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Re: equations, acrobat, WP, other



I use pdf files a fair amount. Using the Adobe software, you can convert
your files (I deal mostly with Word documents too) to pdf. You then place a
link on your web page to the pdf file. As long as the visitor to your site
has the adobe viewer plug in, the document will show up in their browser
window. The pdf viewer interface also shows up in the browser window and
provides a good deal of search and viewing tools as well as the ability to
print and to save the file.

It's a pretty handy way to "convert" you more complicated documents into a
format usable on the web without using HTML. The only catch is that it is
pretty easy to wind up with large file sizes that take a while (using a
modem) to download. Also, the plug in for Adobe is pretty hefty too.



At 02:23 PM 10/18/98 +0100, you wrote:
Thanks for sharing the pfd wisdom, David. I tried to access your page
http://maple.LeMoyne.edu/~BridgeDL/
but the reply was that "server is not available". I will try tomorrow.

You are saving a word file in the pdf format. To my understanding
it offers you a possibility of sending it to any computer, either on a
diskette or as an attachment to e-mail, and be nearly certain that
recipients will be able to visualize the file; both on screen and on
paper. The only software they need is Acrobat reader, available
for free dowloading from Addobe. Do I understand you correctly?

That is not the same as turning files into web documents (browsable
with netscape, for example). You second message states that linked
pdf files (not yet tried by you) can be as useful as HTML documents.
Can you elaborate on this?

David L. Bridges wrote:

Just in case my immediately prior response to "Equations on the web" made
the Adobe Acrobat software sound like nothing more than an MS Word,
add-in, let me add that the button it adds to MS Word is very nice, but
Acrobat works with any software that can print to a printer through the OS.
So if you use Word Perfect, Acrobat is just as good as if you use MS Word.
Similarly for any spreadsheet, CAD software, electronics simulation (if it
can print the circuits it lets you build), etc.

Adobe accomplishes this trick by making the Acrobat software install a
virtual printer on your machine. When you are ready, select the virtual
printer as the print destination, and it spits out a pdf file.

I've not tried these, but I believe the Acrobat software allows you to add
to pdf files links to Web documents, and pdf documents are word searchable.
These make pdf just about as good as HTML, though I find the switch to a
different interface when the Acrobat reader runs a bit jarring.


R. Allen Shotwell
Chair, Science and Math
Ivy Tech State College
Terre Haute, IN USA