interaction design - Interactive documents v websites. What research/studies exist to cover when one should be used over the other?

In discussing my question Does any research/study exist on what makes an interactive document better from a user experience perspective? an interesting argument has arisen that using a website is a better approach for creating an interactive document, as opposed to creating an interactive PDF for example.

To my mind, an interactive document is not the same as a website. Sure, they can be designed to be very similar and can share some of the same attributes and goals, but a single document that is entirely portable and can be viewed on any computer regardless of whether it is online or not will meet the needs of many situations that a website cannot do in the same way or with the same ease.

Some examples I can think of where creating interactive documents (such as PDF) may be preferable:

• for organisations that have staff on the road without easy access to the internet


• in situations where the content is commercial-in-confidence or has some other type of security restriction on it


• where ensuring that what is viewed appears exactly as intended (although the interactivity may not always work as intended on some devices)


• to ensure that when it is printed it prints as intended (incl. the ability to prevent printing altogether)


• to ensure maximum portability


• to minimise the risk of these documents being blocked by "email" and "internet" gateways


• for archival/legal purposes where ensuring that an accurate historical record needs to be kept of the entire document without fear that images and other interdependent files have changed or been deleted

The above are only some examples.

I know an argument could be put forward that you can create a website that is stored locally (and not in fact published online at all), but the portability of these is questionable. For example, one can email a single PDF while one cannot email a website. Sure, you could compress the site (e.g. into .zip format) but many email gateways will block compressed archives.

So, I am wondering what research or studies exist relating to the comparison of interactive documents with websites from a user experience perspective, and in what situation(s) should one choose either option over the other to ensure the best experience for users.