• New Zealand Government Web Standards 2.0

• New Zealand Government Web Standards 1.0
  • » 1. Images
  • » 2. Colour
  • » 3. Site Markup
  • » 4. Special Purpose Documents
    • 4.1 Document size and type with document links
    • 4.2 Publish documents in most accessible format possible
    • 4.3 Use of PDF documents
    • 4.4 Website documents for specialist audiences identified as such
    • 4.5 Website special-purpose documents identified as such
    • Recommendation 4.1.1 Information for users to select their documents to their preference
    • Recommendation 4.1.2 Versions and other aspects of a document
    • Recommendation 4.1.3 Compression of large files or collections of small files
    • Recommendation 4.1.4 Create documents primarily in the valid formal grammars
  • » 5. Writing Content
  • » 6. Site Content
  • » 7. Page Layout
  • » 8. Navigation
  • » 9. Style Sheets
  • » 10. Dynamic Content
  • » 11. Tables
  • » 12. Frames
  • » 13. Scripting and Applets
  • » 14. Page Refreshing
  • » 15. Site Behaviour
  • » 16. Site Layout
  • » 17. Archiving
  • » 18. Quality Assurance
  • » 19. Data Tracking
  • » 20. Authentication
  • » 21. Security
  • » 22. Online Forms
  • » 23. Tendering and Contracting
  • » 30. Site Delivery
  • » 31. Operational
  • » 32. Web Strategy

4.1 Document size and type with document links

The Standard

4.1 Links to web documents indicate as a minimum the document size and type, which must either be included in the link itself and/or in the TITLE attribute.

Related Recommendations

4.1.2 - Versions and other aspects of a document recommended being present with a document

4.1.3 - Compression of large files or collections of small files

Rationale for this Standard

When downloadable objects such as documents, program executables and multimedia files are presented for download, users need to know if the object downloaded is going to be accessible and usable to them. Presenting information including the document size enables the user to make a decision as to whether they wish to download the document. The user may choose not to do so, for a number of reasons. For example, determining that they may not obtain a successful download with their current connection type, the download may take too long or the download may incur a degree of cost (with the user’s ISP) that the user may not wish to incur. Information provided about the document type may result in the user deciding to avoid download, due to not having the necessary tools/software on hand to access the document.