Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

**_lisastep_** · 2009-10-08 15:15:16

Our faculty is just starting to use Adobe Presenter and we want to set some standards early.

Their presentations will be uploaded into our college's Blackboard LMS. We could either upload a single PDF file or upload the ZIP and have it unpackaged in Blackboard. What are the pros and cons of each?

For simplicity, you can't beat a single PDF, but I'm concerned that this might cause unanticipated problems. Anyone been there?

Thanks for sharing!
Lisa
St. Louis Community College

Last edited by **_lisastep_** (2009-10-08 15:16:35)

**_Jorma_at_RealEyes_** · 2009-10-08 16:53:18

With the PDF, the viewer must have Acrobat Reader 9, and I'm not sure that you will see any tracking other than, potentially, that they viewed the PDF.

The zip file will require Flash Player 7 or better (which most people have) and should allow for tracking of progress through the presentation as well as quiz interactions.

**_mark2741_** · 2009-10-09 06:48:13

Sounds like college professors haven't much evolved in their teaching techniques since I graduated....

If there is no audio and you're just doing static slides (ie, no animations, etc.) and don't use quizzes, then PDF is probably more appropriate from a delivery perspective. Otherwise you have to use Presenter.

**_roysdenc_** · 2009-10-09 12:08:57

Hey Mark,
I agree with you, but I think the question is once the presentation is made in Presenter, what are the pros and cons when publishing to these formats. So, it is the output from Presenter that is in questions.

Lisa,
As far as an answer from me, I don't really have one. We always publish as .zip and load into Connect. However, I know a few people (especially higher ups) who like publishing as a .pdf that they can just send out to their teams or post on blogs and such. For us, the considerations Jorma mentions arent and issue.

-Chris

**_mark2741_** · 2009-10-09 12:11:36

Thanks Chris - you're right - I made the assumption (stupidly) that he was deciding between importing a Presenter presentation to Connect as a PDF or in native format.

**_carolax_** · 2009-10-12 14:15:53

At UNC we've found PDF to be a godsend. We've had absolutely no problems as long as the user has a current version of Acrobat Reader. ZIP files are fine when users know what they're doing, but one accidentally misplaced file breaks the whole presentation.

**_lisastep_** · 2009-10-12 14:42:07

Thanks, Carol. A couple more questions for you if you don't mind...

-- Does your faculty have Presenter on their computers, or is it only available in certain areas? If they don't have it how do you ensure that if they make any changes to the PPT that the presentation is published as a PDF again?

-- Do you have any issues when moving a presentation from a PC with Presenter to one without and back?

I just want to make sure that before we roll out this tool that I've anticipated any potential problems that might occur. Any tips you have?

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!
Lisa

#1 2009-10-08 15:15:16

Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#2 2009-10-08 16:53:18

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#3 2009-10-09 06:48:13

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#4 2009-10-09 12:08:57

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#5 2009-10-09 12:11:36

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#6 2009-10-12 14:15:53

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

#7 2009-10-12 14:42:07

Re: Publish to PDF or Zip: Pros and Cons of Each

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