TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Sandra Charker has seen <<...speculation about why users preferred HTML to
PDF, but Is there data?>>
I suspect the discussion you've seen on techwr-l counts strongly as data.
Tally up enough answers and you've got a decent summary from people who
actually have to use online references on a daily basis. A few more data
points from my personal experience:
1. Designers rarely take the time to format PDF for a typical 15-inch
monitor; instead, they aim for documentation that people will print. That is
_not_ online documentation: it's a file-transfer method intended to shift
printing costs to the reader from the producer. A PDF designed to be read on
screen can be every bit as good as HTML, and probably better (on the
assumption it's designed by a typographer who understands that legibility
takes presence over creativity).
2. HTML lets you customize the display to fit your own unique needs; if you
really do prefer 8-point magenta type on a chartreuse background, then you
can make it so. This is both a good and a bad thing, but the bottom line is
that users prefer flexibility and customization, all else being equal.
3. HTML seems easier to copy text from (personal experience), so those times
I want to archive just a small section of text, it's easier for me to do
than with PDF. HTML is also easier to open in a word processor, edit, and
resave in HTML; PDF is largely a one-way trip.
4. HTML comes with every system that has internet capabilities (via your web
browser); PDF still requires a separate reader application that you have to
download. (Yes, Acrobat is usually included in the browser as a helper
application, but how many people realize they should go to their internet
browser to open a PDF file? It's not rocket science, but neither is it
intuitive.)
--Geoff Hart, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"The paperless office will arrive when the paperless toilet
arrives."--Matthew Stevens
