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PDFs & Web Pages


PDF Publications

A PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a computer file that can be viewed, sent, and received over the Internet and retains its integrity and appearance regardless of web browser or computer operating system. Adobe's Acrobat Reader, the software used to view PDF files, is available as a free download, so anyone with Internet access can gain access to PDFs. It is highly likely that you as a technical writer will work with PDF files on a regular basis.

Originally developed by and property of Adobe Systems, the pdf format has recently become an international standard, meaning that other companies can now distribute software that can create, edit, and encode PDF files. Adobe Acrobat remains the primary software to use in PDF creation, but a search for PDF development tools on the Web will turn up a number of options, including free websites like qipit.com that will take your uploaded jpeg images and convert them to PDF format and Google's new online office suite GoogleDocs which can convert Microsoft Word document files into PDF at the click of a button.

PDF files can be created from scanned hard copies, converted from other file formats like Microsoft Word, or created using Adobe Acrobat or other PDF editing software. When a company has a pre-existing hard copy manual or other document it wishes to display and distribute online, the simplest way to publish it is to make it available as a downloaded PDF. Older owner manuals are often archived and made available as PDFs for owners who have lost their manuals or bought their products used and never received a manual.


Later generations of PDF files have become highly interactive, much like web pages. They can now accommodate hyperlinks, JavaScript, and other online functionalities. A full featured software package designed especially for technical writers called the Adobe Technical Communication Suite is now available which combines these features plus other online help-producing features.

Web Pages

More and more, documentation and help for virtually every product imaginable is available online in the form of Web Pages. The clickablility of hyperlinks online allows users the ability to quickly access exactly the help they need and to seek more information when they are confused or need to define a term. Without a doubt, nearly every technical writer will be expected to provide help and product support through his or her company's website.


Designing and implementing Web-based help will often be a team effort involving a writer and an in-house Web designer or outside Web design firm. In many cases, the technical support portion of a company's website will need to merge stylistically and functionally with other portions of the site. In many cases, the technical writer will be responsible for writing copy for the website while the look and functionality may be up to someone else. In other cases, a writer may have complete responsibility for building a support website.

While the "jury is still out" regarding the exact ways online reader behavior is different from the behavior of readers getting their information from print media, there is a general consensus that the writer providing information for the online reader is engaged in intense competition for that reader's attention. With hyperlinks everywhere inviting the user to click and go elsewhere, the writer of online help must take care to get straight to the point and deliver relevant information as succinctly as possible. Use of hypertext links for users who may need definitions or background information on the topic can be used to keep your main message from getting bogged down. Successfully providing online technical writing involves a different kind of organizational thinking than the linear, chapter-by-chapter nature of a printed manual. Online material is organized in chunks, or topics, and related topics are linked to one another through a hyperlink.

For the new technical writer tasked with creating online help, there are plenty of models, both good and bad, to view online and learn from. Go to any company's website, and chances are that you will find technical support for their products. Try accessing help for a product you own. Is the Company's help effective or confusing? Can you get your question answered or do you have to resort to e-mailing a representative? If you do, the Company's technical writing staff may have failed. Their goal is to reduce customer confusion and calls to real time help lines.

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