Using PDF files – Pros and Cons

Published: 7 Jan 2009 In: Website Design

I have been working on a project recently where the customer has requested the use of PDF files in the content. This actually happens frequently, especially when the customer is not that web savvy. It usually also involves a lengthy discussion on the use of PDF files and the impact to the visitor.

But it has caused me to sit back and make an attempt to understand the perspective of the customer.

Using a PDF file or two is not necessarily a web design sin. In fact, there are points to defend the use of a PDF file. So I thought it might be beneficial to highlight the pros and cons of using PDF files in your website content.

The PDF Basics

If you are not familiar with a PDF file, this is a file format, similar to a Word Document, that saves an electronic version of a document in a format suitable for printing. This file format should NOT be used for online presentation. It should only be used if you want to offer your visitors content for them to print and read offline.

So, why is PDF not suitable for presentation.

PDF File Format Cons

Content formatted for Print – A PDF file is usually formatted to the size of a printed page like A4 or Letter, not to the size of a screen. This makes it difficult to read online as the user needs to spend more time scrolling through the content as they read. Most PDF files have been converted from a document format and as such, are long and boring to read in an online environment.
Browser Loading Times – Since the PDF file is usually a blob of content, it requires extra time to download the entire document before the user can begin to scroll through it. This interrupts the flow of navigation that the user is used to experiencing on the web site as a whole.
Destroys User Experience – Since the PDF file is an independent blob of content, it comes equipped with it’s own set of commands for viewing and printing. These are separate from the standard commands of the web browser or those built into the web page. Hence, it acts like content that is not really a part of the overall site.
Non-Standard Navigation – Working through a PDF file has gotten simpler over the years. But the navigation methods are still very different from the web site navigation or those of the web browser.
Non-editable content – This is listed as a negative, but this point could also be a positive, depending upon your needs. If someone is looking at your content and would like to reference or report on a portion of it, they cannot do so as easy with a PDF file.
Not the Best for SEO – While search engines like Google can index PDF files, it is more difficult to put importance on individual peices of the content with a PDF file. If you are looking to boost your search engine rankings, PDF format would not be the preferred method for presenting our content.

PDF File Format Pros

Protecting Intellectual Property – If you have a portion of content that you do not want copied by visitors, then PDF is the way to go. This format also enables the creator to insert information that stays with the content so readers always know exactly where it came from.
Maintain Printed Format – When sticking to a printed format is your goal, even for an online environment, use PDF. However, you must be made aware that writing content for print is far different than writing for the web. (Net Writing Masters Course)

There are other times when using a PDF format might work better than others. For instance, one project wanted a place where potential investors could download a Powerpoint Presentation for the investment pitch. They converted the file to PDF to reduce the size (believe it or not) and maintain a similar experience than that of the actual presentation. It isn’t quite the same, but it served their particular purpose.

Guidelines for Using PDF Files

If you are going to be offering some of your content in the form of PDF files, it is always a good idea to reference a location to download the latest copy of the Acrobat Reader. This allows the user to get the reader easily without having to perform another search for it.

If you have a link to a PDF file (Making Your Words Sell), note it in the link text or display an icon next to the text. You insert an icon automatically by inserting the following lines into your CSS file:

a[href$=".PDF"], a[href$=".pdf"] {

	padding: 2px 2px 2px 20px;

	background: url("images/pdficon_small.gif") left center no-repeat;

}

You will need to download the Adobe icons from here. This will automatically insert the appropriate icon for any links to a file with the PDF extension.

To summarize, don’t use PDF for content that your users will read online. If you do require a secure format, state to your visitors the advantage of saving the file and printing for offline reading.

Do you have any other uses for PDF files? Any suggestions we haven’t covered here? Leave us your experiences as a comment.

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Tags: pdf content, pdf file, pdf format, using pdf files, Web Tools, Website Design

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2 Responses to Using PDF files – Pros and Cons

Leonard Rosenthol

January 7th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

I would like to correct two points you made.

First, about “browser load times”.

PDF offers a feature called “Fast Web View”, where the PDF is prepared in such a way that the pages can be loaded “on demand” – so that only page 1 need be downloaded in order to view it! This makes for VERY fast viewing of documents.

Unfortunately, many people don’t properly prepare their documents for use on the web (ie. enable this feature) or use PDF creation tools that don’t support this feature. This gives people the (mistaken) impression that PDF doesn’t have the feature – it does, and has had since Acrobat 4 (over 10 years ago!)

Second, about “linking to PDF sections”.

PDF, like HTML, has the concept of ‘named anchors’ – though in PDF terminology they are called “Named Destinations” and they have been part of PDF since Acrobat 3. These can be used in all the same ways that one would use an HTML anchor – inside the same document or between documents INCLUDING of different types. So you can quite easily link from an HTML page directly to a heading/paragraph/etc. inside a PDF. In addition to just getting you to the right place in the document, a PDF “Named Destination” also supports the specification of ‘viewing criteria’ such as zoom factor, scrolling, etc.

Of course, just like HTML pages, the PDF has to have been authored (or post-edited) to incorporate the necessary destinations/anchors.

Hope that you can incorporate these corrections into your page for future readers.

Leonard Rosenthol
PDF Standards Architect
Adobe Systems

Eric

January 8th, 2009 at 9:21 am

Thank you Leonard,
This is very helpful. It sounds like there is room to expand on your points about preparing your PDF files for online use.
I was not aware of these features.
Thanks again,
Eric

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Using PDF files – Pros and Cons

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Using PDF files – Pros and Cons

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