PDF Documentation

[Shlomo Perets]

Kelly,

You wrote:

>Quick Survey:
>
>Is it your experience that users view PDF documentation on their
>computer display in preference to printing it for use? ...

Other than personal preferences and the type of content, key factors are
-- the extent to which the PDF is "screen friendly" (typography, layout)
-- on-screen added value offered in the PDF, including effective 
cross-document search and navigation, multimedia, user input mechanisms

Some nice examples of screen-optimized design are:
* 
http://contact.tm.agilent.com/data/static/downloads/eng/Notes/interactive/an-95-1/an-95-1.pdf
* 
http://contact.tm.agilent.com/data/static/downloads/eng/Notes/interactive/an-150-1/hp-am-fm.pdf
(produced 12 years ago, with Acrobat 2!)
[ or see current PDFs at http://ChangeThis.com/archives  ]

On the other hand, 
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/framemaker/pdfs/MIF_Reference.pdf is clearly 
print-oriented (even though labelled "Online Manual").


Shlomo Perets

MicroType * FrameMaker training & consulting * FrameMaker-to-Acrobat 
TimeSavers

30 Easy Ways to Improve PDFs with TimeSavers/Assistants: 
http://www.microtype.com/ImprovePDF.html