Saturday, December 21, 2002
Output to Acrobat PDF
When there is an absolute requirement to maintain the exact look of the MS Word document and still deliver on the web then the solution is to output to PDF [portable document format]. This is the standard format, created by Adobe to facilitate the transfer of documents for print and screen.
I went to all these places for information:
TopicSites has information about ebook formats
I consulted Elizabeth Turner of Salt Lake City
I consulted MVPs.org
Adobe have online help for Acrobat
I often consult PlanetPDF.This is useful tip about bookmarks from structure of document.
Scott Miller’s has posted most comprehensive instructions for creation of PDFs from Word
I consulted RDP
I did it my way:
A PDF ebook version of this text is available (440k).
This idea map shows you how I thought this through (50k). Made with ‘Inspiration’.
Hopefully Useful tips
Headings and styles Always use styles and headings in the Word document, not only will this provide a way for automatic PDF bookmark building but styles and headings will make it easier to make global modifications for delivery on a screen.
Platforms Microsoft Word for MAC - even Word X does not seem to have the same features as Word 2000 or 2002 for Windows.
With MAC OSX it is possible to ‘print to PDF’. Although this feature is only useful for previewing documents, very little control of the process is available.
More on Bookmarks Bookmarks in Acrobat can be modified, hierarchy changed or even renamed. In Acrobat 5 bookmarks can be coloured.
Spreads Documents are often designed to have a different left and right page. You might have page numbers on the left of the left page and on the right of the right page. In other words, the design may be mirrored.
I advise against this for online viewing because the shift of page components from one page to the next can be very irritating. There may be some occasions when you want to see the whole spread, but usually readers will move from page to page.
Columns If the design includes columns (I don’t recommend this for onscreen documents), then once in Acrobat use the ‘Article’ tool to link the bottom of the column with the top of the next one, otherwise readers will need to scroll down and then up again. This feature is automatiaclly available when using the PDF maker under Word for Windows.
Size If you want to keep the size of the resulting PDF small for web delivery then be sure to turn off the tagging for accessibility. This feature, which enables viewing on a number of devices and allows the text to wrap, can increase the file size dramatically.
MS Office XP To use Office XP and create PDF you must upgrade Acrobat to version 5.05 (note today’s date on this page)
