RE: Paper documentation vs. online help?

[Erika Yanovich <ERIKA_y -at- Rad -dot- co -dot- il>]

Geoff wrote <Print is
obviously better for other contexts, such as (obviously) troubleshooting a
dead computer that can't display the online help or for reading on the bus
en route to work.>

A variation on the same theme would be something we have here: you get the
SW with 5-6 different CDs and you need a booklet to tell you what is each of
them for and in what sequence should you install them.

Scott wrote <I still maintain that Help systems are that, HELP. Not online 
documentation. If you want an online book, make it a PDF file. >

Now, this raises the question: if a print manual is not needed and all we
have is online documentation, why choose PDF? The basis of PDF is a
"photocopy" of the print manual + a few more features added on top of that,
such as links, bookmarks, etc. If our media is the screen , why bother with
a print-to-online technology while you can author directly in a tool meant
for that?

Erika




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