Lively discussions on the graphic arts and publishing — in print or on the web

BobRoosth · 01-11-2008, 09:11 AM

One of my clients is an immigration attorney. He asked me how to do what one of his competitors does. The link follows. I don't like this implementation for at least two reasons: it uses frames and it only works as designed in IE.

But is there a good way to display a PDF while retaining a back link to the referring web site?

From Subject Received Size
Curtis Pierce Linking to pdf files and keeping it on the site.

http://www.shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex...s/form/i-9.pdf

Howard Allen · 01-11-2008, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobRoosth

But is there a good way to display a PDF while retaining a back link to the referring web site?

I know nothing about web design, and this may not be "a good way," but you could, of course, place a link in the PDF itself that would jump back to the original web page.

ktinkel · 01-11-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobRoosth

[LEFT]One of my clients is an immigration attorney. He asked me how to do what one of his competitors does. The link follows. I don't like this implementation for at least two reasons: it uses frames and it only works as designed in IE.

But is there a good way to display a PDF while retaining a back link to the referring web site?

Dunno. Bet that one of the others here will some ideas.

It doesn’t work at all in Safari (which normally handles PDFs directly and very well), and in Firefox invites me to download and open the PDF.

I didn’t look at the content, but wonder if it is really something that needs to be in a PDF at all. Inserting PDFs into a web site is rarely elegant, and often problematic.

Mike · 01-11-2008, 10:28 AM

Works OK in my Safari.

The page is a frameset with the site banner in the top frame and the pdf loaded into the bottom frame.

Code:

<HTML>
<! -- EX-LINK.HTML 10/21/00 CS-->
<TITLE>The Law Offices of Carl Shusterman</TITLE>
 
<frameset ROWS="95,*">
<frame SRC="http://www.shusterman.com/ad.html" SCROLLING="no" BORDER=0 FRAMEBORDER="no" NORESIZE NAME="top" TARGET="_top">
 
<frame SRC="http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf" BORDER=0 FRAMEBORDER="no"  NORESIZE NAME="bottom" TARGET="_top">
 
</frameset>
</html>

iamback · 01-11-2008, 10:29 AM

It may not be an elegant solution, but I don't see anything there that would make it not work in other browsers than IE. And it seems to work just fine in Firefox.

Since the PDF is not their own, embedding a link in it is obviously not a solution. The first thing to ask yourself (or the US government!) is whether it is even allowed to embed their document in your own site like this - or in any way.

If it is allowed, the alternative to using frames like this is to embed it in a page, either using an iframe or using an object tag. Both make bookmarking the PDF harder, if not impossible (using object) - which may be seen as either an advantage or a disadvantage.

If you want to avoid this type of embedding (either because it's not allowed or because of the bookmarkability drawbacks), all that's left is a plain link. You could add a target attribute to that link (make sure you use a Transitional or Frameset Doctype in that case), that way you can make the link to open by default in a speparate browser window. If you do use a target attribute, make sure to add a description to the link warning the users that it will open in a new window (they can override this depending on their browser and how they use its features). If you don't use target attribute (some people get confused by this, especially when using the browser full-screen, add a note that they can get back to the original page by using their browser's Back button (they can't when it opens in a new window: in that case they can get back only by closing the new window - you might want to mention that as well in case you go for a target attribute on the link).

annc · 01-11-2008, 12:26 PM

In Safari under Leopard it tries to open the PDF but gives the black rectangle with the Acrobat logo in the middle which is (currently) normal when trying to display a PDF from any site.

Benwiggy · 01-12-2008, 07:50 AM

Works for me fine in Leopard with Safari:
Frame at the top displays advert and links; PDF follows below.

The question is whether you would want to display the form, rather than just download or print it.

annc · 01-12-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benwiggy

Works for me fine in Leopard with Safari

Which version? I'm using Acrobat Pro 8.1.1 and get a black rectangle with a logo in the middle.

Mike · 01-13-2008, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annc

Which version? I'm using Acrobat Pro 8.1.1 and get a black rectangle with a logo in the middle.

Are you waiting for it to load? I think I get that (a sort of spinning wheel-like thingy) before the pdf displays.

I do wish I hadn't upgraded to the latest Acrobat -- it has a clunkier interface and loads more slowly than earlier versions.

Michael Rowley · 01-13-2008, 07:54 AM

Mike:

Quote:

I do wish I hadn't upgraded to the latest Acrobat -- it has a clunkier interface and loads more slowly than earlier versions

It's much better not to rely on Acrobat merely for reading existing PDF files: download Adobe Reader, which opens faster.

01-11-2008, 09:11 AM	#1
BobRoosth Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Los Angeles, Ca. Posts: 942	Insert PDF in site One of my clients is an immigration attorney. He asked me how to do what one of his competitors does. The link follows. I don't like this implementation for at least two reasons: it uses frames and it only works as designed in IE. But is there a good way to display a PDF while retaining a back link to the referring web site? From Subject Received Size Curtis Pierce Linking to pdf files and keeping it on the site. http://www.shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex...s/form/i-9.pdf

01-11-2008, 10:29 AM	#5
iamback Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Amsterdam, NL Posts: 4,894	It may not be an elegant solution, but I don't see anything there that would make it not work in other browsers than IE. And it seems to work just fine in Firefox. Since the PDF is not their own, embedding a link in it is obviously not a solution. The first thing to ask yourself (or the US government!) is whether it is even allowed to embed their document in your own site like this - or in any way. If it is allowed, the alternative to using frames like this is to embed it in a page, either using an iframe or using an object tag. Both make bookmarking the PDF harder, if not impossible (using object) - which may be seen as either an advantage or a disadvantage. If you want to avoid this type of embedding (either because it's not allowed or because of the bookmarkability drawbacks), all that's left is a plain link. You could add a target attribute to that link (make sure you use a Transitional or Frameset Doctype in that case), that way you can make the link to open by default in a speparate browser window. If you do use a target attribute, make sure to add a description to the link warning the users that it will open in a new window (they can override this depending on their browser and how they use its features). If you don't use target attribute (some people get confused by this, especially when using the browser full-screen, add a note that they can get back to the original page by using their browser's Back button (they can't when it opens in a new window: in that case they can get back only by closing the new window - you might want to mention that as well in case you go for a target attribute on the link). __________________ Marjolein Katsma Look through my eyes on Cultural Surfaces (soon!), My ArtFlakes shop and Flickr. Occasionally I am also connecting online dots... and sometimes you can follow me on Marjolein's Travel Blog

01-11-2008, 12:26 PM	#6
annc Sysop Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Subtropical Queensland, Australia, between the mountains and the Coral Sea Posts: 4,592	In Safari under Leopard it tries to open the PDF but gives the black rectangle with the Acrobat logo in the middle which is (currently) normal when trying to display a PDF from any site. __________________

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01-12-2008, 07:50 AM	#7
Benwiggy Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: London Posts: 451	Works for me fine in Leopard with Safari: Frame at the top displays advert and links; PDF follows below. The question is whether you would want to display the form, rather than just download or print it.