When publishing copy protected PDF for lessons and tutorials, one has the choice of distributing for desktop reading or for viewing online from a web page. So the question can be which is better, and the answer is not simple because both methods have advantages depending on course structure and reader audience.

But the first thing to clear is the myth that PDF documents are more secure when read online because they don't get downloaded. That is just not true at all because in all cases, documents are downloaded and read on the user's computer. The only difference being that in the case of desktop reading, the PDF is saved to a location of the user's choice, whereas when reading online, the PDF is downloaded and saved to the web browser's cache folder.

In fact when DRM is applied to the PDF file for desktop reading it can be more secure than its online counterpart because when you copy protect PDF with DRM it cannot be shared as each DRM user is identified by a unique computer ID. Whereas when published online the PDF can be protected by password access, but passwords can be shared. Most tutors distributing lessons from online sales prefer to use DRM with desktop reading because it gives them total control of all security aspects, and because DRM can use call-to-home validation, permissions can be changed or modified at any time with immediate effect, even on PDF already saved to the user's computer.

Copy-protected PDF for desktop reading can easily be advertised in online stores and shopping carts with new subscribers automatically added to the DRM database from successful sales and emails sent with download instructions and login for registering their computer. While most authors seem to prefer publishing with DRM for desktop reading, others using Moodle for their website seem to prefer online reading. Moodle is a sophisticated e-learning website builder specially designed for class levels, exams and grading. It is however complex and much more difficult to manage than a simple web site that can be created more easily by using one of the other CMS such as WordPress. The choice here will be governed by how sophisticated does a course need to be, and will the learning curve be warranted?

There are a lot of different solutions available to copy protect PDF but not many can be used as website protection software. In fact there is only one website protection software that will copy protect PDF while displayed online. By "copy protect" I mean prevent ALL methods of save and copy including PrintScreen and screen recording, and most copy protection solutions cannot do that because they rely on popular web browsers which can no longer support system level interaction to be able to prevent copy.

Another key factor is the file size of the PDF document. Too large and the user will be facing an empty screen until it downloads on a web page. Whereas with desktop reading the PDF can be downloaded once and saved to where the user can easily find it and read it locally at any time.

For free advice and obligation free consultation, contact the support team via the ArtistScope website.