I've recently written an ebook for a client in Word.
Now they want to convert it to Adobe Acrobat before they use it.
I have no problem whatever with them wanting to do this but what does Adobe Acrobat do that makes it a better platform for an interactive ebook than Word?
rus slater
7 Responses
Extra Safeguards
Hi Russ!
Typically, I choose the Adobe option when I don’t want to risk my document going all “pear-shaped” when it arrives the other end and tries to get displayed on another version of Word. As you know, what can work fine on your PC can mysteriously look different on someone else’s, even if they are appear on the face of it, to be using the same software.
Adobe sort of takes a photo of your original Word pages, and makes sure that nothing can then interfere with how it looks on another system.
It is also possible to set some parameters within the Adobe tool (if you have access to that and not just a more simplified Word-to-PDF converter – now built into Word 2007) to stop people cutting and pasting your content into other documents, even to print it out, which some people like if they are selling their work as an e-book.
Tim
thanks
Tim
Thanks for that, that really does explain the situation…there certainly have been some issues around the pear like shape of some parts of the book and this would appear to be a perfect solution….I’m looing into getting some Adobe/PDF software so I can do it myself!
Rus
http://www.coach-and-courses.com
Serif PagePlus X3
I recommend Serif PagePlus X3 for outputting and producing PDF documents for two reasons, it’s reasonably priced, relatively easy to learn and it does the job.
http://www.serif.com/
Word 2007
Office 2007 has PDF creation built in so if you’re planning to upgrade anytime soon this isn’t a bad way to go – and it’s the official Adobe product too.
thanks for the recommendations
Thanks Garry and Nik, I’m looking into your recommendations
Greatly appreciated
Rus
Adobe
Hi Rus
There are a number of advantages in using .pdf files – keeping the format the same is one, making it more difficult for the document to be copied or changed etc.
But I would point out a major drawback – for people with a visual impairment who use “talking” software, .pdf files are completely inaccessible. Something you need to be aware of so that you can still provide an alternative version if required.
Regards
Cathy
Ask the customer
I agree with most of what’s below, though ‘ask your customer’ seems like an obvious point to make. I disagree with Cathy – there *is* PDF to speech technology, though I can’t name it without some research.