Investintech

Are You Ready for Able2Extract 6.0?

A

Investintech users, get ready.

Today we release a brand new version of our Able2Extract flagship product– and have we got the features for you!

Able2Extract v.6.0 gives you more conversions, more control and more functionality. Here’s a peek at what the brand new features can do for you:

*Conversion to OpenOffice formats: If you’re a fan of software alternatives to Microsoft, this feature is exactly what you’re looking for.  Able2Extract v.6.0 will let you convert your PDF to Open Office formats like Writer and Calc.

*Batch conversion: Convert hundreds of PDFs at once with our batch PDF conversion interface and save yourself the time and money usually spent on converting one PDF at a time.

*Improved Vector Image Handling: By improving our existing image to Word conversion, you automatically gain more control over handling vector images once the PDF is in MS Word.

*Outlook Integration: Able2Extract v.6 can now help you with your PDF email attachments by converting them into Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. All it takes is  a simple right click within your MS Outlook client.

*PDF to AutoCAD conversion: Our new PDF to AutoCad conversion will let you recover and then edit vector images by converting them into complex multilayer CAD files.

Sound like the tool for you? If you’re ready to convert your PDF files on a whole new level, you can start downloading your copy of Able2Extract v.6.0 today.

How To Animate Your PDF Content | PDF to GIF

When you want to convert your PDF content, you want it coming out clean and crisp, as accurate as the original file. Yet, imagine for a moment, the possibility that your converted content can turn out better than the original.

Thus, being able to do something like animate static content is definitely a plus. Able2Extract has the ability to do this with its support for PDF to GIF conversion.

Alongside the usual image conversion options, Able2Extract has a Multipage image option available for image conversions. This can be used to animate static images by animating them in a way similar to how a flipbook animates hand drawn pictures.

To animate your static PDF images, follow these steps:

1) Open your PDF or XPS document that contains a multipage image in Able2Extract.

2) Select the page, pages or a page range of your multipage image.

3) Click on the image conversion icon in the toolbar.

4 ) In the image conversion dialogue box, select GIF. The GIF conversion options should then be highlighted and accessible.

5) Put a check mark in the Multipage image option.

PDF to GIF

6)The next GIF option you need to set is the GIF Animation Speed. Select how fast or slow you want your animation to occur in terms of seconds per page.

7) There is a Black and White color conversion option available as well if you want to color convert your image.

8 ) Choose your image scaling and DPI resolution preferences.

9) Select the Destination directory where you want to save your file.

10) Then click OK to convert.

Able2Extract v.5.0 Is Here!

We are proud to announce that we have officially launched the upgraded version of our flagship products, Able2Extract and Able2Doc. It’s a whole new version on a whole new level with a whole new look!

New Able2Extract 5.0 Features

This latest 5.0 version is sporting newer, more advanced features that lets you convert your PDF into more formats than ever before. We’ve managed to pack this upgrade with a lot more conversion options. Like what?, you ask. Read on.

First off the list, Able2Extract v.5.0 now offers PDF to Image conversions. Our new PDF to Image converter can generate popular image file formats, such as JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, and TIFF. You can designate the output directory, set image DPI and perform black and white conversions.

Second, with Able2Extract v. 5.0, you can now view and convert Microsoft’s new XPS document format. Convert XPS with all the same output features and conversion settings by simply opening and converting the format as you would a regular PDF file.

Third, this latest upgrade can support PDF Forms conversion. You can convert interactive PDF forms to editable Word Documents which you can fill out, save and modify later on. This conversion feature has the ability to retain form elements, such as text fields, radio buttons, and checkboxes.

Our Able2Doc v.4.0 can perform the same PDF Forms to Word conversion, and can also support XPS to Word conversion capabilities. Ideal for those who are only looking to convert to Word and TXT file formats.

Go ahead and sample these new features for yourself. You can download the free trial, in either the Standard or Professional versions, and take it for a test run. For ordering, product , and pricing details, check out our site—it, too, has undergone a bit of remodeling.

The ABCs of the PDF: G-I

Veering away from XPS this week, I’ve got the next posting in the ABCs series for you. It’s been a while, but here it is. This week, it’s about the history, the mechanics and the product. A little vague? What does this have to do with the PDF?, you ask. Read on.

GUI

From creation to manipulation and accessibility to view-ability, the GUI’s function is crucial to working with PDFs. Yet have you ever wondered about the history behind the interface you use? The first rough idea of a GUI was conceived of by American engineer, Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) in the early 1930s. In his essay “As We May Think,” published in 1945, Bush describes a device he called the “Memex” that would transform physical gestures into technical commands. A user could call up and display multiple “book” files on a desktop screen and jump through pages of content with the movement of one’s hand. Yet, it was only theorized about until Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013),  inspired by Bush’s idea, decided to develop and implement the idea into a prototype. In 1968, the first working GUI was demonstrated.

The first marketable GUI using computer was invented by Xerox PARC in 1973 with the Xerox Alto computer. It was further enhanced by Apple’s revolutionary Apple Lisa PC ten years later in 1983. And by the 1990’s, the GUI of Microsoft’s Windows OS improved the functioning of the GUI into the one you know today. Of course, the interface has also been developed and used by a number of individual computer companies over the years, and it has come a long way in terms of looks and usage.

The goal for the GUI nowadays is to provide the most functionality within the least amount of space. And Adobe Reader 8 is just one example in its simplicity. Perhaps in the future our PDF viewers will do away with the GUI altogether, and use virtual reality as a way of “handling” PDF documents!

Hash Function

So far, we’ve made it so that electronic docs would be an easy way of storing and recording data. In addition, it prevents data from being physically lost or stolen– invisible and intangible until opened and printed. Yet, that also means that security has transferred from playing a physical role to a digital one. And just as you need a sense of security when physically locking doors, you also need it when securing electronic documents.

You already know that information security is important to the PDF and can be done with the click of a mouse. Yet, one of the things behind that simple move is something called a Hash function . Hash functions or algorithms play a role in creating a digital signature which you’ve undoubtedly used in the past to secure your PDFs. It is that digital signature which is made up of a hash and encryption key.

A textual message or document is made into a smaller data version of itself through a “hashing” process. When this happens, the content of the message is encoded, using a hash function. The hashed version of the message is called a message digest, which is, in turn, encrypted with the author’s private key. The resulting encryption of the message digest is the digital signature that you attach to the original PDF Document. All of this is done behind that one deceptive click.

And although the term “hash” may seem a funny word to refer to a security/encryption element, according to definition sources, it caught on in the 1960’s because it described the way in which hashing algorithms work—they “chop and mix” up the data being secured.

Investintech

The ever changing nature of the electronic world is not a new concept. Software and gadgets continually evolve within the fast paced environment of technological innovation. And Investintech has also been caught up in that forward momentum with the recent release of Sonic PDF Creator v.2.0. And, with its more-advanced-than-v.1.2 features (support for more formats, document toolkits and formatting capabilities), you can now create better PDF documents than you did before.

Of course, we’ll aim to surpass this 2.0 version in the future as well and continue to push the PDF creation envelope. It’s just a matter of checking in frequently to see what new creation features we’ll have in store!

‘Til next time. Stay tuned!

Investintech.com Releases New Product Versions

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!