How do you know when to useHTML or when to use PDF?

Do you need precise graphic control and layout?

• PDF files maintain styles and formats
• PDF files print better
• HTML works best when it is used for structural markup rather than layout

How far are you in the creation of the document?

• Documents that have already been designed and produced are more easily converted to PDF
• Documents already tagged with a structural language are more easily converted to HTML
• Word processing documents can be converted to either file type

What do you want the user to do with this document?

• HTML files support meta tags and are accessed by most search engines
• HTML files can be dynamically generated
• PDF Files support security at the file level
• Both HTML and PDF files have linking and form processing capabilities

How often will you update this document?

• PDF files require updating by hand, generating new files when revisions are made
• HTML files can be updated automatically by scripts running information from a server-side database

How slowly or quickly will this download?

• A streaming PDF file will often download as quickly as an HTML file.
• Must be decided on a case-by-case basis

Can the user view this document?

• Do all or most of the end users have access to resources required to view PDF 3.0 files?