Adobe Acrobat and HTML

[David Risner]

On Tue, 22 Oct 1996, Bob Long wrote:

> At 09:15 AM 10/22/96 -0700, David G. Risner wrote:
> 
> >This is exactly correct.  HTML was created for the express purpose of
> >allowing the client to adjust their settings to make the information
> >readable to them on whatever computer they were using.  Acrobat has the
> >opposite philosophy.  If forces the page to look exactly the way the author
> >wants it to which in the computer world means you will force it to be
> >unreadable to some people.
> 
> Point taken. But I see this as a hinderance rather than an asset.
>         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).
>         It is 25% more difficult read text on a computer screen than it is
> in printed form. That's a limitation we have to live with. But in light of
> that, we have all the more reason to apply the same principals of design to
> a web document that we would to any other doucment we are creating.
> Indenting and good use of white space go a long way toward relieving some of
> that 25% handicap.

Indenting and white space can easily be done with HTML, no need for PDF.
PDF however forces colors upon the reader.  I, for one, cannot read screens
with white backgrounds.  As soon as one comes up on the screen, my nose
starts running and I get intense pain in my eyes.  With HTML and Netscape, I
can force the colors to be ones which I can read without pain.  (I know of
quite a few other people with the same problem).  I know other people who
have to have very high contrast between the background and foreground.  A
white background with black letters is best for them.

Font size: some people, like me, like the fonts small to see more at a time.
Some people need the fonts big to read them.

These are all things which can be adjusted with Netscape using HTML.  PDF
just won't do it for you.

--
David G. Risner -- Network Services Administrator
Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
E-mail: drisner at swlaw.edu