Year-end offer: Save 50% on Able2Extract Professional single license purchases before December 31!

4 Ways Investintech Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolution

Happy New Year 2014

New Year’s resolutions are perhaps the hardest promises to keep. It’s not uncommon to give up half way through the year on them whether it’s due to lack of energy, determination or support. For whatever reason, it happens to the best of us.

With that in mind, we thought the first post of the year should be one to get you started on the right track with your 2014 resolution. Though we can’t always be there to give you a small push of encouragement whenever you fall astray, we can offer a few ideas on how you can use our tools to help with some of the most common New Year’s resolutions being made.

Resolution: To Live A Healthier Lifestyle

It’s always proven that the best way to achieve a goal is to track your progress and keep milestones in view.  If you look for tracking sheets online to help you stay on top of your fitness and health goals, you’ll find that most of these are in the PDF format.

fitness tracking sheet

Use Able2Extract Pro to convert those PDF to Word documents or Excel spreadsheets. After all, in order to track your daily progress, you’ll need to work consistently with those sheets.

Resolution: To Learn Something New

When it comes to learning something new, it’s always helpful to generate yourself a good reference or master file you can always turn to. You can create such a resource on any topic you’re learning about using Sonic PDF Creator.

Merging PDFs With Sonic

For instance, one resolution I made this year was to actively keep up with learning to play the violin, which includes developing dexterity in my fingers with scales and arpeggios. Fortunately, I found PDF music sheets of them in every key. Once I downloaded them, I used Sonic to merge PDF files into a single file with other violin sheet music and resources.  I then added bookmarks to keep it organized for easy access.

Resolution:  To Be More Environmentally Aware

Going green doesn’t have to be too hard to keep up. Given that cloud drives, scanners and apps are now pretty much the norm, the way you work needs to adapt anyway. This also applies to anything you’re keeping digital—photo albums, tax records, resumes, essays, research. The list goes on.

Able2Extract Professional can help you start keeping things digital.  Once you can scan in your documents, you never have to print them out again. Able2Extract Professional will give you access to the scanned PDF content instantly, allowing you to reuse the information you need within other applications.

Resolution: To Practice Better Security Habits

This resolution can cover a wide range of more specific resolutions like regularly changing up your passwords to tightening up your Facebook privacy settings.  Sonic PDF Creator offers features that can help get you into security mode with your digital assets, starting with your PDF files.

Securing PDFs With Sonic

With Sonic, you can create a password protected file you can customize with permissions and access.  You can also add encryption, watermarks and stamps to brand the content, preventing it from being copied.

Anyone would agree that creating a resolution is one thing, but realistically and methodically keeping it up is another. So instead of focusing on creating a resolution, focus on ways you can keep the resolution itself with everyday tools you already have. All it takes is a bit of creativity.

Best Practices And Tips For Working With PDF To Word, OpenOffice And RTF

One of the most frustrating problems of converting PDF to other digital file formats is compatibility. Ever have one of those moments? You receive a converted file which you can’t open or view, let alone edit? If you have, then you know what we’re talking about.

Converting PDFs to the right format can get more confusing because some word processors can support certain file formats, while others can’t. Then depending on the version of the application, it can get even more complicated.

If you’re trying to figure out which file format to convert to, here are a few general guidelines and some information about each format to help you make the right choice.

Microsoft Word 97, 2000, XP, 2003 (.DOC)

A .DOC file is the number format for creating general documents like essays, brochures and formatted resumes.  The format can handle mixed content very well and can be used to create all different types of printed material such as labels and business cards.

That being said, when your main focus is on sharing and making the textual PDF content editable, a standard PDF to .DOC conversion is all you need.  PDF text, graphics and tables will be transferred over into a multi-purpose document users can easily access. A few tips and notes:

  • .DOC is backwards compatible with all MS Word versions.
  • Mac users can create .DOC files with Word for Mac and work easily with Windows users.
  • Convert to .DOC when you aren’t sure which version of MS Word your recipient is using.
  • In Able2Doc, the Word conversion output is set to the default setting which detects and converts to whichever MS Word version you have installed. Change this via the Options menu
  • Change the default saving format in Word (via Office button>Options>Save) to formats you regularly share and send.

Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013 (.DOCX)

The DOCX file format was released with MS Word 2007. It is now the default format for MS Word 2007, 2010 and 2013. Like the .DOC format, a .DOCX file is used for generating editable documents. The major difference is in the technical specifications of the .DOCX format, which has a hard time playing nice with other applications.

MS Word 2007 DOC

Although more suites are now getting support for the format, double check with your recipient if he or she can open a .DOCX file before you convert. Users with older MS Word versions will need a workaround to interact with the file (uploading it to Google Docs, downloading a plug-in, or converting the file), which can be a huge hassle. When in doubt, convert PDF to .DOC instead. Tips:

  • .DOCX isn’t compatible with older versions of MS Word without a plug-in
  • If you always convert PDF to .DOCX but have earlier versions of Word, you can change the default setting in Able2Doc and always convert to .DOCX (Word 2007) as a default
  • Some MS Word 2013 features might not show up in version 2010 or 2007, and the Word 2013 file will open in Compatibility Mode.
  • iWork Pages on Mac can open .DOCX files
  • You can convert .DOCX to .DOC  for free online.

OpenOffice Writer (.ODT)

As the popularity of open source grows, the .ODT is fast becoming one of the main formats to work with. The vendor neutral .ODT file is OpenOffice’s native word processing format used primarily within open source environments. As such, convert PDF to .ODT when working with open source applications and users. Also, pay attention to how .ODT files interact with MS Word. By doing so, you can side-step any compatibility issues that pop up with the converted file.

A few things to know:

  • Different versions of MS Office have slight differences in support for ODF. Versions 2007 and 2010 can save to ODF 1.1, but can’t open ODF 1.2. MS Office 2013 can’t save to ODF 1.1.
  • Saving .DOCX to ODT in Open Office will have an effect on which features from .DOCX will remain supported in the new .ODT file.
  • Able2Doc converts PDF to both OpenOffice Writer and MS Word. No plug-in needed
  • Starting from MS Word 2007, you can save your documents to .ODT with SP2 installed.
  • .ODT can be imported by most word processors and online productivity suites.

Rich Text (.RTF)

A rich text file is a Microsoft text file that can keep basic formatting elements like bold, underlined or italic fonts.  It can also support formatted content such as text alignment and bulleted lists.

WordPad RTF File

Because .RTF files are easily accessible across different platforms, they make a good conversion output alternative when problem files can’t be opened. Other things to know:

  • .RTF files are generated with WordPad–included free with Windows OS via Accessories.
  • Able2Doc offers PDF to .RTF conversion as a default setting
  • The format can support inserted .JPG and .PNG images
  • Imported and exported by most word processing applications.
  • May lose the more advanced MS Word features (annotations, WordArt, drawing objects) when saving to RTF.

File Format Compatibility At A Glance

Below is a quick glance summary. Included are links for more detailed information about supported file versions, limitations, and downloads.

File Format and Word Processor Compatibility
Word Processor Being Used: File Format Supported?
DOC DOCX ODT RTF
Older versions of Microsoft Word (2000, XP, 20003) Yes Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel and PowerPoint required ODF add-in for MS Office required Yes
Microsoft Word 2007 Yes Yes Yes, with MS Office suite 2007 SP2 installed Yes
Microsoft Word (2010, 2013) Yes Yes Yes Yes
iWork  Pages Yes Yes No Yes
Microsoft Word for Mac (2008, 2011) Yes Yes No Yes
Apache OpenOffice Writer Yes Yes.  Version 3.0 and later. Yes Yes
LibreOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes

This table shows compatibility of MS Word, OpenOffice and RTF formats with different Word processors.

