Re: PDF vs HTML

[Dan Emory <danemory@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 11:56 AM 3/17/00 -0400, Sandy Moore wrote:
> I am preparing a report to qualify reasons for converting FrameMaker to
PDF over creating HTML documents for online viewing.  
>
>We currently create facilitator and student books for print and are looking
at creating online facilitator versions while maintaining links to student
books.  I have experimented with this and was successful creating PDF
versions of both.  Some people feel that HTML format creates clearer viewing.
==============================================================
What Utter Nonsense!
1. Experimental results have established that reading information from a
monitor reduces comprehension and retention:
It is well established that, when reading informatioin from a monitor, both
comprehension and retention are reduced (conservatively) by 30% over reading
the same information in printed form.

2. Experimental results show that a further secondary reduction in
comprehension (figures range from 5% to a whopping 40% depending on the
study) occurs when the text is formatted in the flush-left,
single-space-between-paragraphs (with generic fonts and font sizes) style
that is almost unavoidable in HTML- and WinHelp-type documents. The main
reason seems to be that, when this shovelware-type formatting is used,
readers can’t keep their place in the text, and end up skipping or
re-reading lines, which breaks their concentration and irritates them. The
studies also show that comprehension worsens even more with multi-screen
documents.
 
3. The secondary comprehension reduction, and a small portion of the primary
reduction, disappear when the text is formatted according to the
conventional rules of typography for printed material in whatever language
and culture is involved. In other words, people understand more when the
screen looks like a well-designed printed book.

4. Real-world experience supports the experimental results cited in 1, 3,
and 3 above:
Most people who browse through long HTML documents adopt the
print-before-reading habit—-they download the ones they need, format the
text in their word processors, and print them out. What they do on-line is
skim—read a couple of lines and scroll down, read a few more lines, and so
on. They’re not really “getting” the information this way, and a tremendous
amount of time is wasted converting the information to a readable, printable
form.

CONCLUSION:

By all means use PDF if you expect people to understand the information you
are providing. If, as described in 4 above, your users adopt the
print-before-reading habit, there's no hassle, unlike HTML and Winhelp, in
producing highly readable printed output. In addition to replicating the
typography and layout (including running header/footers, bleed tabs, etc.)
of a well-designed printed book, PDF has a zoom capability, which
facilitates the on-screen examination of complex graphics, and allows the
user to adjust the size of the text for easy reading. In my own opinion,
ordinary text in an on-line PDF version should be 12 points rather than the
10 point size typically used in printed books.
     ====================
     | Nullius in Verba |
     ====================
Dan Emory, Dan Emory & Associates
FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML Document Design & Database Publishing
Voice/Fax: 949-722-8971 E-Mail: danemory@primenet.com
10044 Adams Ave. #208, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
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