good PDM maker?
- Thread starter Ampolitor
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HellHound
ENnies winner and NOT Scrappy Doo
The problem with free PDF programs is that one of the things the average PDF user is looking for is good use of the PDF features, the first and foremost being the bookmarking.
I haven't found a program yet besides Adobe Acrobat or Adobe InDesign that does bookmarking well.
I haven't found a program yet besides Adobe Acrobat or Adobe InDesign that does bookmarking well.
seasong
First Post
Personally, I don't find bookmarks particularly useful. My experience with them has indicated that they make a good "checklist in a review" kind of thing, but they don't seem to add anything to the usability or experience that (Ctrl)+F doesn't already give you.
A document short enough that you can navigate the bookmarks without scrolling is short enough that hitting the right or left arrow keys will jump you anywhere in the document you want to be. A document long enough that you need the bookmarks makes the bookmark list unwieldy. And is a bit long to be reading on a computer with (Ctrl)+F anyway.
There's a happy medium, somewhere, in which you have only the most important areas bookmarked in a long file, but even this doesn't save you gobs of time if you are looking for something specific within the document. MUCH more useful, in my opinion, is a well-designed Table of Contents or Index, either one. Hyperlinks is a layer of icing, but is not required for usability.
Of course, if you want good reviews of a PDF document, I'm given to understand that you need to include bookmarks of some sort
.
A document short enough that you can navigate the bookmarks without scrolling is short enough that hitting the right or left arrow keys will jump you anywhere in the document you want to be. A document long enough that you need the bookmarks makes the bookmark list unwieldy. And is a bit long to be reading on a computer with (Ctrl)+F anyway.
There's a happy medium, somewhere, in which you have only the most important areas bookmarked in a long file, but even this doesn't save you gobs of time if you are looking for something specific within the document. MUCH more useful, in my opinion, is a well-designed Table of Contents or Index, either one. Hyperlinks is a layer of icing, but is not required for usability.
Of course, if you want good reviews of a PDF document, I'm given to understand that you need to include bookmarks of some sort
.
Last edited:
Planesdragon
First Post
pdf995 - (get a new version)
pdf995, I was pleastly surprised to discover last night, allows for the insertion of heiarchal bookmarks after the PDF is made--and the bookmarks can even be saved as an XML file.
It's not Acrobat, but it's not $400 either.
HellHound said:
pdf995, I was pleastly surprised to discover last night, allows for the insertion of heiarchal bookmarks after the PDF is made--and the bookmarks can even be saved as an XML file.
It's not Acrobat, but it's not $400 either.
Krail Stromquism
First Post
If your doing just straight text, then I wouldnt worry too much about it. go with something free.
but as a Graphic Designer, you'll be hard pressed to find something as good as InDesign, it blows the doors off Quark and Pagemaker.
I would approach each product as a possible 'to print' item. So your much better off designing for an actual book than just a PDF.
It'll keep your look, layout and design more consistant with print products and thats really what people want in a pdf.
just my 2 cents
but as a Graphic Designer, you'll be hard pressed to find something as good as InDesign, it blows the doors off Quark and Pagemaker.
I would approach each product as a possible 'to print' item. So your much better off designing for an actual book than just a PDF.
It'll keep your look, layout and design more consistant with print products and thats really what people want in a pdf.
just my 2 cents
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