How Associative Analysis is Changing PDF Technology

Are you frustrated with PDF reports?

PDF (Portable Document Format) has been the global standard of secure, professional reports, with many companies using the format to exchange information since its introduction in 1993.

From private industries to the government, many people rely heavily on PDF when it comes to storing, sharing and managing electronic records.

While it is a beloved part of modern business, PDF is not without its issues. As the world progresses, the digital landscape continues to evolve with innovative new technology.

So, it’s little surprise then that a major change is on the horizon that may spell the end for traditional PDF reports.

Before looking to the future, let’s consider just why PDF reports need to change.

A PDF file format is a great choice for distributing reports. However, the flatness of a PDF report can put some people off using them. Because PDF lacks interactivity, your reports can be dull, leaving the reader with more questions than answers.

To solve this, a common pitfall is to create a longer PDF report, which invariably has too many pages that most users will not have the time or inclination to read.

But what if you could have PDF reports with interactive visualization components?

Imagine if you could click on the bars in a bar chart and then navigate to other locations in the document where you could find related information.

Well, you no longer need to imagine that. Thanks to PPCexpo, it’s possible today.

PPCexpo has sought to revolutionize this format by improving the user-friendliness and collaborative capabilities of it by introducing interactive PDF, otherwise known as iPDF.

An iPDF document from PPCexpo includes an overview page, which gives users a summary of all content in the report.

This overview comprises several visualizations, similar to the style of an online dashboard. Viewers can quickly scan the visuals and then click on specific objects to explore the additional details.

This patented new format from PPCexpo heralds a huge shift in marketing. It may well transform the way that businesses handle data analysis.

PDF format is still useful and in demand, because all popular dashboards provide the capability to export data / info in PDF format

However, whereas the standard PDF documents have started to look a little stale in a fast-paced world, businesses can use iPDF to create interactive visualizations that are more engaging, and easy-to-use and understand.

Among the exciting benefits this new wave of technology brings include:

Beforehand, doing an analysis in offline mode was very time-consuming and cumbersome. Now, it is possible to do so much more offline with iPDF, which makes data analysis more powerful in offline mode.

With the UX for offline documents reinvented, iPDF is essentially a dashboard in a file. This is more interesting to work with – no more dull reports in drab and dated-looking PDF files.

This dashboard-like user experience also makes it possible to present interactive PDF reports to management instead of PowerPoint presentations.

By navigating to associative information, users can find answers to closely-related questions or variants of their original questions.

This greatly improves the readability of long PDF documents, as they are constructed in a logical way, which makes it easier to analyze by following linking information.

When you are using Google to search for something, associative analysis is in play.

Let’s say you are looking for a new TV. The search engine will display results, websites and related information on TVs, linking everything together depending on your search terms.

Once you discover relevant information at the first level, you may begin using more targeted keywords, digging deeper into the subject to learn more about it.

As you move from one level to the next, analyzing the relevant information throughout the levels, you help build context in the information.

For marketers, it is much easier to build this context and association in their analysis when they are working with online data. However, establishing a clear picture of the linking information for offline data is not as easy.

PPCexpo has been working on their interactive PDF (iPDF) technology to link the associative information in PDF documents. Thanks to some smart navigation, this mechanism now works, enabling businesses to understand how the flow of information is connected, even when they are working offline.

Considering how much of a mainstay PDF has been in business for the past two decades, it would be a shame if they didn’t evolve so that they could be used in data analysis.

Thanks to PPCexpo, now they are evolving. Out of the benefits mentioned above, one of the greatest advantages of using iPDF is that long PDFs won’t be so challenging.

The dashboard-like interface and associative information linking technology combine to pull everything together, making for a more enjoyable report that is more engaging and visually appealing. Better yet, it saves people time.

We focus on creating visual stories, seeking out ways to bind those stories by linking information together through associative analysis.

The end result of these interwoven, visual stories, is a more compact, connected PDF document that is more attractive for everyone involved. The ability to interact with these documents and perform analysis offline adds to the overall user experience.

PPCexpo is changing the way business think of PDF. Best of all, we generate our iPDF reports automatically, which means you don’t have to waste time building up the navigation or presentation. No hassle, and no more dull reports.

The future of PDF looks safe in the hands of PPCexpo.