[Sigia-l] Any guidelines/design patterns etc.. on when a downloadable format ( such as pdf/word/ppt) is appropriate compared to creating a webpage?

[Ziya Oz]

> they want to provide the FAQ's in three word documents...

Let me guess, because they want to keep updating them in Word? Or perhaps
just borrowing from print docs based on Word?

A FAQ that cannot be written in a plain text editor (heck, even Word) and
turned into HTML in roughly 5 seconds isn't a FAQ, it's an abomination.

And it should take no longer than a couple of hours to demonstrate that an
Ajax-based HTML FAQ is utterly superior pretty much in every way to a static
Word document (jumps, progressive disclosure, hide/reveal, contextual
graphics, auto-highlighting, search..you name it).

Of course, you can cut the crap and ask them the only meaningful question
remaining to be asked here: can they "prove" that Word docs are the best way
to present FAQs?

If not, they can join the 98.934% of the internets that do publish their
FAQs in HTML and be done with it.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba