I recently linked to a PDF file in a post, and a subsequent poster warned everyone that it was a PDF file. It seems this (warning that a link leads to a PDF file) has been a tradition here for longer than I’ve been around.
Why is this an issue?
IIRC it’s because they historically tended to cause problems on slower computers/internet connections. Computer technology has improved in the ensuing decade-plus but by now it’s a habit with people.
Because PDF documents can be quite large (weight) compare to a web page. You would not want to be using a mobile device reading the SDMB and click on a link that results in downloading a 100 MB PDF file. So much for download times and bandwidth. OTOH, a link going to a web page does not incur bandwidth and time, relatively speaking.
Case in Point:
Ran a Google search: “large pdf file”
[ul]
[li] Super large PDF 100MB (Actual web page link)[/li][LIST]
[li] Super large PDF 100MB (PDF Warning. It really is 96.98 MB in weight.)[/li][/ul]
[/LIST]
Back in the old days, you couldn’t view a pdf without having Adobe Acrobat installed. Acrobat was often twitchy. Some people could run it without issues. Others would experience crashes or Acrobat would in some cases completely lock up their computer.
Acrobat was originally a standalone thing. Then it integrated with browsers, and continued being a bit twitchy for some people. Worst case, it could lock up the browser or the computer.
The file size also tended to be larger than other common file sizes, which was an issue if you were on a dial-up modem.
So the smart thing back then was to warn people that the file was a pdf. If their system handled pdf files poorly, they knew to simply not download the file.
Modern browsers have pdf support integrated into them, and pdf viewers in general these days aren’t so twitchy and prone to crashes or system lockups. Most people are on high speed internet connections as well. Overall, there’s little need for a pdf warning these days, though some portable devices may not handle pdf files very well or may require an app to be installed before they support them. Someone on a limited data plan may also wish to avoid pdf files due to their size.
I think most people’s concern is with security risks of PDF documents. It’s not only large documents that annoy people - try linking to a 50KB PDF without a warning, and you’ll still get people complaining.
Back in 2008-2010, security was a major issue. In 2010, almost half of all infections tracked by Kapersky were from PDF malware. Since then, PDF security has gotten better so there isn’t such a huge difference in risk from a PDF versus some random web page, but people are used to seeing the warning and don’t like being surprised by an unexpected PDF. Google still specifies “PDF” in their search results, which reinforces the idea in our heads that it’s important to call it out.
I thought this post was a setup for a joke. As in, you wouldn’t want to download a 100mb .pdf file on your phone because it would be too heavy to hold in your hand.
Honestly the modern equivalent is linking to a video file. Wish people would “warn” when a link goes to a video, since on a mobile device it’s not easy to preview the link. I don’t always want to start up a video, so a heads up would be useful.
I won’t argue with this, because I agree it’s always nice to know if a video is going to start playing. But to comment on previewing the link: you can do this on a mobile device by long-pressing the link. Instead of opening the link, it will show you the URL.
Cool- good to know.
The easy way to warn about a pdf is to not format the url. Just paste the url as is and let vB format it. vB will always show the end of the url, displaying the “pdf” extension.
If you have an odd pdf url that does not end in “.pdf”, then some people would appreciate a warning.
Not on all phones. And if you use Tapatalk, can’t do it either.
It’s just weird because I’ve literally not seen this done anywhere else in modern times. How is it that the rest of the Internet can get by?
When I encounter a PDF, it loads like a regular page. If it takes too long, I go back. On Desktop, I may also close the tab, but, on mobile, the back button does that for me. Same with videos. That back button is the most common button I use. It will even back out of an app that launched and take me back to the previous app. I actually wish desktop would adopt this.
For good or ill (most likely a combination of both), this message board is more rooted in tradition than most communities on the Internet. We’ve got traditions here that are older than YouTube, Twitter, or smartphones themselves, much less any of the apps that run on them.
Notice we’re using 1980s technology in the message board itself, with only the addition of 256 colors now (woot) … fancy bells and whistles attract bugs after all …
I consider SDMB as the Gray Lady of message boards.
I was the one who put up the warning, tho not due to ancient outdated PC issues or SD traditions, but for what Duckster said in #3 above (cell phones often don’t like them). I know if I was browsing the Dope on my phone and clicked on that, only to see the dreaded “downloading PDF” message, I would be a bit perturbed. So just a simple case of the Golden Rule.
Look closer. Both Google and Bing have a [PDF] indicator on every search result that links to a PDF document.