21 Aug 2008

Links to in-line documents in no time

If you are someone who posts links to various documents on your website or blogs, then scribd's quickswitch tool lets you convert those links automatically into a flash-based in-line display that looks pretty similar to adobe reader (scribd calls this display as iPaper) . All you need is Flash installed. To quote scribd
If you can see youtube videos, you are set
Here's an example
chapter 3 of O'Reilly's 'Digital Photography Expert Techniques'

To get started, all you need to do (only the first time) is:
  1. Sign on with scribd for a free account
  2. Head over to http://www.scribd.com/platform/ and fill in a form listing the websites you intend to use this with
  3. Select the "Scribd quickswitch" tool and let is generate a javascript for you.
  4. Copy-paste the Javascript into your website (exact instruction on the same page as the script)
  5. and you are set!
There's a video explaining the whole process (see link below). From there on, every time you post a direct link to a document on your blog or website, it is automatically converted to "iPaper". Since this form feels and behaves like Adobes Acrobat reader, users should find it easy to use. The best advantage is that it does not require your visitors to install anything specific except the Flash plugin.

I think it not only looks good but is a unique way to seeing content on the web. Plus it's nice and light on my browser. Let me know what you think?

For more info:
at