[semi-OT] PDFs vs. Word (was Re: Comments and questions)

[Gurth <Gurth@xxxxxxxxx>]

According to Juha Uusikartano, on Sat, 14 Apr 2001 the word on the street was...

> Finally, I'd like to ask that at least the tables would be made
> available in Microsoft Word format, so we could edit them a bit for GM
> screens and other purposes. Why are they in .pdf format anyway?

The best reason for using PDF over Word is that PDFs can be viewed on just
about any platform/OS (Windows, Mac, Unix, and lots of others) while Word
limits the choices much more. Sure, there's Word for Windows and Mac, and
StarOffice also opens Word files, but PDF is a better choice for
distribution to the world at large simply because many more platforms have
viewers available for them.

Additionally, Word is a word processor, and this means that what you see
on-screen depends on what is installed on your system (if you don't have
the right fonts, other ones will be substituted and the whole thing can
appear messed up. OTOH, with a PDF file (if done right) everything
necessary will be included to display the file as the author intended it.

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