TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: PDF vs. paper From:Laurence Burrows <burrows -at- IBM -dot- NET> Date:Thu, 17 Dec 1998 18:24:32 +1100
Hi gang:
I've scanned your collective responses, but so far no-one has mentioned the
stellar advantage that paper has over pdf, viz:
-- if you're working with a product that has several dialog boxes up at any
given time (PhotoShop, Illustrator, Quark, FrameMaker, etc.) and you need
information about how to use a feature, then there is no damn screen
real-estate left to both display any type of online help (pdf, winhelp,
htmlhelp) *and* follow the instructions.
The only example I can recall where you *can* do both is the 'expert' help
for solving resource conflicts, memory problems, etc. from Start > Help >
Troubleshooting... which uses small modeless windows -- definitely not the
norm in applications software.
I would suggest that you distribute both forms of manual. If the customer
needs an extra copy of the manual (training a new hire) or to replace a
missing manual, then including the pdf version makes the option available
-- important if the vendor is in another state or country.
