Cd-rom Shop Manuals

[rando]

If you get the CD like I got for my '04 good luck. My two manuals rule over the CD. The CD is just a bunch of numerical folders each having more numerical folders which then contain more numerical .pdf icons.
.
How the frick you find something that doesn't take all day to point and search.? Its useless.

I agree, the CD organization sucks but it can be fixed. Copy the files from the CD to your hard disk. Write a script to open each file and extract the page number, section title, ..., and then rename the file based on that information. Roll all the files up to the parent directory. Print the index. You can now navigate through the pages just as fast as the printed manual.

 

[jharris2]

I agree, the CD organization sucks but it can be fixed. Copy the files from the CD to your hard disk. Write a script to open each file and extract the page number, section title, ..., and then rename the file based on that information. Roll all the files up to the parent directory. Print the index. You can now navigate through the pages just as fast as the printed manual.

Anywhere you could post the script you wrote? Or PM me if you're willing to e-mail it. Thanks!

 

[pdonnell]

Rando,
Sounds like you've been able to make it work. Don't know too much about scripting but I think I know what your talking about. Can you burn this new format onto a CD.?
.
Anyway of mailing me your back-up of this newly organized copy to peruse and then mail back to you?
.
Pat
Sacramento, CA

 

[rando]

I can send the script (when I get home). The pdfs are slightly irregular and thus the script requires a bit of tweaking to work with some files. Using the script and a bit of patience you can get everything sorted out.

If people really need this, it might be easier for me to REDO my effort only this time track the original file name and new file name. Using this info I can make a simpler script that will work without any hand-holding.

 

[toybox]

Rando,

Why don't you organize it and clean it up and then sell us copies so that you get paid for your hard work. I would certainly buy one if it is easily usable.

 

[rando]

I'm pretty sure that selling copyrighted material (without permission of the copyright holder) is illegal.

 

[jharris2]

I'm pretty sure that selling copyrighted material (without permission of the copyright holder) is illegal.

Yup.

By the way, since I'll have CD manuals for a 97 Camry and 03 4Riunner, I'll probably need the original script, not the easier version you're making. The "before" and "after" names of the files will certainly be different.

 

[rando]

Ok, in that case, you'll be on your own to tweak it for your puposes. I didn't post what I had last nite because after looking at it, I realized that it was going to generate more questions than I cared to answer.

The code itself is really just a couple lines of xp command shell script wrapped around a freeware utility which can be used to extract ascii pages from pdfs. There isn't any error checking so you have to hand-hold it and patiently work your way through various sets/types of files...dealing with the ones it fails on either manually or by makeing more changes to the script.

 

[jharris2]

Ok, in that case, you'll be on your own to tweak it for your puposes. I didn't post what I had last nite because after looking at it, I realized that it was going to generate more questions than I cared to answer.

The code itself is really just a couple lines of xp command shell script wrapped around a freeware utility which can be used to extract ascii pages from pdfs. There isn't any error checking so you have to hand-hold it and patiently work your way the various sets/types of files...dealing with the ones it fails on either manually or by makeing more changes to the script.

Understood. I'll PM you with my real e-mail address.

Timing is good, as the Camry CD (finally) arrived today. Good old post office seems to have lost it for a week.

 

[rando]

OK, the attached zip file contains the scripts I used. You must tweak these to make them work for you. If you're not capable of modifying them for your purposes, don't even bother downloading them. They will not do anything useful for you as they are. Think of them as a proof of concept. Final intregration is up to you.

Even if you are capable of modifying these, you probably still shouldn't use them. If you do, you do so at your own risk. I created and used these and they worked for me. I suffered no financial or bodily injury in doing so. I make no guarantee about their usefulness for any purpose what-so-ever. They are posted here simply to bump my post count.

The scripts also depend on the xpdf pacakge. It can be obtained for free here.

This post is the only documentation included with these scripts. Again, you must be able to read, comprehend, and modify the scripts to make them serve your puprose. PM's on this subject will almost certainly be ignored.

Good luck!

 

[jharris2]

Thanks for posting. I'll post a follow-up with results when I have a chance to use them.

 

[jharris2]

In tryiung to sort out the tweaks, I discovered that I can use Acrobat (the full version) to combine the files into a single PDF file. That way, I can see/print everything. Took just a few minutes to do most of the manuals, although I still have the repair manual to go.

I may wind up printing a full set to keep in the garage for research, then print the small sections I need whenever I work on the truck.

Only thing I've noticed is that the links within the documents no longer work -- give a message that the file no longer exists, even though it is there. If I can't figure out the problem, then I will still need the CD to link those.

 

[rando]

Yes, I tried appending the files together using the full version of Adobe also. I only have v5 and it insists on putting things together out of order. Also v5 has a problem reading some of the files. V6 Reader works fine on them.

I too printed out a big chuck of the stuff. The entire wiring manual is handy to have around. I printed out most of the other sections excluding the engine, transmission, and chapter 5 (repair manual). The bad thing about printing it is that the cost of printing it is nearly as high as buying the paper version in the first place.

I never noticed any links within the documents. Which sections have links?

 

[jharris2]

I'm using Acrobat 4 and it has no trouble reading the files. Very interesting.

To put them together, just use Document - Insert Pages and you cancontrol where they go.

The CD I have has 2 repair manuals -- one is probably the V6 supplement. the first page has links (it's actually page 34, as some pages are skipped in the document, like the table of contents).

 

[rando]

You mean use insert pages for 1 file at a time? Because when I tried this with batches of files (selected in the correct order), it always pasted stuff out of order. And yes, version 5 seems to have a problem with the files. Maybe it's an issue with the version 6 reader I have interferring with the version 5 full version.

I don't know. Anyhow, I gave up on the idea of reassembling the pages that way, although it would be ideal if I could get it to work, in an automated way. It would make printing soooo much easier.

 

[jj8111]

My 04 CD based shop manual from ebay arrived earlier this week. From what I can tell, everything is on it. Beware however, that it's a collection of MANY pdf (adobe portable document format) files and can be somewhat difficult to navigate around until you get used to it.

If you subscribe to http://techinfo.toyota.com/ you can download the pdfs and burn them to cd for about $10.

$10 gets you a one day subscription, more than enough time to download all the pdfs.

 

[rando]

I have an account there but never actually paid to see what was available. Unfortunately, I didn't find the web site until after I had already purchased the CD from ebay. Is the manual there broken into 1000's of pdfs (like on the cd)? If so, that might be a little painful to download.

 

[rando]

You mean use insert pages for 1 file at a time? Because when I tried this with batches of files (selected in the correct order), it always pasted stuff out of order. And yes, version 5 seems to have a problem with the files. Maybe it's an issue with the version 6 reader I have interferring with the version 5 full version.

I don't know. Anyhow, I gave up on the idea of reassembling the pages that way, although it would be ideal if I could get it to work, in an automated way. It would make printing soooo much easier.

I tried version 6 and was able to get things assembled correctly. I now have both repair manuals reorganized such that each chapter is in its own PDF. This makes it extremely easy to navigate.

 

[jharris2]

I tried version 6 and was able to get things assembled correctly. I now have both repair manuals reorganized such that each chapter is in its own PDF. This makes it extremely easy to navigate.

Unfortunately, I only have version 4, so I have to load one file at a time.

Did you find any links in the documents? If so, do they work still?

 

[jharris2]

Is the manual there broken into 1000's of pdfs (like on the cd)?

Good question. They seem to have lots more content available, though. If the files are the full manuals, it could be a great deal!