How to download and print msdn help files / documentation as doc or pdf

[Manuel Lopez]

Here's a simple question: how do I download or print out the entire
documentation (or a large chunk) in readable format (doc or pdf)? It's not
of much use to me if I have to go to every separate html page and print
page-by-page. Is there a utility to do this, or is it on a separate
website? e.g. how to download as one file the entire C# Programmer's
Reference:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/csref/html/vcoricsharptutorials.asp

Thanks.

 

[Manuel Lopez]

Thanks, but the reference books still don't cover c# 2005. I'll search for
third-party utilities, but can you pass this on as a request for a doc/pdf
version, or at least a printable version of chapter- or book- size sections?
I suspect there are other people who want to print out a reference file or
tutorial, only to find it's available only as 500 separate asp generated web
pages. It seems like it would be easy to automate: select all the pages to
be combined, combine them, and save them as one printable file.

 

[Chris Simmons]

While you can print the tree from VS.NET (Visual Studio.NET->Visual
Basic and Visual C#->Reference->Visual C# Language->C# Language
Specification), I'd still take Tim's advice and purchase a book. I'm
not sure what you mean by "C# 2005", but this book
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321154916) covers the
C# 2.0 features as well as 1.1

 

[Manuel Lopez]

Thanks, I tried that, if you mean right-clicking and selecting print topic
and subtopics (let me know if you mean something else). It works
"sub-optimally" (where sub-optimal means horribly bad). What happens is
that it actually opens up every separate html page and prints it to the
printer, **each page a separate job**, at a glacial pace; it doesn't combine
them first into a printable format (ideally getting rid of the white space
at the end of every html page) & allow you to see or print that as one
document. At last count, after 20 minutes of waiting, to print out a
section of the C# reference, I have over 500 print jobs! and counting (the
average is LESS than TWO pages per print job). It may take a LONG time . .
..

The major reference books do not cover C#2005 yet (C# 2005=the C# in vs
2005),
such as "the official reference":
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/5798.asp
I also don't see the C# 2005 Programmer's reference in print. The advantage
of printing on-line material is that it gets out much quicker than print,
but it does require that someone remember to put a "printable" format button
somewhere.

 

[Chris Simmons]

Yep, that's what I meant. And I actually printed it that way awhile
back. Indeed ... hundreds of print jobs. Heh.

Sorry I couldn't help.

 

[Manuel Lopez]

Thanks, I did finally print it out that way. I used FinePrint (
www.fineprint.com ) to conglomerate the print jobs and get 8 pages per page.
But they should put printer-friendly versions out there--if they're really
evangelizing, presumably there should be a free copy in every hotel room.