Another PDF Challenge: The Unipage

In 1993, with the creation of the PDF, the way in which documents were utilized began to change. Paper could now be viewed digitally. They could be self-contained, secure, small in size and give you an assurance that the file was faithfully rendered.

The only set back was its inability to be edited. You had to extract the PDF content and edit the data in the document’s original application. However, the PDF’s ability to be viewed offline and on any platform helped to outweigh this limiting factor. As a result, the PDF is now a de facto standard in corporate workflows.

Yet despite this advantage, formats are being innovated in attempts to become an alternative or, better yet, a substitution that matches the versatility, portability and universality which the PDF commands. The Unipage is one such development to mimic these qualities in attempts to gain the same leverage.

What is the Unipage? Developed by programmer G. Zaslavsky, the Unipage allows computer users to save a single web page. A Unipage is created with a companion application, called a Unipage Unifier (v.1.0 RC5), which is currently only available for Windows. Yet, unlike the Save As command in a browser’s File menu that performs the same function, the Unipage contains all images, styling and functionality of the original page within a single file. The creation of multiple folders for different page components is eliminated.

A Closer Look At The Unipage

Looking at the Unipage’s capabilities, one can see why it poses as a potential threat to the PDF. To begin with, only a browser is needed to interact with a Unipage. With a constant need for technological convenience, it becomes efficient for the user as the browser becomes a Unipage resource centre, creator and viewer combined.

Much like a PDF document, it creates an instant viewing copy of an original source. In doing so, a Unipage can also be viewed offline and thus, used as a portable document. Users that are restricted to an intranet at work or that are shopping online on secure account pages, can view, save and then send the webpage via email.

Its page capturing abilities can be further manipulated to act as a simple archiving tool. What the Unipage essentially captures is a webpage at a single point in time which can then be saved as an individual file for future reference.

Also playing a factor in the Unipage’s arsenal is today’s world of mobile technology. Because the Unipage is HTML–based, it can be rendered on any Web-enabled device, such as blackberries and phones with web access.

For Now, It’s PDF Today and Tomorrow

Nonetheless, formats presented as challenging substitutions oftentimes work for and cater to very different purposes. The Unipage caters to the use of Web pages, not the kind of information used by corporate industries and organizations. Extracting PDF content into HTML is already a practical method still in use. In addition, the PDF is already viewable on mobile devices. Uses and needs such as printing, archiving, publishing and security require practical versatility and more heavy weight functionality for which the PDF has been ardently developed.

Note that although the Unipage takes snapshots of web pages, content is another matter. Links, for example, aren’t kept active. In addition, Unipages are practical for duplicating the appearance of webpage content, yet not for interacting, as one normally would, with statistical data posted on the Web. Furthermore, no security exists for Unipages, save for its inability to be indexed by search engines.

Thus, it is safer to say that the success of the Unipage ultimately depends upon the future trends of technological needs. Its direct interaction with the World Wide Web will, undoubtedly, play a role in its popularity and distribution. Still in its infancy, the Unipage has the potential to grow in significance to the world of digital workflows. The question of how big and in what ways it will grow is the question to be answered and the question which will define its competitive role within the PDF world.