Linking Graphics

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM>]

Heather Achtziger <hachtziger -at- ROCKTENN -dot- COM>

>Reeeaaalllyy dumb question, perhaps, but. . .

If you don't know the answer, there's such thing as a dumb question. Or,
to pun on the meaning, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

>With all this talk of relative paths and linking graphics, can >someone tell me what the advantage of linking graphics is?


Added to the reduced file size (which also makes navigating through the
document easier, and, in the case of MS Word, increases stability), ease
of maintenance is the usual reason for linking files.

If you ever need to change the graphic, all you need to do is create a
new graphic, then save it with the name of the older one. Then your file
is automatically updated.

Still, there's also a case to be made for copying graphics into a
document. For example, when I pass a file to someone without much
understanding of word processing, I sometimes copy the graphics into the
file to save them trouble. Also, if the file is short and going to have
a limited life-span, then there's not much advantage to linking the
file, either.

On the other hand, if the document is long and going to have a long
life, then linking is the way to go.
--
Bruce Byfield
Freelance Technical Writer
 (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)  (604) 421-7189
Job Bank Team, STC Canada West Coast Chapter
http://www.stc.org/region7/cwc/www/job_bank.html

"Have you ever lost something special,
Have you felt all alone and bereft?
I bought a travel iron--
And it left."
--Les Barker

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