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Re: Is Word Formatting in End-User docs important?
Subject:Re: Is Word Formatting in End-User docs important? From:"Christensen, Kent" <lkchris -at- sandia -dot- gov> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 30 Nov 2000 10:06:02 -0700
Receiving digests of this list, my mind boggles at the number of posts on
this subject, and I must admit to having not read every word. I'd like to
add my bit, anyway ...
WORD is not a tool for electronic transfer of information to end users.
Period.
Let's see. What is your favorite font--have you modified your normal.dot so
your favorite font is always displayed? Suppose everyone you send WORD
files to has done the same? Think they would be willing to overwrite their
normal.dot so they can view/print your document the way you intend?
Answers: I have. Bad assumption. Not a chance.
THE tool for electronic transmission of information to end users is
Acrobat(pdf). Prints there like it prints at your workstation. Displays
there like it displays for you. The reader is free. (I'm not saying PDF is
best for online help--it's not.)
WORD is a format-for-print tool. It's, again, not a transmission tool. PDF,
in my view, is best as a transmission tool when the goal is printing.
Viewing PDF isn't much fun (because scrolling is uneven). If the goal is
viewing, use HTML, but then the best form of transmission is putting the
document on your web site and sending your end users the url. (Because you
can't embed graphics and because you may wish to break long documents up
into multiple files.)
More about viewing: does anyone care if pages have headers and footers and
numbers when they are viewing the information on a computer monitor? Does a
table of contents indicating something is on page 53 make sense? (Do in-text
references to page 53 ... ?) Viewing and printing are apples and oranges.
Each has its best tool. There is no universal tool. (I can remember the
early days of PCs when some tried to use Lotus 1-2-3 as a word processor.
Or as a database.) Your file for viewing and your file for printing should
be separate files. Resumes? The way I'd like to review a resume is on a
web page with a "printer friendly version" button that accesses a pdf file.
A web page with ... (getting exciting now) ... hypertext links to work
samples.
Sure, for writer-to-writer transmissions and for rough draft review, sending
WORD files can be expedient. Otherwise, it's amateurish. And a waste of
time--do I hear "standard templates?" WORD formatting in end-user docs? If
you must ... mail the paper, not the electrons. But, "it's the customer,
st*p*d." And ... [Microsoft Reader] {Dublin Core} #* -at- -dot- -dot- -dot- I can't stop my
fingers ...
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