Re: Nielsen frags PDF with misinformative Alertbox... AGAIN!

Subject: Re: Nielsen frags PDF with misinformative Alertbox... AGAIN!
From: David Knopf <david -at- knopf -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 09:57:26 -0700


kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com wrote:

Goober wrote:


Honestly, this guy blames technology for bad
authoring. So I blame him for bad information.

What's fair is fair.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030714.html

Summary: Users get lost inside PDF files, which are typically
big, linear text blobs that are optimized for print
and unpleasant to read and navigate online. PDF is
good for printing, but that's it. Don't use it for
online presentation.


Actually, as much NOT a fan of Jakob Nielsen as I am, I'm in total
agreement with his article. I hate PDF for anything other than a hardcopy
document whose publication is completely under my control. As a final
softcopy deliverable I think they're awful.


In all cases? For all users? For all deliverables? Sounds like an overgeneralization to me. PDFs have their place. It seems to me that Nielsen's comments are nothing more than overly broad generalizations and that they neglect basic questions like design and audience.

Regards,


--

David Knopf ~ Knopf Online ~ San Francisco
mailto:david -at- knopf -dot- com ~ http://www.knopf.com

Consulting & Training for Technical Communicators
FrameMaker ~ WebWorks ~ Structured Authoring ~ XML
WebWorks Publisher Certified ~ Adobe Certified Expert: FrameMaker
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Moderator, HATT & wwp-users



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