In the previous Session we looked at Scan and Skim. In this section we will look at PDF Acrobatics.
Download a PDF version of this lesson (17k) Using PDF Files effectively. This lesson is a sample from the manual.
Advantages and disadvantges of PDF
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files are a convenient way to deliver print documents. Keep the following in mind when deciding to use a PDF file:
Disadvantages
- Displaying a title in Google is more difficult to set up
- Large files can be slower to download than HTML.
- The user must have the Adobe Reader plug-in installed in order to read the document.
- PDF documents are usually formatted to print vertically, while monitors are generally horizontal. The mismatch causes users to scroll more often.
Advantages
- PDFs are good for forms and manuals because the layout will faithfully reproduce your original document.
- They are ideal where specialised fonts are required, eg. music, foreign languages, mathematics, chemistry.
- They deliver high-resolution images in a relatively small file format.
Source: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/accessibility/pdf.html
How to upload PDF files to your DotNetNuke site and create download links
The process for uploading a PDF file to your DotNetNuke site is exactly the same as for loading images to the site.
Step 1: Click on the Files menu icon
Click on the Files link 
on the Common Tasks menu at the top of the page.
Step 2: Click on the Upload icon
Select the Upload option from the File Manager toolbar.
Figure: Upload Icon on File Manager Toolbar
Step 3: Browse for PDF files
Click on the Browse button to display Windows Choose file dialog. Select the file that you wish to upload from your hard drive or network.
NB! Be careful to only select PDF files that are small enough to upload quickly (i.e. less than 1 - 2mb)
Figure: Browsing hard drive for PDF files to upload to file manager
Add multiple files to zip file if you wish to speed up the process.
Tick the Decompress ZIP Files option before uploading the file. This will enable you to upload many files in a single step and DotNetNuke will automatically unzip the files as they are added to the file manager.
Figure: Upload many PDF files in a zip file and decompress the ZIP file
Step 4 Creating the download link
The PDF file does not display in the image gallery but there is an equally simple way to create the download links. Navigate to the page where you wish to place the download link and select the text editor.
Figure: Click on the 'Create Link' icon on the toolbar in the rich text editor
Step 5 Select the download file
Select the File radio button and use the File Location and File Name drop down boxes to locate the PDF file. Click on the OK button
Figure: Insert link form in DotNetNuke being used to create a download link for a PDF file
Step 6 Tips and user etiquette
It has become accepted practise to indicate to the user that your link will take the user to a PDF file. This can be easily done with a small Adobe Acrobat image.
Many users still use dial-up accounts to surf the net. If you have a large PDF thsi may hijack their connection for a long time and most likely the user will choose to leave your site. It is a good idea to tell the user how large the download file is.
Make sure that you include your key words or key phrases within the anchor text of teh link so that it is better indexed by search engines.
E.g.
Download a PDF version of this lesson (17k) Using PDF Files effectively.
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