|
|
|
|
Non Web-Ready Documents: The Problems with |
|
What's Wrong with Word Docs?Word documents certainly have their place; they're easy and familiar. However, there are some problems. Word documents are often easy targets for malicious coders who use the files as carriers for viruses. The Melissa virus in 1999 was one of the first high-profile cases where a virus was embedded in a Word document, but there have been many more, and this technique continues to be used. Careful screening of Word documents you receive, use of a firewall, and an up-to-date virus scanner can all help reduce your chances of being infected (and unwittingly passing a virus on to others), but nothing is foolproof and you can never be 100% protected. Microsoft.com has more information on Word macro viruses available. Aside from security concerns, there are also privacy issues related to the use of Word documents. In September 2003, we talked about the "hidden" information stored in Word documents, which can reveal information about your computer and other files on your system. Precisely this problem got the British government into trouble when all the names of the people who edited a particular document were discovered in a sensitive Iraq-related dossier. This information can be scrubbed, but you have to know how, and you have to take the trouble to do so. There are also compatibility issues with Word. While many many people do have Word installed on their machine, there are several versions currently being used, and not all versions fully read all other versions, especially when older versions of the software try to read files generated by a newer version. There is also the issue of that group of people who simply do not have Word at all. IBM, for instance, has included its own office automation software, including a fully-featured word processor called WordPro, and this might be sufficient for many users. They may not wish to pay extra to purchase Word when they already have perfectly fine word processor installed on their machine free. While these products will generally read and and even write Word files, results can vary significantly. Microsoft does provide a free Word viewer for people who do not have Word so that they can read (but not edit) Word documents, but this involves an additional download and installation of software. Ultimately, using Word documents without having Word installed is problematic. This frustration is compounded by the fact that it appears to be deliberate, so it is unlikely to go away. A memo that came light during Microsoft's anti-trust case pursued by the US Department of Justice, indicates that employees were apparently instructed to stop efforts to make Microsoft products compatible with other software.
Another concern is the sheer size of documents generated by Word: they're big. The graph and table on this page show a comparison of the file size for the same seven-page text-only document saved in four different formats. It is clear that using a Word document requires more disk space (over 33% more than PDF, the next closest format), but more importantly, it takes more time to download, too (over two times as long as the plain text version). As the file becomes larger and more complex, this becomes even more problematic. According to WebTycho, in early 2004 as many as one-third of users were still accessing the system at a dialup speed of 56Kbps or less. Students who live outside the US are often subject to metered Internet and phone access, meaning they pay for the amount of time they use their phone lines and again by how much time they spend on the Internet.
What Are Some Alternatives?WebTycho AlternativesThe easiest thing to do in WebTycho is to simply copy your text from Word and paste it into WebTycho using the plain text option. If your text in Word does not use much in the way of formatting (bold, italics, fonts, colors, etc.), this is the best option. WebTycho's help site has some information on how to copy and paste from Microsoft Word into WebTycho. If your material does use a lot of formatting, then another alternative is to use the Text Formatting Editor (TFE). This will allow you to copy-paste directly while keeping the "look" of your text. See information about using the Text Formatting Editor (TFE) in WebTycho as well as WebTycho's Guidelines for Using Text in WebTycho. A final alternative is to convert your Word document to HTML format and then copy-paste the code into WebTycho. This is a more involved procedure and generally provides few benefits beyond simply copy-pasting into the TFE. Nonetheless, if you are interested, please consult the Copy/Paste HTML into a WebTycho Text Box page. If you are using Word 2000 or higher, please make sure to consult Use the Microsoft Office HTML Filter to Convert Word 2000 Documents to HTML as well. PDF AlternativesAnother alternative is to use Adobe "Portable Document Format" files. These PDF files maintain the format of the Word document, including all graphics, which can be a problem for the other solutions mentioned above. Unlike Word documents, PDFs are not subject to viruses, they are smaller in size, and the viewer for PDF files is ubiquitous among Web users. Another benefit is that they are not editable. This means if you provide your material to students, for instance, they cannot modify it and use it for their own ends. There are two drawbacks to PDF files, however; they are poorly suited for online reading and it costs money. PDF files are designed to print well, but are less well suited for on-screen reading. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen has found that PDF files are 300% less usable than standard HTML pages. See his articles Avoid PDF for On-Screen Reading and PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption for more on this subject. The other drawback of this format is that while the reader is free, the software to create these files (convert them from Word) costs money. In the past, the format was proprietary and Adobe charged US$300 or more for this software. While it was powerful, it offered more features than most people needed. The format has now been opened up and many cheaper alternatives are available. A review of various PDF alternatives was published by PC Magazine in the summer of 2003. So, while it's certainly acceptable for faculty members who are new to WebTycho to attach Word documents in their classrooms, faculty members should start taking advantage of the easy benefits of using web-ready formats as they become more experienced. Faculty can copy-paste their documents into plain text or maintain their formatting by using the Text Formatting Editor. Converting files to HTML and copy-pasting the code is another alternative. If the inclusion of graphics without too much trouble is required, the use Adobe PDF documents can be considered. Next edition: Non Web-Ready Documents: The Problems with PowerPoint and What to Do About It. |
||||||||||||
|
URLs of Links Used on This Page
|
|
 Welcome Page  Archives Page Guidelines for Contributors WebTycho Login Academic Departments DirectoryAdministration Directory Faculty Services Library Services Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College. |
