PDF Documentation

[Scott Prentice]

OK .. I'll add my 0.02 to this "survey" ..

In general I hate reading PDFs on screen.

When reading content on screen I much prefer doing so in an application 
that allows me to resize the window to suit my needs (typically HTML .. 
web browser or CHM), and the content flows to fit that window. If a PDF 
is intended for printing, it will usually be too big to be convenient on 
screen (assuming that I'm using this along with another application). If 
a PDF is optimized for on screen use (typically a smaller page size) it 
won't be very useful for printing. Also, if you provide a multi column 
layout (often nice for printed output), it becomes very difficult to use 
on screen. Some companies provide two versions of PDF docs, one for 
printing and one for on screen use .. I think that's a very nice thing 
to offer .. but would prefer that the on screen documentation be a more 
user-friendly format (CHM/HTML). Searching in a PDF is a fairly useless 
operation as well, which is another reason I prefer to use other types 
of online docs.

Cheers,

...scott

Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com
+1.415.485.1892



Kelly McDaniel wrote:
> Quick Survey:
>
>  
>
> Is it your experience that users view PDF documentation on their
> computer display in preference to printing it for use?
>
> If so, by what ratio of view:print? Opinions and SWAGs are fine.
>
>  
>
> Kelly M. McDaniel
>
> Senior Technical Writer
>
>  
>
> Pavilion Technologies
>
> A Rockwell Automation Company
>
>  
>
>