The Wardman Wire

I have had a reader question today: How can I convert a pdf file into something that anyone can download from my blog? Here are my comments.

There are two issues here:

• Converting the PDF File.
• Making the result accessible from a blog website.

Do we actually need to convert the PDF file?

In my opinion, no - since the Adode Portable Document Format (PDF) is a about as widespread a standard as you will find on the web.

The quick and easy way is to do simply to upload the PDF document to a web server you have access too, and then put a link something like this in your document:

<a href-=”location of pdf file” titl=”name of document”>name of document</a>(<size of pdf> PDF)

And replace web address with the full address of the PDF document.

Where can I store my PDF file?

Usually if you have a blog you should be able to upload any type of file, using the Uploading facilities of your blog software, or possibly using a service such as FTP.

If you are on a hosted blogging service such as Blogger, you will need to use a third-party hosting service if the service does not permit uploads of PDF files.

I know of several of these services:

• Box.net was a service I discovered through Mike Rouse, and of which I have some experience.

These services (which I have not used) may be worth a look:

• Snapdrive will allow you to host up to 2 Gb of files, and individual files may be up to 500Mb. You can link directly to files.
• Savefile.com will allow you to host up to 2 Gb of files, and individual files may be up to 60MB. You can link directly to files.

What do I put in my article?

Write description in an article with the link - or perhaps an excerpt from the document itself.

Wrapping Up

Similar considerations apply to other types of files, such as MP3s - but each hosting service offers different facilities so you will need to do some research.