There are many other applications out there, so let us know which ones we’ve missed and if you have any other best practice advice or tips yourself.

Exploring PDF Conversion On the Enterprise Level: Absolute PDF Server 3.0

Absolute PDF Server

We talk a lot about productivity and PDF conversion on the desktop, mobile, and cloud platforms. However, we never really covered the server platform where PDF conversion and productivity can occur at an even higher, much larger scale: the enterprise level.

At that level, the key point for companies is to manage resources, data and processes across the entire organization. Because it can be expensive and inefficient to have individual PDF applications for each employee, organizations typically turn to enterprise software as a solution.

What is Enterprise Software?

Enterprise software is different from what you’d normally experience from a program you buy, download, and use on your own personal computer. Enterprise software solutions are capable of catering to a large amount of users over a network, and are usually handled on the company’s backend servers.

Unlimited Users and ConversionsEnterprise software applications usually handle business-  or data- oriented tasks, such as info management, billing and accounting, order processing, and database management. Enterprise software is developed and offered  by companies like Oracle, Sage, Microsoft, and IBM.

Moreover, enterprise workflows can differ and range from businesses and governments to schools and financial institutions. Naturally, each sector and organization has different needs. Thus,  managers have to ensure that the enterprise software they choose works for their employees, the company’s IT system, and existing workflows.

Exploring An Organization’s Needs

In most cases, organizations can customize their enterprise software solutions “a la carte” according to their software strategy. Oftentimes, companies choose to use enterprise level software for tasks performed on a regular basis by the majority of its employees. Organization-wide solutions can offer workflows that are extremely effective at speeding up and controlling the task at hand.

PDF Document Conversion For The Enterprise: Absolute PDF Server 3.0

With PDF conversion, for instance, your IT managers can effectively automate a high volume of file conversions in one standardized framework. All they need is Absolute PDF Server.

Absolute PDF Server is the first enterprise-level document management solution to offer both PDF extraction and creation.  It gives organizations the ability to perform both functionalities in one streamlined process.

Absolute PDF Server integrates technology from our Able2Extract PDF Server  (used to convert PDF files into several other formats) and Sonic PDF Server (used to convert different file formats into PDF file format). As a result, you get quick PDF conversion to multiple formats and a tailored PDF creation process in one single location.

How Absolute PDF Server Works

How Absolute PDF Server Works

How the process works depends on how your administrator sets it up. Essentially, you will either be able to email their document to a specified email address for conversion, or you can simply place your file into a watched folder (organized based on input format) which is monitored by Absolute PDF Server. In both cases, Absolute PDF Server will convert the files emailed or found within the folder, and the converted files will be sent back to you.

Converting via Absolute PDF Server Interface

You get your file properly converted while your IT administrators get full control over the process. They can manage, configure, and process the conversion queue from one user interface, ensuring that the conversion jobs are completed.

What Does Absolute PDF Server Have To Offer?

Although Absolute PDF Server is geared towards high volume conversion jobs for an entire company, it can still cater to individual conversion needs with the following features:

  • Convert and Create PDFs: Convert all native and scanned PDFs into MS Word, MS Excel and more; Create PDF from any printable Windows application
  • Customize PDF Creation: Brand your PDFs with watermarks;  Manage fonts and colors; Combine multiple PDFs, split or join them.
  • Secure your PDFs: Set passwords, editing and printing permissions and choose from 40 or 128 bit encryption levels.
  • Schedule PDF Tasks: The server can be set to operate at specific times and dates. Files can be processed in middle of the night if desired.
  • Set Up Monitored Folders/Sub Folders: Automate PDF creation by specifying a folder for placing input files.
  • Email Integration: Converted files are processed and the result is emailed back to the sender.
  • Job Ticket Creation:  The Job Ticket Editor is used for specifying PDF creation and extraction settings.

