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Subject:Re: Line Size for page (FM 7.1) From:Karen L. Zorn <k -dot- zorn -at- zorntech -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 19 May 2005 14:52:13 -0400
> I'm designing a book pretty much from scratch, using FrameMaker 7.1. The
> company used to use a 7x9 page size, but we don't actually print our
> books, we distribute them in PDF format and then expect our customers to
> read them online or print them off on a laser printer. If you print a
> 7x9 book to laser, you get a small amount of info in the middle of big
> blank space, which is not only hard to read but wastes paper. For that
> reason, I thought to change the page size to 8.5x11.
If you're not printing the books, why bother with a double-sided layout? It doesn't matter when reading online or even if the customer prints the section they need. Less hassle in the layout design for you..
Second, you need to think about onscreen readability. For most users, an 8.5 x 11 page is too large to comfortably read on most monitors without having to scroll the page. You might want to consider a landscape layout, use a sidehead format or columns. A 7 x 9 page fits easier onscreen with readable type than the larger page size.
I'm currently working on a maintenance manual for field service personnel who use notebooks with 15" screens. I talked with a couple of them and came up with a page layout that allows them to see an entire procedure on one screen. The type size was also adjusted so they don't have to squint or enlarge the PDF in order to read it while performing a procedure. As the final pass through the document before PDFing, I make sure that procedures start at the top of a page and figures are not split from corresponding text.
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