Word processed documents on the web

The lines between the two activities which used to be called Desk Top Publishing and Word Processing are sufficiently blurred for us to treat them as one. This section is about paged documents of any kind.

The standard format for placing such documents on the web is PDF (Portable Document Format). The advantages of PDF are:-

  • it is a de facto universal standard, and most people will already have the necessary browser plugin;
  • it is a format which can ensure that everyone will see the document exactly how you published it (this is not the case with typical word processed files published in their native format);
  • on PDF creation, any internal 'baggage' from the word processor file is excluded;
  • it is less likely to transmit viruses than typical word processor file formats.

Decorative image - documentsIf you don't have a "make PDF" option in your word processor, don't worry. You can download free PDF makers - Primo PDF for example. This will install itself as a printer driver, which means that you can make a PDF file in the same way as you would print a document.

If you are not persuaded by the above, and still think it's fine just to load your documents straight out of your word processor, ask yourself whether you know how much personal information about yourself, your computer system, and the earlier versions of the document which you have since corrected and improved are embedded in the file you are uploading. Now go and make that PDF file.

But what if...

Sometimes website managers want to upload a document which is designed for people to download and modify.

PDF does not lend itself to publishing documents which can be downloaded and modified. If you really want to do this, for whatever reason, your first option is to export your document in Rich Text Format (RTF).
However, this doesn't always come out exactly as you might wish, so your other options are...

  • if it's an interactive form to be filled in, you could use PDF creation software to make it;
  • and if it isn't, in the context of a church website it's likely to be a document for a small group of people you know... so why not just send it via email?

Last updated: July 2008

 

 

Verse of the Day
2 Corinthians 5:21
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

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