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Subject:Re: Windows Help vs. PDF From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Wed, 17 Sep 1997 14:58:41 +0800
Chuck & Dave (what happened to Vera?) -
Someone asked the question:
> Can PDFs be used to provide context-sensitive help for a
> Windows (95/NT) program? Has anyone done a comparison of
> standard Windows Help vs. PDF (pros and cons on one vs. other).
But David replied:
>Unfortunately, you cannot link to a specific page in a .PDF, though
>many of us have tried. I don't know why Adobe hasn't included this
>functionality, but for whatever reason, they haven't.
I don't create PDF documents yet, but I did save the following advice
from the framers list. I don't know whether it's practical to use page-
at-a-time PDF for online help, but from this it sounds as though it's
certainly possible.
Regards
---
Stuart Burnfield
Functional Software Pty Ltd ("Our code is girt by C") mailto:slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 11:14:02 +0200
To: Hedley Finger x 5472 <epahef -at- epa -dot- ericsson -dot- se>
From: Max Wyss <prodok -at- prodok -dot- ch>
Subject: Re: Calling Specific PDF Pages (PDF As On-line Help)
Cc: PDF List Posting <PDF-L -at- emrg -dot- com>,
Framers list <Framers -at- listserv -dot- workingtogether -dot- com>
Hedley,
many of your questions have a connection to the PDFMARK operator. You might
look in the Tech Notes on the Adobe Website for #5150 "pdfmark Reference
Manual". There are a few more references in that manual leading to further
documentation, downloadable from Adobe.
>@ Can an application open a PDF file at a particular page? At a
> particular heading on a page?
You can set a link to a specific page in a document with pdfmark. You even
have two choices: a hardwired page number or a named destination.
>@ If clicking a link opens a page in another file, can the calling
> page be optionally (left open | automatically closed) under
> the control of the documentation developer?
You can specify whether a new window should be opened or whether the target
file should open in the same window.
>@ Can the doco developer specify that a page open at a particular
> zoom percentage and the window be of a particular size (either
> in pixels, cm, or in)? (Application: open a Glossary and
> scroll to the anchor.)
As far as I understand the Tech Note, yes.
>@ Which FrameMaker hyperlink commands are/are not supported by
> Acrobat? Can we put some dinky navigational buttons on a
> Frame master page and have them not only show up in the PDF file
> but actually WORK?
The most prominent one is PREVIOUSLINK. This concept is not implemented in
the PDF format. However, with Acrobat 3, you can use the pdfmark specifying
a custom menu action.
Hope, this can help.
Max Wyss
PRODOK Engineering AG
Technical documentation and translations, Electronic Publishing
CH-8906 Bonstetten, Switzerland
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