Adobe Acrobat and HTML

[Stan Furmanak]

At 11:25 AM 10/22/96 -0700, Bob Long wrote:

I WANT my HTML pages to look exactly the way I intend them. Who
>wouldn't? I strive to control every pixel on the screen, (not always an easy
>task with things like browser offset to contend with).

I think you miss the point as to what SGML and HTML are intended to do
which is describe the structure of the document because it is the
informational content of the document that is important not the format. The
structure of the document is especially critical to the successful indexing
and retrieval of SGML documents.

Because you can't anticipate what kind of WWW browser anyone accessing your
documents will use and what it can and can not do i.e. screen size, fonts,
colors, etc. it may be your efforts are a bit wasted. I've seen some
beautifully constructed documents that were rather useless for Lynx users
or people who simply haven't upgraded to the latest and greatest.

Every HTML manual I've read states explicitly that you shouldn't design
your documents based on what they look like on your browser. Instead, make
them clearly organized, informational and well written.

PostScript, on the other hand, *is* a page desription language concerned
with style and format.


Stan Furmanak                                   (717) 867-6973 voice

Systems and Reference Librarian                 (717) 867-6979 fax
Bishop Library                                  furmanak at lvc.edu
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Annville, Pa 17003