What is the best document format? .html .nhtml .pdf other? and why

[MrFixit_eh]

I can see that I need to stop for a minute and reflect on the various file
types, the purpose for converting the files, and the nature of my site.

I have developed an intranet site at work. The site resides on the main
server and is accessed by remote locations over our company network by
high-speed internet connections. The site is getting fairly large at nearly
1,000 pages. The html pages are pretty simple with very few graphics or
pictures. The linked documents are a combination of .html, .doc, and .pdf
files. I have found that alot of the .doc format documents are quite slow
downloading compared to .pdf or .html files.

The .pdf files are comparatively fast, but our staff are not able to
manipulate the documents. The .html files are also fast, but there's the
difficulty keeping the site organized with the thicket files. I thought the
Single File Web Page was the answer - quick downloads, no extra thicket
files/folders, and staff can manipulate the documents. Now I see things
aren't quite so simple.

A few questions.........

1. Why are the .pdf format files better?
2. Will the Single File Web Pages work Ok so long as there are no graphics
and all the users have IE?
3. Are there any other options?

Thanks again,
Steve

This is a follow-up to a thread I started
http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...dd218b-dcc1-42b2-afbe-6560a4eb7ed4&sloc=en-us

 

[David Berry]

One file type isn't "better" than another. They type of file you use
depends on it's purpose. The speed it takes to download depends on it's
size, speed of the connection, network traffic, number of users accessing
the file, the web server and other factors. You could ZIP the files and
link to the .ZIP file, which is faster, or, since you're on an intranet, put
the files on a network share and just link to the share folder - not the
file - and they can get them from there.