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"ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)" <[log in to unmask]>
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Cindy Lu <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 21 May 2005 22:44:32 +0100
Reply-To:
Caroline Jarrett <[log in to unmask]>
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Caroline Jarrett <[log in to unmask]>
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Hi Cindy

I missed your post originally, sorry.

Here are some thoughts on interactive PDF to add to the summary:

1. The advantage: a facsimile form with greater flexibility than HTML

PDF gives you a form that looks like, and in some ways even works like, a
paper form. This can be advantageous if:
- users are likely to be familiar with the paper form
- the paper form works well
- the flexibility offers a greater variety of layout options
- (and especially) there are legal or other adminstrative reasons that make
it important for the electronic form to be a close facsimile of the paper
form.

2. The disadvantage: a facsimile form with greater flexibility than HTML
(that's right: the advantage and the disadvantage are the same)

The problem is that many organisations unthinkingly mirror their paper forms
on the interactive PDF. I've seen:
- assumption that the users are familiar with the paper form, whereas in
fact they are not
- forms that are horrendous on paper, and therefore equally horrendous on
screen
- bizarre variety of layout options all used in a muddle
- instructions thoughtlessly copied from the paper to the web. (my personal
favourite: "please write carefully using black ink")

best,
Caroline Jarrett
e: [log in to unmask]
p: +44 (0) 1525 370379

Effortmark Limited
Usability - Forms - Surveys

Next public forms courses:
Montreal, Canada,  June 28
http://www.upassoc.org/conferences_and_events/upa_conference/2005/program/activity.php?id=194

London, England, July 18
http://www.userfocus.co.uk/training/forms.html
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Lu" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 10:09 PM
Subject: Summary: Interactive PDF


> Thanks Dave Dheller and Lisa Herrod for sharing their thoughts and
> experiences about interactive PDF forms.
>
> Here is the summary:
> 1. Dave suggested open up the interactive PDF in its own window so that
the
> navigation is not an issue
> 2. The platform (Adobe Intelligent Document Platform) offers many useful
> features including designing form navigation, collecting dynamic data and
> printing.
> 3. Lisa pointed out an accessibility problem - the form fields are not
read
> out by a windows
> based screen reader (Narrator)
>
> ------------------------------
> Original Questions:
>
> I would like to get your opinions and usability data on interactive PDF
> forms.
>
> Questions:
> -Do users find it more difficult or easier to use the interactive PDF form
> in comparison to the HTML form?
> -Are there any usability studies to support the pros and cons of the
> interactive PDF forms?
>
>
> ------------------------------
> Here are the original replies:
>
>
> From Dave Dheller ([log in to unmask])
>
> Hi Cindy, my team here has been exploring using the Intelligent
> Document Platform for a while now and we have gotten a lot of support
> from Adobe's product management team (great folks).
>
> Some things in response to your query:
> 1. If you use the IDP, you don't have to have your forms in PDF
> format. You can have your XDP files convert to HTML, but I'm not sure
> this is necessary.
>
> 2. You can design your ONLINE pdf w/ elements that guide user
> interaction and these elements can disappear when it is being printed,
> or even open in certain modes.
>
> 3. Another advantage is that you can have dynamic data, with more
> robust controlled vocabularies.
>
> 4. I would suggest opening up your PDF in it's own window or in the
> reader, so that navigation is not an issue.
>
> 5. This platform is pretty darn robust. you can even have your form be
> a wizard and then print itself out linearly.
>
> But if you are worried about all this stuff, you can do your form in
> flash and have it output to flash paper as a final step and have it
> print from there. I think that Adobe forms though is fine if you
> indeed have complex paper forms that you need to put online,
> especially if some fields are dependent on the answers of other
> fields.
>
>
> From Lisa Herrod ([log in to unmask])
>
> From an accessibility perspective users can tab through the form but my
> initial review shows that the form fields are not read out by a windows
> based screen reader (Narrator). I haven't tested with windows eyes or Jaws
> though.
> -----------------------------------
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> - Cindy
>
> -------------------------------
> Cindy Lu, Ph.D., CHFP
> HFE Consulting, LLC
> "Designing for a better user experience"
> 732-246-6883
> [log in to unmask]
> http://hfec.biz
> -------------------------------
>
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