KidneyWeb Professional Section

http://KidneyWeb.net

KidneyWeb Pro

Pediatric Nephrology Resources for Healthcare Professionals
Developed by Robert S. Gillespie, MD, MPH

Professional
Home

Handouts

Download Center

Web Links

Contact &
Site Info

Public Home

Formatting and Opening the Handouts

Cautions about Reformatting or Editing

You may edit or reformat the handouts to suit your needs, or to fit a standard format used at your institution. However, please keep in mind that a great deal of effort has gone into the design of these handouts. Attributes such as font style, font size, alignment and spacing have been chosen thoughtfully based on well-researched principles for making printed materials easy to read and user-friendly. If you change these attributes, you may diminish some of these benefits.

Similarly, the text has been written carefully to minimize use of large words and long sentences. Formal analyses of reading ease were applied to ensure that each one remains at a 5th-6th grade reading level. As a well-educated person, you probably write at a much higher reading level. If you make substantial changes to the text, you may increase the reading level, making the handouts less accessible to people with low literacy levels.

I think the ability to adapt and customize these handouts is a valuable asset. It helps make them useful everywhere despite the many variations in local practices. So go ahead and customize them to make them work best for you. Just keep these thoughts in mind.

Problems Opening the Handouts - I Don't Have Microsoft Word - Why Aren't The Handouts in PDF Format?

These handouts are provided in Microsoft Word 2003 format primarily to enable users to edit or modify them as needed. A user survey in January 2007 showed that the majority of users preferred this format and that 45% of users do sometimes alter the handouts.

The Adobe PDF format is more universally available and does not require Microsoft Word. However, documents in the PDF format cannot be edited unless you have very expensive software generally found only in publication offices. Therefore, I am going to continue with the Word format.

If your computer does not have Microsoft Word, these suggestions may help you print the handouts:

Download the free Microsoft Word Viewer from Microsoft.com. This viewer will allow you to open, read and print Microsoft Word documents.
Convert the file to PDF for free at pdfonline.com. Download the document, save it, then go to pdfonline.com and upload it. They will convert it to PDF format and email to you in a few minutes. This is a reputable service - I have used it often, and they do not burden you with spam or viruses.
Try opening the file with another full-feature word processor such as WordPerfect or the excellent free package OpenOffice.org. Although these have filters to import Word documents, some graphic elements may not display properly.

If you have other questions or difficulties, please contact me, and I will do my best to help you.

Robert S. Gillespie, MD, MPH

Professional Home	Handouts	Download Center	Web Links	Contact & Site Info	Public Home
The professional section of KidneyWeb is intended for use only by qualified health care professionals, not by the general public, patients, or families/friends of patients. The information provided here is general in nature and will not apply to all patients. Only a health care professional can determine whether these materials are appropriate for a particular individual. If you are a patient or family member/friend of a patient, talk with your health care professional before using these materials. KidneyWeb and all the content on it are maintained independently and not affiliated with or endorsed by any organization named therein.