Peter Nermander wrote: >> But the whole point about OSS software is that it is accessible to >> people who haven't had to spend thousands of dollars on software with >> training on top. > > I haven't spent any money at all learning DTP, I have learned > everything from free online sources.
Me too... > And learning about how to produce "optimized" PDFs is very easy, there > are hundreds of pages on the web talking about different issues about > PDF creation. ...but I don't think that the fact that it's possible to trawl the net to find out how to do things should stop us giving software sensible defaults, or give a warning when a PDF files does not contain all the components needed to view it. >> I would have though it sensible to default to embedding all fonts, >> giving notices that > > The number one complaint about PDFs on this list is that they are to > big. People want small PDFs. Embedding fonts always makes the PDF > bigger. That is why all PDF generation software require that you > explicitly state if you want to embed fonts. For example if you are > distributing PDFs within and organisation where you know all computers > have the same font, it would be a huge waste of space to always embed > all fonts. Yes - there may be circumstances where you can be sure that the recipient has all the fonts you need, but I'm not sure that for the bulk of uses of PDF files that it's a good assumption. Not much use having a small fontless PDF if the recipient can't read it ! What fonts can you guarantee all recipients will have ? Cheers, J/. -- John Beardmore, MSc EDM (Open), B.A. Chem (Oxon), CMIOSH, AIEMA, MEI Managing Director, T4 Sustainability Limited. http://www.T4sLtd.co.uk/ Energy Audit, Carbon Management, Design Advice, Sustainable Energy Consultancy and Installation, Carbon Trust Standard Registered Assessor Phone: 0845 4561332 Mobile: 07785 563116 Skype: t4sustainability
