My biggest concern is PDF's lack of hypertext structure. At present, it can do outbound links, it can even do web forms, but there's no way to link to an anchor within a document. Hence, to address it as though it were just another webpage is, to me, detaching hypertext from the web. HTML = HyperText Markup Language, whilst PDF = Portable Document Format. Documents are separate to Hypertext in that they are defined, and, as I perceive it related in purely linear fashion -- parallel fashion, even -- to the web (you download it, you read. No interaction.)
PDF is getting more feature-rich, sure, but is it supplanting markup? For "visually complex documents/presentations", I'd _personally_ lean more towards hybrid markup/Flash (with appropriate accessibility controls) than PDF, unless a PDF already existed and was accessible (for example, large, complex documents such as annual reports, etc.). Forms, on the other hand, seem to be pointless in a PDF unless it's intended as a hypertext replacement -- which (IMO) it shouldn't me. *$0.05 expired. Insert more to continue.* Josh On 2/3/06, Marilyn Langfeld <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm going to stick my neck out here folks... > > PDF presentation on the web is getting better. Example: http:// > www.bamagazine.com/?Click=40472 I tried to download one of the pdfs > (in Safari 2.0.3) and it opened instead. I actually preferred reading > it in Safari to opening Acrobat and reading it there. Surprised myself. > > I wouldn't want pdf to supplant HTML web pages, but for those > visually complex documents/presentations that don't work well in > HTML, I can see a use for pdf display in the browser. And Adobe is > adding accessibility aids (depends on the designer to implement them > though). I think I prefer this to Flash. Soon, I'm afraid we'll see > lots of Flash and pdf combined, so get ready. One day you may wish > there were more plain pdfs, instead of whatever hybrid Flash/pdf > becomes. > > Best regards, > > Marilyn Langfeld > Langfeldesigns > http://www.langfeldesigns.com > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > ****************************************************** > The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ > > See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm > for some hints on posting to the list & getting help > ****************************************************** > > -- Joshua Street http://www.joahua.com/ +61 (0) 425 808 469 ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
