Web documents in HTML or plain-text formats are automatically displayed in most Web browsers; no conversion or special application is necessary. Another format that can be used for Web publishing is the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF documents are published on the Web by linking to them from an HTML document.
PDF, a platform-independent format, and its attendant program, Acrobat, were developed by Adobe Systems. The Acrobat program converts PostScript documents, designed primarily for printing, into PDF files for viewing online. Acrobat attempts to duplicate the printed format of even complex documents containing text, tables, graphics, or scientific and mathematical notation.
Adobe distributes a free application, Acrobat Reader, which displays PDF documents. The Acrobat Reader is available on Macintosh, Windows, and some Unix platforms, including Athena, and can launch automatically from any Web browser so that PDF documents available from Web pages can be viewed easily.
The advantage of PDF is that it can display a highly formatted document, such as a newsletter, report, or book, and retain the look and feel of the printed document. PDF files are compressed so the file size is usually smaller than the original document file.
A disadvantage of PDF is that MIT students may be tempted to print PDF documents on Athena's public printers. This can cause problems if 100 students try to print a 20-page handout at the same time. If you do link large PDF files to your course Web pages, warn your students about the printing issues and point them to information on the Athena Printer Policy. As a general rule of thumb, if the document is greater than a few pages and/or your class has more than 10 students you should provide hard copy handouts of the material instead of or in addition to placing the PDF files online.
Another problem with PDF results from the fact that a PDF file is a graphic image and so information contained within cannot be accessed by non-graphical browsers such as Lynx or screen readers for the blind. To address this issue Adobe has developed a conversion tool called Adobe Access which can convert PDF files to HTML. Users can submit the URL of the PDF file for conversion via an HTML form, or by attaching the file to an e-mail. As with most converters, the quality and accuracy of the conversions can vary greatly. If you plan on posting much of your course material in PDF format, provide a link to the Adobe Access web site in case students need to convert the documents to HTML.
To create a PDF file, you generally save the original document as a PostScript file, then use the Adobe Acrobat Distiller to convert the PostScript into PDF; if you are starting with a TeX or LaTeX file, you can convert it directly to PDF on Athena. Very simple files (with no graphics) may convert with the PDF Writer, also part of the Acrobat program. At MIT, Acrobat Distiller is available on Athena. For Macintosh or Windows systems, you may purchase a copy of Acrobat Pro, which includes the Distiller and PDF Writer, or you may use licensed copies of Acrobat Pro in one of MIT's New Media Centers.
It is also possible to convert a PowerPoint presentation into PDF format. The procedure is to place the PowerPoint presentation on Athena; open it in StarOffice; use StarOffice's Print to File option; and then use the Acrobat Distiller.
For more details on PDF, go to the ACS PDF FAQ.
When you run Netscape or Mosaic from the Communication menu of the Athena dashboard, Acrobat Reader launches automatically if you follow a link to a PDF document.
The free Acrobat Reader is available directly from Adobe.
MIT users may also go to Downloading
Acrobat Reader.
Once you download Acrobat Reader, open your Web browser's Preferences file
and make sure that the helper application settings are configured to launch
Acrobat Reader. If you downloaded your copy of Netscape or Mosaic from MIT's
net-dist, it should already be configured properly. If you need help with
your configuring your Preferences file, contact the Computing Help Desk
at x3-1101 (Macintosh) or x3-1102 (Windows). Machines in the MIT New Media
Centers are already configured to launch Acrobat Reader from Netscape.