Re: Distributing manuals via the Internet

[Max Wyss <prodok -at- prodok -dot- ch>]

Nancy,

there are several levels of security you can choose from.

The simplest level would be to protect the PDF documents with an Opening
password. You set the password when you save the document after setting the
security from "none" to "standard". There you also can restrict certain
actions, as well as (very important) set the password to change the
security settings.

You then distribute the files and let the users know about the Opening
passwords.

This security system is free.

If you want/need better security, you might look at the products from
FileOpen (http://www.fileopen.com). Here, you have a full range of
possibilities. You can for example attach the document to the user's
machine. This allows you to freely distribute the documents, but they can
only be opened when the user has the according security handler installed,
or gets the appropriate authorization. Again, you can restrict some
actions, such as printing, copying text etc. You also could set the number
of times the document can be opened or printed out.

This product is of course not free, but it provides a very good range of
possibilities, worth every penny.

Hope, this can help.


Max Wyss
PRODOK Engineering
Low Paper workflows, Smart documents, PDF forms
CH-8906 Bonstetten, Switzerland

Fax:  +41 1 700 20 37
e-mail:  mailto:prodok -at- prodok -dot- ch
http://www.prodok.ch



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Our manuals group is considering electronic distribution of manuals (both
current and obsolete, the latter for use by customer service engineers)
using the Internet.  They would be in the form of pdf files.  We would
probably use some form of password protection so that only our customers or
engineers had access.

Has anyone else tried this approach?  What are the pitfalls, if any?  Are
there other considerations to this method that might not be immediately
apparent?