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>(Has anyone ever had to actually access an outdated version?)
I have, lots of times. I was working with hardware that had multiple
configuration changes, and it was critical in some cases to try to tie
down when particuclar changes had gone into the manual.
Even now, just moments before reading your message, I was going through
outdated copies of our manuals in an attempt to find something as mundane
as when an alphanumeric index was deleted.
If you're ISO 9000 certified, you may actually have a -requirement- to keep
those old manuals for a specified period of time. My advice? even when past
that time, if you've got the space to store the old manuals, do so. Knowing
Murphey's Law as I do, the mere act of keeping the manuals on hand helps
minimize your reason to access them ('Cause, of course, the moment you
toss them out is the moment you'll start having need for them...)
Rick Lippincott
Boston Technology
Wakefield, MA
rjl -at- bostech -dot- com