ASIS Chapter Website Development Issues - ASIS Newsletters via the Internet
By: Steve Duell
Website Committee Chairman - Columbia River Chapter #064
Website Committee Member - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter #006
Introduction
This document is intended to begin a conversation to discuss how to create an online newsletter for an ASIS Chapter web site. It is intended that the subjects discussed within will be used to form decisions regarding a proposed set of e-newsletter guidelines.
E-newsletters offer ASIS Chapters a method for distributing their local
newsletter in a cost-effective manner. Some of the other advantages include:
- The ability to easily make corrections.
- Immediately available to all members after being posted to the website.
- No postal fees.
- No printing costs.
- No postal mailing duties which reduces the required volunteer labor.
- Archived issues can be printed out on-demand.
- Saves paper (if people choose to read the newsletter online).
- You don't have to worry about losing your copy of the newsletter since you
can always reprint another one.
- Newsletter content can be voluminous without incurring additional printing
costs.
- Newsletter content can contain color images without incurring additional
printing costs just for being in color.
Types of E-Newsletters:
- HTML only
- Adobe Acrobat PDF file
- MS Word Document
The HTML Only version of a Chapter newsletter presents its greatest problem when a visitor attempts to print out the entire newsletter. Often, this type of newsletter is going to be broken up into multiple articles spread over several web pages. Consequently, the visitor is forced to print out each article on a separate page.
If the Chapter's newsletter is to be presented in HTML format, then it is recommended that the webmaster create a second consolidated web page with all of the articles in it so that a visitor can select this consolidated page for printing purposes. Since web pages do not naturally lend themselves out for printing purposes, the webmaster will probably be forced to change some article layouts in order to create a printable version of the newsletter.
Conditions:
Producing a web page for printing that has a consistent page length and which includes appropriate pagination is impractical due to several critical factors.
Individual browser settings for displaying font sizes while viewing web pages online can change the font size printed out effectively altering the intended printed page layouts.
TIPS:
Use HTML tables to size the horizontal margins and reduce overrun printing.
Use pre-formatted text to stabilize the margin restrictions.
Use plain-text files.
If framed website, display printable version in a New browser window (ex. target="_blank") to improve accurate print content.
Adobe Acrobat PDF File
Adobe Acrobat PDF Files are cross-browser compatibility files. In other words, they will work with all of the major web browsers regardless of the visitor's operating system. Additionally, because PDF files embed fonts, they are able to display font styles that may not be installed on the visitor's computer. Combined, these two features make PDF files an attractive method for distributing the newsletter while managing to maintain the majority of the newsletter's original appearance.
Requirements -
Creator - The creator of an Adobe Acrobat PDF file must have a licensed version of Adobe Acrobat in order to generate the files.
User - The user of the Adobe Acrobat PDF files must have either:
Adobe Acrobat installed on their computer - or -
The Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in installed for whichever web browser the visitor is using. (The Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free plug-in.)
Creation of the PDF files -
As of this writing, Adobe Acrobat offers two methods for producing a file; PDF Writer and PDF Distiller. The major difference between these two formats is that the PDF Distiller can produce interactive documents. For our purposes in this situation, interactivity is not necessary, therefore the PDF Writer should be used in the preparation of the newsletter. (PDF Distilled files tend to be significantly larger than PDF Writer files.)
TIPS:
The easiest method for creating a PDF Writer file is to begin by creating your newsletter in MS Word and then choosing PDF Writer as the printer to use. When you print the document out to PDF Writer, you will be prompted for a file name to save the file under. You may also modify the "header" information for this file at the same time to include details about the document including title, author, subject, and keywords.
If you have a large distribution list, posting the newsletter on your website and making it available for download rather than emailing a copy to each member will reduce the workload on your web server.
MS Word Documents
MS Word documents are probably the least reliable method for distributing your newsletter because of the wide variety of software versions, printers, and font styles. The problems are not a fault of Microsoft Word which is a fine product in and of itself. The problems stem from the wide variety of destination computers that this document would be displayed on.
Requirements -
Creator - The creator must have MS Word installed on their computer.
User - The user must have either MS Word or other word processor software with the ability to import MS Word files.
Conditions -
To preserve all of the document's formatting, the user will need to have a version of MS Word installed on their computer that is at least equal to the version used to compose the newsletter. (e.g. - if created using MS Word 97 then the user must have at least MS Word 97. Newer versions usually permit backwards compatibility.)
Not all of the font styles may have been installed on the user's computer and if the newsletter uses a font style that has not been installed then the visitor will be displayed the text in a default font style other than the one originally chosen.
(TIP: You may embed fonts into the newsletter to ensure proper display however it will significantly increase the size of your document.)
Depending on the capabilities of the user's printer, the newsletter may or may not print exactly as desired. Options such as color, images, or certain fonts may not be printable by the user's printer.
If a user attempts to open a newsletter that has been created in a version of MS Word that is newer than theirs (ex., user has MS Word 97 but the newsletter was created using MS Word 98), MS Word will attempt to open the document but some of the unrecognized formatting from the newer version will be ignored.
Some versions of MS Word do not support inline hyperlinks.
TIPS:
Reduce the number of images, clip art, and font styles used to lower the file's size.
Always use the spell-checker before publishing the document.
Be sure to use normal margins to prevent problems with the document being outside of the printer's printable range.
If you have a large distribution list, posting the newsletter on your website and making it available for download rather than emailing a copy to each member will reduce the workload on your web server.
Summary
This document has briefly outlined many of the concerns and considerations that a Chapter should think about when creating their e-newsletter. Although not all potential risks and problems have been discussed here, the content discussed within should serve as a good foundation for developing guidelines towards a standardized approach for developing ASIS Chapter web sites and e-newsletters.
