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

Subject: RE: Nielsen frags PDF with misinformative Alertbox... AGAIN!
From: kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 08:08:29 -0600


Chris wrote:

> As an example of what can be done, take a look at this:
>
> http://www.tp4.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/SoftwareDocs/pdfsc/manual-screen.pdf


This is excellent, and a fine example of what *can* be done. But it's also
(in my experience) a very rare example. The majority of PDFs I've
encountered were obviously simply quick saves/conversions from Word or
Frame. And in the example you cited, the author has essentially written
his own GUI, negating the need to use Acrobat's less-than-intuitive
interface. That's great, but if you need to rewrite the GUI just to
present a doc, that requires more time than I want to put in. I don't have
to create a rewritten browser to present HTML, and anybody who's worked in
an office for a week can read a Word doc in a browser.

Don't get me wrong - Acrobat and PDF are VERY powerful tools. But it
doesn't seem like many people know how to "use these powers for good." <g>
I've created similar interfaces for user docs, with a control panel that
led to an entire set of indexed, linked documentation. It's great stuff,
and fun to experiment with, but it's a LOT of work.

So to clarify, the area where I hate PDFs is in quick-and-dirty
publication. And frankly, q&d publication seems to dominate the workplace,
at least in my world. In those circumstances, I find HTML or even - gasp -
Word preferable.

If you've got the time, knock yourself out. Acrobat is just one step shy
of Visual Basic if you're into designing the entire user interface for
your docs. Me, I've got siglines to write, so I can't be bothered. <g>



Goober wrote:

> Well, PDF requires little user knowledge when implemented correctly.
> Heck, I just got my company's entire QA department up and running
> with PDF content reviews using notes and highlighting in the PDFs,
> and generating summary reports from them. Most have never used Acrobat
> (not Reader) before, and total training time was 5 minutes.


That's 5 more minutes than I get with my audience - the vast majority of
the documents I create are read by strangers external to my company, to
whom I have no direct access. In your context, it does sound like an
excellent tool.



Keith Cronin
current audiobook recommendation: Sir Apropos of Nothing, by Peter David.
I bet it's a fun read, but it's a truly terrific listen, if you're not
afraid of appalling puns.





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