"Final" Details
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"Final" Details
It seems ever more common these days to release multiple versions of the "final details" for events. This means that, if you printed (and read) the ones that you thought were final, you then have to print them again when they change, or read through carefully to see what's different. It's obviously a good idea to release some information (like distance to the start etc) as soon as possible, and before all the details are available, but maybe these should be labelled "Provisional Details" or the like, so that you know they will be updated. Also, there are bound to be times when it's necessary to make a late change, or a mistake is discovered, and details that were thought to be final need to be changed - but in this case, using the "track changes" feature that word processors provide would highlight the changes with no extra effort required. (Typically, new text is underlined, deleted text is struck through, etc.)
- roadrunner
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Re: "Final" Details
Agree with all that, Roadrunner. But track changes only works for Word documents, and most Final Details are PDFs. So perhaps either highlight in red - or list changes at top of document?
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HarryO - orange
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Re: "Final" Details
HarryO wrote:most Final Details are PDFs
This itself seems quite old-fashioned nowadays. I suspect the majority of people will now be viewing final details electronically rather than printing them out, so an event details webpage - with a print-friendly style sheet for those who still want a hard copy - would probably be a better format.
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Scott - god
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Re: "Final" Details
Scott wrote:HarryO wrote:most Final Details are PDFs
This itself seems quite old-fashioned nowadays. I suspect the majority of people will now be viewing final details electronically rather than printing them out, so an event details webpage - with a print-friendly style sheet for those who still want a hard copy - would probably be a better format.
I disagree. I view most details on my phone. A pdf document displays very well on my phone, whereas other formats often don't. Word documents get distorted. Some websites have 'mobile' versions that don't contain all of the information. The BOF website is a good example, where I can only see the menu in 'desktop view'.
A pdf is the most versatile format for viewing and printing. If these are marked with version numbers and revision date then it is easy to know that you have the latest version.
Where 'final' details need to be revised, a box at the top summarising what is different should be easy to both produce and understand, especially if these are only published a few days before the event. 'Provisional' details published earlier might not be changed, but emphasising that it might change would probably encourage people to check a few days before the event, which surely is a good thing?
- spitalfields
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Re: "Final" Details
HarryO wrote:But track changes only works for Word documents, and most Final Details are PDFs.
And how do you think those PDFs were produced? From Word mostly, I would think. So if you track changes in the Word document, the PDF will show them too. Certainly a box highlighting the changes would be equally good, but that's a bit more effort.
- roadrunner
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Re: "Final" Details
roadrunner wrote:HarryO wrote:But track changes only works for Word documents, and most Final Details are PDFs.
And how do you think those PDFs were produced? From Word mostly, I would think. So if you track changes in the Word document, the PDF will show them too. Certainly a box highlighting the changes would be equally good, but that's a bit more effort.
Fair point, but the drawback of tracked changes is that you can be left with crossings out and insertions that look messy and can be confusing. Also, I have never found a way of 'tracking only major changes' so things like typo corrections are given as much emphasis as new paragraphs.
If the mentality adopted is 'final details are confirmation of previously issued information, published a few days before the event' then the number of amendments required should be minimal.
- spitalfields
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Re: "Final" Details
Scott wrote:HarryO wrote:most Final Details are PDFs
This itself seems quite old-fashioned nowadays. I suspect the majority of people will now be viewing final details electronically rather than printing them out, so an event details webpage - with a print-friendly style sheet for those who still want a hard copy - would probably be a better format.
PDFs please - easily printable or downloadable so they can be viewed on a phone offline.
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buzz - addict
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Re: "Final" Details
spitalfields wrote:… Fair point, but the drawback of tracked changes is that you can be left with crossings out and insertions that look messy and can be confusing. Also, I have never found a way of 'tracking only major changes' so things like typo corrections are given as much emphasis as new paragraphs.
Track all the changes, 'Accept' the trivial ones like typos so that they disappear and only the major ones remain. Save as a pdf.
- Snail
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Re: "Final" Details
Snail wrote:spitalfields wrote:… Fair point, but the drawback of tracked changes is that you can be left with crossings out and insertions that look messy and can be confusing. Also, I have never found a way of 'tracking only major changes' so things like typo corrections are given as much emphasis as new paragraphs.
Track all the changes, 'Accept' the trivial ones like typos so that they disappear and only the major ones remain. Save as a pdf.
Oh yeah. It's obvious now you say it. Silly me!
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