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2 years ago ::
Sep 04, 2011 - 11:26PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Mar 13, 2008
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I wanted to download one of the newer adventures after playing it, to review the XP we earned and the treasure bundles available, on my way home. However, using my iPad for that, I discovered that I couldn't open ZIP-files on it. Completely besides the point that I could use an app to open up the zip or wait a bit and do it on my desktop, is it necessary to offer the newer adventures as an archived file?
Since most of the new adventures consist of a single PDF, offering them as a PDF download would make more sense.
Heroic Dungeon Master
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2 years ago ::
Sep 06, 2011 - 6:56AM
#2
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Date Joined:
May 29, 2001
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Any number of iPad apps can unzip files; you may already have an app that can do it.
A quick survey says the following iPad apps are able to unzip files:
GoodReader
AirSharing
FileBrowser
iUnarchiveLite (free app)
Unzip
There's plenty more, too. I use ReaddleDocs to read big PDFs, and that app can unzip PDFs as well.
--
Pauper
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2 years ago ::
Sep 06, 2011 - 8:16AM
#3
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I think I noticed that the ZIPs also gave very little compression. I very much doubt hard drive space is at a premium and almost all traffic should be compressed on the wire anyways.
There's really no reason to ZIP the PDFs unless they are multiple files.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 06, 2011 - 9:42AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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while it could no doubt be done, it would also require some (minor) extra work on the site as search engines like Google have the unfortunate habit of indexing PDF's..
Now most of that can be fixed with a robots.txt, but then again some engines don't respect that.. etc. etc. .. I figure its fine as is.
To DME, or not to DME: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous powergaming, Or to take arms against a sea of Munchkins, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;No more;
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2 years ago ::
Sep 06, 2011 - 12:37PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2004
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while it could no doubt be done, it would also require some (minor) extra work on the site as search engines like Google have the unfortunate habit of indexing PDF's..
Is that bad? (i.e. I could think of some actual benefits from this).
I assumed that we were still using the zip format because the original adventures required it (so as to include the story awards).
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2 years ago ::
Sep 06, 2011 - 8:34PM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
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I assumed that we were still using the zip format because the original adventures required it (so as to include the story awards).
The ZIP format is primarily a matter of habit and for consistency with older adventures that did include multiple files in the archive; that said, it's possible that we might go back to including multiple files again at some point in the future.
For example, we sometimes get requests to include all the stat blocks for each AL in their own extra file to make it easier to print just the stat blocks for a single AL without having to figure out exactly which pages to print (to be clear, if we did that, it would be in addition to the stat blocks as they are currently presented inline with each encounter).
We also get requests from convention organizations to have the handouts as a separate file, and I've had requests for us to go back to including the certs as a separate file, to make things easier on people who need to print lots of copies of the certs and handouts but only a few copies of the adventure.
Admittedly we are not doing any of those things right now, but if we do, then it'll be easier not having to go back and forth between formats. I guess we could add the PDF alongside the ZIP (similar to what's done for documents like the Campaign Guide) but doing that would still be pretty low on the list of things I would like to do with the website in the near term. I also think that having one download link per adventure is clean and consistent at least in terms of the current site layout. (A fancier layout with some dynamic elements for searching and sorting adventures would obviously make it easier to do things like offering a choice of file types when downloading adventures.)
Talk to you later --
Sean
----
M. Sean Molley | sean [at] basementsoftware [dot] com
LFR Global Administrator
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2 years ago ::
Sep 07, 2011 - 9:12AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2004
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I've had requests for us to go back to including the certs as a separate file, to make things easier on people who need to print lots of copies of the certs and handouts but only a few copies of the adventure.
?
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2 years ago ::
Sep 09, 2011 - 4:09PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
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?
Well, if you're a convention organizer, I think it's a reasonable request; you need to print certs and handouts for every table that runs, but you only need to print a couple of extra copies of the entire adventure (assuming you expect your DMs to bring their own, which most conventions do).
To be clear, I'm not saying that we would stop including the certs in the main PDF (as we do now) if we also started adding the cert file back to the ZIP as an individual download. Personally I really like having everything in a single file. Although it would be nice if we bookmarked the PDFs. 
Talk to you later --
Sean
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M. Sean Molley | sean [at] basementsoftware [dot] com
LFR Global Administrator
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2 years ago ::
Sep 09, 2011 - 4:36PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2004
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Well, if you're a convention organizer, I think it's a reasonable request; you need to print certs and handouts for every table that runs, but you only need to print a couple of extra copies of the entire adventure
I... I mean that when you print from a pdf (or any document really, 'cept maybe from the character builder), you are allowed to choose which pages you want to print.
Is that not as commonly known as I thought (or am I possibly missing something)?
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2 years ago ::
Sep 09, 2011 - 4:39PM
#10
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It's still a PITA, though.
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