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.
I wrote to Geoff Hart off-list, asking if he would write an article in
his raycomm column elaborating on his suggestion (well, perhaps,
implicit suggestion) that designers of pdfs might tailor documents for
on-line viewing.
He wrote back:
<G.H.>
In fact, I've already done some writing about how to repurpose
information for online use. One helpful starting point might be the
following:
Hart, G. 2001. The trouble with Acrobat.
www.writing-world.com/epublish/acrobat.html
Hope this helps. If you're looking for more information, feel free to
post this URL on techwr-l and ask for additional opinions on specific
points. As you know, the odds are good that I'll have something to say
on the issues too. <g>
</G.H.>
I found his article to be just what I was looking for, but I thought
perhaps some of you out there might have other ideas to add -- some
suggestions about how to entice readers to read the document on the
screen rather than print it out.
Real life example to illustrate why I am trying to come up with more
ideas for designing my pdfs:
It seems to me that Adobe's pdf documentation for Acrobat follows
Geoff's excellent suggestions, and is also well-organized and
well-indexed. But still, when I was using it, I printed it out and stuck
it in a binder (single-sided and one small pdf page per paper page, I am
ashamed to admit). I can't think of anything else the writer could have
done to make it screen-friendly, but I'm hoping you all might have some
thoughts.
Planning to attend IPCC 01, October 24-27 in Santa Fe? Sign up by
October 3 and get a substantial discount! Program information,
online registration, and more on http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
+++ Miramo -- Database/XML publishing automation. See us at +++
+++ Seybold SFO, Sept. 25-27, in the Adobe Partners Pavilion +++
+++ More info: http://www.axialinfo.comhttp://www.miramo.com +++
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
