Applications and Advantages of PDF in Mobile Internet

Audrey Goodwin

2021-12-03 15:51:10 • Filed to: Knowledge of PDF • Proven solutions

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PDF technology has advanced to a tremendous degree over the past two decades or more. PDF files today are more capable than ever and the standards are constantly improving to add new functionality. In the past, untagged or poorly tagged PDFs were didn't play nice with search engines, didn't support assisted technologies, and couldn't make content easily accessible. In the last 10 years or so, all of that has changed as PDF standards have grown to embrace web technologies. In the modern age of mobile Internet, PDF plays a crucial role in the dissemination of information.

Part 1. PDF vs. HTML, XML, Word

There's a lot of controversy over which format is preferred when it comes to web content, especially the mobile web. Since such devices are generally constrained in the amount of available screen space, this has lead to content being forced to be responsive.

Formats like HTML, the de-facto format for web content, achieve such responsiveness through the use of elements such as the viewport meta tag, CSS frameworks, and properties like width, max-width, the HTML element, media queries, and so on.

XML is the perfect foil for PDF because of its ability to describe the contents of a document (as opposed to PDFs ability to describe its appearance.)

In the case of Word, it is largely unsuitable for very large documents; additionally, you'll need a licensed copy of the application or a platform that supports OOXML to access the file.

Part 2. The Changing Magazine Industry

Print magazines have largely gone digital over the past decade so they can stay relevant in the world of mobile. To achieve that flexibility, publishers have had to experiment with multiple formats before settling on PDF as the preferred format.

The Change

Change is an understatement here, and managing that change has been an arduous task for most magazine publishers. But the need for change has also helped define the landscape for online magazines, giving them a direction to move in. And that direction is clearly PDF.

The Carrier

PDF is the carrier that transports online magazine content to its readers, and several reasons contribute to this:

• Readability - A more realistic and natural reading experience is provided by PDF readers like PDFelement, which offers a smooth interface, easy navigation, multiple page mode views, and other features for an enhanced user experience.

• Cross-platform Support - Magazines can support consistent content display on multiple device types when using the PDF format for distribution.
• Options for PDF or Responsive Pages - If online viewing is preferred, other formats are feasible, but PDF also supports saving and printing, which is ideal for both online and offline requirements.

Arguably, modern PDFs surpass the capabilities of most other formats when it comes to mobile Internet, and this is the case for several reasons.

Part 3. The Rise of Mobile Work

A lot of official work today is done on mobile devices because of high-speed mobile Internet and the advances made in mobile device technologies.

1. It has transformed the way we work:

In today's age of mobile, file formats need to offer multi-terminal support. While formats such as HTML, XML, and Word certainly do this, there are a lot of drawbacks. This is where PDF comes to the rescue because it offers a more consistent reading experience regardless of the device screen size.

2. Integrated security and permission protection

PDF is an ideal carrier for secure information that needs restrictions on viewing, modifications, printing, and copying. The password-based security feature of PDF editors such as PDFelement makes it easy to secure documents and apply such restrictions.

3. The benefit of digital signatures

PDFs support the addition of digital signatures, which are crucial for legal business documents and other document types where the potential negative impact of data being compromised is high.

4. Smart annotations

PDF markups and annotations aid in collaborative environments when individuals need to make notes or add comments for others on a PDF file, thereby facilitating the effective and smooth flow of communication in scenarios such as remote work.

5. Form filling, signing, and general forms management

Creating, managing, filling, and signing forms is a critical component of document workflows, and when you can port that into the mobile environment, these tools become invaluable. PDFelemenet Pro for iOS is an example of how mobile technologies can leverage the power of a PDF editor to manage forms, fill them, sign them, and securely send them electronically to others.

6. Incremental updates

In many cases, documents need to be updated by several people on an ongoing basis or until the document is fully up to date. PDF facilitates this by letting people save their individual changes and making them available to others, rather than having to wait for a document to be completely updated.

7. High-quality printing

PDFs can be printed in high resolution, allowing the resulting content to be very close to the digital version, especially where raster images are concerned. In fact, most publishers have been using the PDF format to send their magazines to print, due to limitations of using the Photoshop workflow method and other options.

Part 4. Cloud Archive

The Case

Cloud archives need to be searchable, easily accessible from any device, and lightweight. Not many file formats can achieve this trifecta of requirements. However, PDF can.

The Carrier

Compressibility - PDF is well-suited for digital archives on the cloud because they can be compressed by a significant percentage, thereby reducing the cloud storage space required to archive them.

Searchable and Indexable - PDF archives can be searched by keywords. They can also be indexed by search engines, which makes the files ideal for archiving purposes aimed at general availability.

Accessible - PDF files are displayed the same way regardless of the device. They can also be viewed on browsers like Chrome and Edge, which makes them very accessible on mobile and other environments.

Part 5. Rewriting the Scanning Pattern

Scanners typically create image-based PDF files. Such files need to be processed with text recognition software to be machine-readable, searchable, or editable, as the case may be. PDFelement makes this happen with powerful OCR capabilities in over 20 different languages.

PDF also has the advantage of being integrated with the workflows of multiple scanning terminals. This gives it a wide range of use cases across various industries, offering the kind of flexibility required in a multi-terminal landscape.

PDF also allows content layering, which allows layers to be printed or viewed independently of each other or as composited content. PDFelement lets you control the attributes of each layer for viewing, exporting, and printing.

Part 6. Good News for Comic Book Lovers

Comics: A Frontier of Creativity

Its been several years since comic books have moved to the digital realm. Nevertheless, die-hard comic fans still consider the printed version to be superior to the electronic equivalent. The touch and feel of a comic book can never be replaced by a digital file. As such, the PDF format plays a crucial role that bridges the need for physical and digital comic prints.

The Carrier: Why PDF?

• PDF file sizes can be controlled by optimizing the content. In the case of comic books, different resolutions are required for digital prints and physical prints, making PDF the ideal format.
• Image integrity is critical to a comic book, and PDF allows publishers to use lossless image formats, thereby ensuring that the highest quality of images is maintained at all times.
• PDFs have another advantage: the ability to maintain a numbering sequence for multiple editions. This allows for continuity at the top level throughout the lifetime of a comic strip, making it searchable and convenient for archiving purposes.

Part 7. Small-screen Devices

• In the realm of mobile Internet, screen sizes vary a lot, with many of them being in the under-6-inches range. Therefore, it is important for content to not only be scalable to smaller screen sizes but also offer the same degree of clarity as on a larger screen. This is possible with PDF.
• The reading flow of a PDF is superior to many other formats. Combined with the consistency that PDF brings to the reading experience, there's no doubt that this is the ideal format for delivering content to devices with relatively smaller screens.

If you're looking for a professional PDF reader for your mobile device, look no further than PDFelement. It offers a range of useful functions that go far beyond reading PDFs, but even as a PDF reader, the convenience and flexibility it brings are second to none.

• Multiple reading modes
• Easy navigation
• Natural reading experience
• Available for multiple OS platforms

Conclusion

As the number of mobile devices on the planet grows exponentially, it's important for publishers to have the right tools and use the right file formats to distribute their content. PDF is the obvious choice, not only because of its extensive capabilities but also due to the fact that it is one of the most affordable options for every user type from individuals to large enterprises. Combined with the ease of use and the intuitive PDF processes you can execute on it, it makes the perfect PDF tool for almost any purpose.

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Audrey Goodwin

chief Editor