PDFs - Does size matter?

Razuur said:

How do you feel about PDFs? Do you purchase them? Do you like them? How big or little?

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I love PDFs. Like you, I buy tons of them Still, I'm not really fond of the little PDFs. I do buy them but mostly for evaluation purposes. If I like one of the little stand-alone PDFs, I'll then go buy the compilations that invariably follow (like the packet of 2004 Archetypes for M&M for example).

HellHound said:

We don't have a choice with RPGnow - that's how the distribution works.

In addition, it prevents a lot of problems, as PDFs open natively in browsers, so the purchaser would have to remember to click the save button after opening the PDF, or lose it.

By having it as a zip file, the user is prompted for a place to save it.

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It's quite easy to right mouse and save, File|Save, or to set the server or browser up so that it won't open as PDF or gives a save option first. Unzipping a file often takes far more effort than any of those, and 9 times out of 10 I _want_ to view the file before I save it, which I can't do (easily) if someone zipped it first. What you're saying sounds like a post-hoc justification for the fact that someone mistakenly thought that zip compresses PDF files effectively (a common misconception for sure) and that no one ever bothered to change the way things are done.

It's a minor inconvenience at worst though. And really, I prefer them zipped. It doesn't save space but it saves me multiple mouse clicks on the front end, and stores more cleanly than twelve individual files.

Emiricol said:

It's a minor inconvenience at worst though. And really, I prefer them zipped. It doesn't save space but it saves me multiple mouse clicks on the front end, and stores more cleanly than twelve individual files.

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Ah, "it's a crate for multiple files" makes a lot more sense than "it defeats the normal function of the browser in a strange way that you could also have done by much easier means".
With a single file, it doesn't save any mouse clicks though. 1 left click or 1 right click, either way, and in many cases a ZIP type prompts a save-or-open dialog (depends on your browser settings), which is actually taking one more click than if you right-mouse and save.

tarchon said:

Unzipping a file often takes far more effort than any of those

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Clicking on a file so that it opens is "far more effort?"

tarchon said:

What you're saying sounds like a post-hoc justification for the fact that someone mistakenly thought that zip compresses PDF files effectively (a common misconception for sure) and that no one ever bothered to change the way things are done.

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Or, ya know, maybe...just maybe, he's a publisher who works with RPGNow, and knows what he's talking about when he discusses the delivery software we use.

There goes Mr. Skarka, with the stellar customer relations again.

tarchon - if the distribution of zipped PDF files is a major inconvenience for you, then the people to take your complaints to would be the administrators of RPGNow (or whichever other vendor you use). In RPGNow's case, they are the ones who require that the files they sell are distributed in .zip format. In some cases, publishers prefer providing .zip files because their products are actually several individual files. This is not always the case, however. As for the issue of preventing PDFs from opening in the browser window, the administrators of RPGNow might not be aware ofwhat you call "the easy fix." If you truly do have a problem with this mode of distribution, and would like to provide feedback that may lead to change, your best bet is to contact the administrators of RPGNow.

Since Mr. Skarka does public relations work for RPGNow, I am sure he would be able to provide you with the necessary contact information.


As to the topic of this thread:

To me, a PDF's size alone is irrelevant. Some material is better to provide in a small package. Not every publisher on RPGNow is aware of this, however, as I often see many small products that ought to be compiled and offered as a complete book. The main issue, however, is whether a PDF is priced appropriately relative to it's size. In this regard, I find many smaller products are actually grossly overpriced. I don't care whether the PDFs I buy are large or small; I just want to get my money's worth.

Roudi said:

There goes Mr. Skarka, with the stellar customer relations again.

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???

Did I kill your cat or something? What *is* it with you?

Roudi said:

Since Mr. Skarka does public relations work for RPGNow, I am sure he would be able to provide you with the necessary contact information.

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Not exactly true---I handle customer service questions, not PR.

Either way, the contact information is webmaster@rpgnow.com. ...but, given the delivery system, I doubt that a change is going to occur.

Roudi said:

I don't care whether the PDFs I buy are large or small; I just want to get my money's worth.

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This is one part of PDF publishing I frequently worry about. With each release I ask myself "Am I giving the customer a good product at a fair price?" It's a tough area of publishing and one I think about on an almost daily basis.

I _think_ the answer to my question is yes. At least, I hope it is.

tarchon said:

It's quite easy to right mouse and save, File|Save, or to set the server or browser up so that it won't open as PDF or gives a save option first. Unzipping a file often takes far more effort than any of those, and 9 times out of 10 I _want_ to view the file before I save it, which I can't do (easily) if someone zipped it first. What you're saying sounds like a post-hoc justification for the fact that someone mistakenly thought that zip compresses PDF files effectively (a common misconception for sure) and that no one ever bothered to change the way things are done.

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Since the delivery system in question runs through an emailed link, the right click and save feature does not work for a lot of email clients. For example, using eudora, the link is there, either I cut and paste it into a browser window (thus having to load the 40 meg file to the browser instead of downloading it and saving it) or I click on the link and it opens a new browser window and starts the same process.

There might be a quick fix so every user can change his or her browser to not work this way, but wouldn't it just be easier to provide the files in a zip file and not have to educate the tens of thousands of buyers on how to reconfigure their browsers?

Using zip files in this technique instead opens a new browser window which then immediately prompts me with a save / run option.

As a footnote, this is far froma 'post-hoc' justification for the service. I -know- that zips don't work on PDF files well (but RAR does, some PDFs can see as much as a 40% reduction in file size through RAR compression). I also know that, as a vendor, I -HAVE- to follow the rules of the store I sell through. In the case of RPGnow, this means distributing the documents in zip format.

Finally, a vast majority of our products contain multiple files in the archive, not a single PDF. However, this is not the primary reason at this time for the use of archives for all our distributions.

I purchase some larger pdf's, like Book of Roguish Luck (and most Malhavoc stuff) and I like it just fine. I also purchase many smaller books on obscure things I might like. Phil Reeds points about the 6 Living Planar Gates is a great example. I intend to buy it (number 28, apparently!) and for a buck it sounds good, but would I want to drop 6 or 7 bucks on something like that? How many Living Planar Gates do you think I might need...? Most of the Ronin Art catalogue strikes me pretty much like that. Give me a dozen of some thing, I'm like to find one or two I'll use in my games, and it's all good. If each one was a 101, I'd buy less of them overall, or maybe wait until the collection was available, seeing as how Phil has the vision to bundle up several smaller products and sell them as a collection...a model I like quite a bit.

Anyway, someone also asked about three quality pdfs. I'd go for DM's Guide to Demiplanes from Ronin Arts (easily the most useful product I have from them), Denizens of Avadnu from Inner Circle Games (full color Epic level monsters, very useful), and Book of Eldritch Might III, The Nexus, from Malhavoc.