You should contact AWS and tell them what ASME and API do, so that they understand what is possible. (I don't have those specs so I couldn't say. I know I had the same problem with AASHTO documents a while ago, before we got a site-licensed version.)
AWS has been known to be pretty cooperative when you need to move your file or something like that, but it's still a pain in the ass. It's ridiculous that the electronic copy would be *less* portable than the hard copy.
I like the idea of the flash drives. When you order your hard copy, for an extra $50 (or something like that) you can get the same code on a flash drive, and you can carry that flash drive around and view its contents on any computer (and you can put your own files on it too, so you could put your procedures & whatnot on there if you wanted). If you accidentally drop the thing down a sewer grate, you're SOL, but these days considering what a flash drive can hold (I've seen 128GB on the same size that used to hold 256 MB), one would think people are getting more careful about those little gizmos. (I think a nice fat lanyard with the AWS flash drive collection ought to be sufficiently unloseable. I told AWS they should supply nice fat AWS logo lanyards; why miss another marketing opportunity?)
Hg