge in the right direction.
User 2831138 Photo


Registered User
9 posts

Likewise, I'm a new RSD user, and I'm getting stuck a lot.

The videos and the default template that opens at startup are helpful, but they just demonstrate how to do that one thing. The information is also spread across several different areas of the site, and buried in the media being presented. When I'm trying to do something different , I don't know where to look for guidance (e.g. How do I apply a link to an image or a font icon? How do I keep the font icons from overlapping in mobile view?)

Searching for forum thread titles isn't providing results on these very basic topics, which I'd normally find in an indexed help file or user manual. And I'd rather not ask and wait for an answer for every little design task.

This is like buying a really nice car and realizing it's missing the steering wheel. RSD is light years ahead of every other program I've tried, and was an investment, so I really want to make it a central part of my workflow. But I'm stuck.
User 2088758 Photo


Senior Advisor
3,121 posts

Hi Hamish,
Below are a few links that will give you a heads up on everything you need to know about RSD.

A big reason nothing is published to paper is because the software is growing and changing. It's good practice to always have an online resource to access documentation that way when things get updated or changed CC can very quickly modify them. To me this is much more effective than printing out some bulky guide that in 2 months becomes outdated.

Quick Start Guide: http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/responsive-site-designer-resource-overview/
Step by Step Tutorial: http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/1430
Instructional Video: http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/1449

I have some RSD and RLM tutorials on my YouTube Channel and I know Mansour makes a tonne of them featuring different things you can do. If there is something you would like to see just post it and I'm sure one of us will get the tutorial done.

As I always say to everyone that comes here asking for help, the best thing you can do is play around with all the elements to see what they do. The first time I fired up the software I just made a blank nothing document and started dragging and dropping and playing with all the settings. It becomes very clear on what they do in a very short time.

Hope this helps
Taking over the world one website at a time!

Steve Kolish
www.misterwebguy.com

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL8qVv … ttneYaMSJA
User 2831138 Photo


Registered User
9 posts

Thanks, Steve. I've seen those resources before. (But not your videos; thanks for those.)

As the other posted have said, we're asking for an indexed guide. This is like a being told "Paris is nice. Just wander around!" But I need to get to a specific address!

I'm starting to figure it out, but this resistance to creating a standard manual -- making it harder to use this program -- is a weird choice from a marketing perspective.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

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