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.
Document:
Hardware manual, 200 or so pages, very graphics intensive (lots of
installation, configuration, jumper setting, etc., pictures) with a TOC and
index.
Process:
I generated a pdf (distiller driver) that's a whopping 2.1 MB - which
includes images at full resolution (you can zoom in and see details),
hyperlinks from TOC, Index, a full set of bookmarks for all four heading
levels, etc.
I also generated a pdf (also distiller driver) that is 500k - somewhat
fuzzier images (don't zoom - you'll kill yourself!) no internal links or
bookmarks.
Audience:
A good percentage of the users of this manual are in the field accessing the
pdfs over a slower connection. Some are smart enough to download the pdf
onto their machine before they leave the network, others aren't... Most of
these technicians are downloading the documents via links in a database
that's hooked up to our internal website.
So, the question is:
Is anyone willing to offer their assessment of the pro's and con's for
providing the pdf in both formats? The smaller, fuzzier, bookmark-free one
for field personnel who don't want to wait for downloads, and the more
"robust" version for workers at their desks, or who download before setting
out for the wilds?
Dan
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Are you using Doc-to-Help or ForeHelp? Switch to RoboHelp for Word for $249
or to RoboHelp Office for only $499. Get the PC Magazine five-star rated
Help authoring tool for less! Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr
Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by April 30. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.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.
