The PDF format is highly useful. Any user who downloads a document can either read it on screen or print it out and be pretty much guaranteed of seeing the styles, pictures, fonts, and spacing that the creator intended.
PDFs have one big drawback, however. They usually live online, but they can’t be opened easily within a Web page. The user either has to download the whole document and then open it, or else wait for Adobe Acrobat to launch in his or her Web browser, which means having one’s whole computer “hang” for 10 to 30 seconds. Either option is a problem if you’re the owner of a Web page that might capture a person’s attention for a minute, if you’re lucky.
Lately I’ve been getting around the problem using Scribd, a site that uploads your PDF and converts it into a scrolling Flash screen they call iPaper. You can then embed that Flash player into your Web page. A button on the player still allows the user to download the document, should he or she wish. Here’s an example, one of the many state newsletters we’ve done for AARP.
It works with other file formats too, including PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.
