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Disclaimer up front: I work for an Adobe / Frame VAR.
Acrobat files created from FrameMaker 5.x files can preserve all Frame
hypertext and cross-reference links within and across files with no extra
work for an author except clicking one check box. In addition, selected
paragraph formats, such as main and subordinate headings, can be made
into Acrobat bookmarks, indented hierarchically, with only a few
additional clicks.
File size relates to original file size and contents. Graphics can be
compressed to make smaller files for faster opening and transfer. Indexes
can be created with Catalog, one of the Acrobat family of products; these
indexes work with Search, part of the Exchange product, and also
available for CD-ROMs. These indexes are full-text, accept logical complex
search criteria, work across many hundreds or thousands of documents, and
are fast. They return a ranked list of "hits". Opening a document on the
hit list reveals highlighted hits.
Regards,
Peter gold
pgold -at- netcom -dot- com
On Thu, 11 Jul 1996 beth_staats -at- ARTISOFT -dot- COM wrote:
> Tech writers,
> At first we thought Adobe Acrobat was really neat, but I should tell
> you about the conclusions we've drawn from our last big project.
> We provided a bunch of detailed reference files in Adobe Acrobat PDF
> format on a CD and also posted them on our BBS, the WWW, FTP and
> CompuServe for downloading by users who don't have a CD-ROM drive.
> We've heard these complaints from users:
> - The PDF files aren't linked to each other, or to any other online
> info. Sometimes when I want to search for a topic, I end up
> repeating that process in each of the PDF docs. This is really
> inconvenient. I want all the online docs linked so I can search
> just once.
> - I don't have a CD-ROM drive so I tried to download. The Reader itself
> took a very long time to download, which bothered me. And then each of
> the files took too long to download. I don't like this.
> - PDF files take too long to navigate online. All the pauses waste my time.
> My machine is too slow or something. I might as well print them out.
> As a result of these comments, we've decided never again to give users
> files in PDF format ONLY. Chances are we'll move everything into HTML so
> that all docs can be searched at once. Meanwhile, we're putting the same
> info we have in those PDF files into:
> > TXT files for DOS users
> > the Windows online Help
> We hope that giving people three choices of documentation sources
> (in addition to the printed manuals) will help for now.
> Positive comments: PDF files print out beautifully, and they're fun to
> navigate online if you have the time.
> Beth in Tucson
> bstaats -at- artisoft -dot- com
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TECHWR-L List Information
To send a message about technical communication to 2500+ list readers,
E-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send administrative commands
ALL other questions or problems concerning the list
should go to the listowner, Eric Ray, at ejray -at- ionet -dot- net -dot-
