Every major free media program has an official manual, and most are free to read online or download - here is where to find each one.
Every guide below comes straight from the program's own developers, so it matches the version you install today.
Each row shows the official manual, whether it is online or a download, and where to get the program itself.
This page used to list guides from the 2000s, so we replaced them with manuals that are kept up to date.
Media Players
| Program | Official guide | Format |
|---|---|---|
| VLC Media Player | VLC User Documentation | Online, desktop and mobile |
| Kodi | Kodi Wiki | Online |
Converting and Encoding
| Program | Official guide | Format |
|---|---|---|
| HandBrake | HandBrake Documentation | Online, English and German |
| FFmpeg | FFmpeg Documentation | Online |
| MKVToolNix | MKVToolNix Documentation | Online |
Audio Editing
| Program | Official guide | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Audacity | Audacity Manual | Online |
| REAPER | REAPER User Guide | Free PDF download |
Video Editing and Recording
| Program | Official guide | Format |
|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve | DaVinci Resolve Training Books | Free PDF downloads |
| OBS Studio | OBS Studio Knowledge Base | Online |
New to OBS? Start with its official Quick Start Guide, which takes you from first launch to your first recording.
Which Ones You Can Download
Two of these guides come as proper downloads. The REAPER User Guide is a single PDF of over 400 pages, and Blackmagic Design offers six free PDF training books for DaVinci Resolve, from a beginner's guide to colour grading and audio.
The rest are online, but you can keep any page for offline reading - see the tips below.
Getting the Most From a Manual
- Match the version. Official manuals follow the newest release, so menus can differ if you run an older copy.
- Save pages for offline. Press Ctrl+P in your browser and choose Save as PDF to keep any online page.
- Search instead of scrolling. Press Ctrl+F on any manual page to jump straight to a setting or error message.
Looking for the Old Guides?
Earlier versions of this page linked guides for DivX 5, Media Player Classic, the Xvid codec and Dr. DivX. Those programs are discontinued or have changed beyond recognition, so the guides no longer match anything you can install.
Quick questions
Are these manuals free?
Yes. Every guide on this page is published free by the program's own developers, whether you read it online or download it as a PDF.
Is there a VLC user guide PDF?
Not an official current one. The VLC User Documentation is online only, and the old VLC PDFs you may find elsewhere date from the early 2000s, so save the pages you need as PDF from your browser instead.
Which of these manuals can I download?
The REAPER User Guide is a single PDF of over 400 pages, and Blackmagic Design offers six free PDF training books for DaVinci Resolve. The rest are online, and any page can be saved as PDF.
What happened to the old DivX and Media Player Classic guides?
They covered versions from the mid-2000s that are discontinued or have changed beyond recognition, so they no longer match anything you can install. We replaced them with manuals that are kept up to date.
The bottom line
Bookmark this page and you are one click from the right manual for every program here. Missing one you use? Tell us which manual is missing.
How to Stream With VLC: Open a Stream URL or ...
5/5This is amazing! I could no longer afford cable so I cut the cord and started watching Hulu, Youtube, ...
Read More →Don't Open a .xmpeg File Before Reading This
3/5It's never a good sign when the potential malware you downloaded has the EXACT same filename as the example. ...
Read More →Free Popular IPTV Playlist: Where to Get Fres...
3/5How can you create a DSTV channels on IPTV?
Read More →