Producing files for distribution
The following sections give some hints on producing documents for distribution, firstly in MS Office format (Word, Excel or PowerPoint) and then as PDF files. There is an argument that says that none of these proprietary file formats is appropriate for the web, which is particularly adapted for displaying HTML and XML files. However, we recognise that our users are now committed to using the web as a means of distribution of many different sorts of resource, with MS Office and PDF files prominent among them.
As many computer users have access to MS Office programs, it may be worth considering giving users the option of downloading either an Office document file or a PDF file: however, some protection or restriction facilities (such as providing a 'watermark' or prevention of further editing) may vary between the different formats.
The instructions are hedged about with qualifications because much depends on the context, the nature of your document and the use you expect your readers to make of it.
