Good news everyone!

We’ve just released the newest version of our flagship product, Able2Extract, this week. It’s now at version 4.0, which means more advanced conversions for extracting PDF graphics into different formats.

And in addition to that update, we’ve also improved our Able2Doc products as well, with better PDF to Word conversion output and an updated interface.

Of course, if you have previous versions of our software, we’ve got upgrades posted up for you so you don’t miss out on the latest features.

And so, in honour of taking one gigantic step forward with the new release, I thought it would be a good time to take a small step back. Releasing a new product version is always a perfect time to reminisce about the “good ol’ days�—thinking about where you’ve been and what you’ve done. And, in 6 years, after hard work (read: blood, sweat and tears) we’ve come a long way!

A Brief Trip Down Memory Lane

We also have our own history of fun facts to know and tell that date back to our foundation in 2000. In the early days, when trying to build the name and the product line, Investintech worked out of the company president’s apartment for a time (that’s right, “home base� was actually “home�). The staff was numbered at only 3 at the time: the president, executive vice president and lead developer, which meant honing down those much needed multi-tasking abilities until workloads demanded a staff. It consists of 9 members today.

The name “Investintech.com�, itself, was coined because the site was initially supposed to be a financial information website focused on small cap technology companies. In the end, we found a nice niche in the PDF world, expanding one idea into another and eventually into one that combined specific working needs and practical software demands.

Our first product, Able2Extract 1.0, in fact, began as a simple PDF to Excel converter, which worked well, but not well enough to be put out on the market. After innovation, expansion and development, the products branched out into ones with more advanced capabilities—Able2Doc, Sonic, OCR technology, better GUIs, SDKs, server side software, conversions to HTML, PowerPoint, Word, and (better conversions to) Excel. Thus, this new version adds another big milestone to the list with a foothold in the graphic conversion arena.

Now, in a nice and cozy (and just as home-y) office here in downtown Toronto, Investintech has grown into the company you see on the screen before you.

There’ve been many challenges and successes along the way, and these new product versions are only one of them. And undoubtedly, there’ll be more to come.


Cheers!

Well you’ve heard all about it here that MS was planning to integrate their XPS functionality into their suite of products. And to keep all you Investintech readers updated with PDF news, Microsoft is following through on their initial intent to keep the functionality free of charge, a decision which ignited the legal battle with Adobe. The tool is now available via free download on the Microsoft website.

Now XPS/PDF capable. How will this do against Adobe?

It has the potential of taking your MS work experience to a whole new level with three versions of the tool: Save As PDF, Save As XPS, Save As PDF or XPS. And it works with 8 different Office programs, including Microsoft Office Excel, PowerPoint and Word 2007.

So for the PDF makers and shakers out there who’ve been anticipating the work tool, now’s your chance-- Get ready; Get set; Download!

Google has just come out with their Google Book Search in beta form. The popular search engine has applied its specialty to e-book cataloging and is now helping Internet users to find books on-line. The project was first announced in 2004 in conjunction with a number of research libraries (both national and international) in order to make collections available on the Web.

With a number of titles at your mercy, you can now browse, search and buy; read previews, collect cataloging info, learn about the publisher and contribute your collection. Yes, the Google-catalogue is also an open resource for contributions. It’s an option for authors and publishers to gain visibility by posting up their books.

It’s the ultimate-virtual-multi-lingual-book-search-cataloguing system for “fiction, non-fiction, reference, scholarly, textbooks, children's books, scientific, medical, professional, [and] educational� titles.

What does this have to do with our PDF world?, you ask. Google is using the PDF format for book downloads, making the scanned PDF books printable and readable (not to mention, also convertible) offline.

What will you find? How do you find it?

It works just like an ordinary Google search. Type in your search term and click on Search. The book view will open in your browser once the book is selected. For PDF downloads, file sizes will vary depending on the length of the book and seeing as how most books will be above 100 pages, you might be deterred with a MB file size.

Viewers supported include Adobe Reader 7.0, xpdf and Foxit reader. Also necessary to remember: visual quality will also vary depending upon the condition of the book’s print, which means older, rarer editions may be of low quality.

However, before you go searching to own free editions of every book you’ve wanted to read, there is a catch. Because of copyright issues, most recent and in-copy right editions aren’t available for PDF download.

So if you’re looking to download a full version of, say, a Harry Potter book, don’t hold your breath— being a bookworm myself, I’ve tried. (In my defense, I’ve also tried a few other titles, authors and literary critics as well).

To get around this, Google presents search results with different views: Limited preview, snippet, no preview and full views. Full views of books exist for those books whose copyrights are expired or aren’t subjected to any, aka “public domain� books. This means books published before 1923 in the US and for outside the U.S., public domain is defined by local laws.

These are the books that are available to you via PDF. Click on the “Full view books� button before you execute a search to find the available selection of PDF’d public domain books for your title.

Last thoughts

The book as PDF. . . Google as e-catalogue. . . and the world as library. . . . Now that’s a library with a good working selection.

It all starts with the question, ‘What is a PDF?’ and after that, it’s all easy down-stairs climbing from there. You work with it and learn about the many features of the PDF format-- what it can do, how it does it and why you need it.

But, what about your recreational needs? Are there recreational needs for the PDF?. . . For most, the PDF is only a working document. More often than not, we tend to work with PDF documents and leave it at that. Sad to say, but once that stressful 9 to 5, 8 to 4 working day is done, we want to hear no more about it. Sad indeed for such an innovative format


So, this week’s posting aims to bust that “PDFs-are-only-for-work� myth. Here are some suggested odd ends for other, and more creative, uses of the PDF:

• E-Books—Instead of buying them, download them. Or snag a scanned copy from a willing friend.

• Invitations—Websites specializing in generating e-vites can sometimes be a hassle to access, navigate and print. The PDF can eliminate those problems by just opening a PDF attachment.

• Puzzles and games— The PDF is perfect for this. (Although I’m not addicted to it, I’ve come across Sudoku in PDF booklets!)

• For embedding media—With the multi-media trend getting bigger, you can share in all the hype and exchange those rare media files you find on the Web.

• As a fax machine—Handy for those without one at home—cheaper too.

• For receiving bills—As hard (and unpleasant) as it is to receive bills via mail, receiving them in the PDF will at least minimize the amount of filing and shredding you need to do.

• For capturing web pages—Perfect for sharing those weird, off-the-wall webpages with those who don’t have access to the Internet.

• Manuals—If you’ve just bought something shiny and new, picking up a hobby or downloaded a new software application, you can figure everything out with the PDF’d manual.

• For keeping tabs on sports—Record, email and print out results and standings to distribute at an event’s end. (Did you win your World Cup pool?)


Using PDFs outside the work place doesn’t mean taking your work home with you. It actually means incorporating a way to make things a bit easier for you during your downtime. Try it sometime.