The introduction of PDF from Adobe revolutionized the portability of information and methods for publishing volume information on the web. But despite the advantages of portability, PDF remains a fairly cumbersome means of presenting information, particularly when a large quantity of reference documentation is concerned.

Acrobat now faces its first major challenge in the form of FlashPaper 2 from Macromedia. FP2 allows you to generate either Flash documents or PDFs for viewing on a local machine or distribution over the web.

Flash documents are not dependent on any platform, browser or device, but the real beauty is in the user interface. This is slick and intuitive, with toolbar buttons for zooming, panning, printing or selecting text, as well as excellent navigational control and text search. Critically, Flash documents comply with the Section 508 U.S. requirement for accessibility, so your published documents will probably comply with your legal responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act right off the bat.

Particular support for the partially sighted is provided through the interface's real-time zoom slider control. This really is a treat to use (click here to see a Flash document of a previous ITnews review). But Flash developers can also manipulate the Flash document interface to incorporate additional functionality, while designers can customize the user interface to match the look-and-feel of an existing website.

Flash documents are very quick loading in the browser and in our tests we were generating files as much as half the size of PDF.

Generating Flash documents is easy. FlashPaper installs as a series of printer drivers, meaning that any document that can be printed can also be converted into a Flash document simply by selecting FP2 from the list of printers. FP2 also supports drag-and-drop, or you can also create Flash documents by right-clicking any printable document in Windows Explorer. FP2 also installs toolbars in Microsoft Office applications for quick access.

All hyperlinks in documents are preserved in the generation process and you can even retain the outline structure in Word files. Of course, FP2 also allows you to generate PDFs, and nice features include the ability to create and email a PDF in one click, of to protect the document with 128-bit encryption and two levels of password protection. I would have liked to have seen these same features support the Flash document format as well as PDF.
Verdict

PDF is not dead, of course. Adobe Acrobat continues to provide a comprehensive environment for creating and manipulating portable documents (we are publishing a review on the new version of Acrobat Professional soon). But in terms of sheer usability, Flash documents have the edge. They are a refreshing delight to view and with FP2 very easy to create.

Unlike PDF, Flash documents mean that volume information no longer looks like an afterthought. There is little doubt in my mind that Flash documents will continue to gain in popularity and seriously threaten PDF. Wed designers will love it, of course, because the interface can be stitched in with existing content. But, currently, FP2 is only available on Windows platforms, and not on the Mac.

Once generated, Flash documents cannot be edited. So unless you really need the post-production offered by Adobe Acrobat, then FlashPaper 2 is your answer to deploying printable output on the web. Brilliant.