Given the features above, using Absolute PDF Server naturally comes with a few fringe benefits:

  • Increases Productivity. Improve the enterprise’s productivity and efficiency by managing processes on the backend.
  • Creates A Standardized System.  IT Administrators can schedule, monitor, and keep track of tasks from one location. Document management is streamlined organization wide.
  • Unlimited Number of Users & Conversions.  That’s right, unlimited. This means multiple users can convert as many files as they need, when they need.
  • Cost Effective.  Absolute PDF Server is sold on a  per license, per server basis. No individual licenses or subscriptions required. There are no extra modules or add-ins to buy later on.

So is enterprise-level PDF conversion right for your company? Find out.  Get your IT manager to test out Absolute PDF Server’s  features before taking the plunge! We offer a free 30-day trial for organizations.

For more details, contact our support team directly. 

How 3 Investintech Tools Can Save Your Academic Life

School’s just started and already you’re starting to sink into your own routine. Whether that means mapping out the quickest route to class or finding the best study spots along the way, you need to make sure everything works smoothly for you in the academic world.

As a tech user, it means getting your laptop and gadgets all set to keep up with you on your daily study grind. With the rise of tech gadgets and the popularity of the Internet, the academic landscape is changing.  More group participation is done via forum discussion, class notes are being posted up online, and text books are being downloaded from the web.

However, organizing your arsenal of software tools can be tough when you can’t anticipate where or when you’ll need it.  If you’re a user of our software and asking yourself, where and how Investintech software fits in with your academic routine, it’s time to take a closer look. Here are a couple of tip offs.

1. SlimPDF Reader

One way students are upping their productivity these days is to use a laptop in class. It’s easier to type up lecture notes and it eliminates the need for multiple notebooks.  Moreover, instead of a 13 or 15 inch laptop, students are now resorting to netbooks. They’re small, efficient, and more convenient on-the-go than a laptop is.

Netbooks, however, while great for mobility, aren’t so great for the hard-core major software programs you have on your desktop.  For instance, Adobe Reader is a notable resource hog, taking up a good portion of your desktop hard drive, let alone your netbook. So you’ll need the smallest applications you can find.  Luckily, SlimPDF Reader is only 1.43 MB.

Slim PDF Reader Screenshot

SlimPDF Reader gives you the essentials needed for a quick clean viewing experience without the bloat.

So if a prof scans in a PDF sideways, SlimPDF can rotate it right side up with a single click from the toolbar.  And as PDFs aren’t always created with a readability and navigation in mind, you can zoom in (up to 400%), quickly skip to any page, and easily search the file for keywords. Copying simple text is also made easy–just select your content and CTRL+ C it. You can paste it quickly into another application.

2. Free Online PDF to Word Converter

As mentioned, most professors will post up lecture notes or slides online. Of course, this makes it easier for everyone, as a) you don’t have to worry about getting everything down, and b) you have spot-on accurate notes from the professor  himself. Definitely a resource you want to cash in on for any future assignment.

But, I bet you can guess what format these notes will more than likely be in: the hard-to-edit PDF format. This is where a PDF to Word converter saves the day. You can convert PDF to Word instantly using our free online PDF to Word conversion service.

3. Docx to Doc Converter Online

With the release of Microsoft Office Word 2007 came a new default format, .docx, a format that not everyone is using. In fact, most users are still quite attached to the .doc format.  For users with Microsoft Office Word 2007, they can simply save to .doc by changing the Save As format before they save their file.

DOC to DOCX converter

Yet for those who are receiving a .docx file, it isn’t as easy. Students on the Mac OSX platform using Pages need to import the .doc file to Mac, but have no direct way of converting it. Others may not even be using Microsoft Office 2007, but older versions with no way of opening it.

This .docx to .doc converter is perfect for any difficulties you may come across, whether it be a deadline, lack of compatibility, or being locked out of your email accounts.

DOC to DOCX Converter Interface

It lets you bypass all those hurdles. It’s free, you can use it regardless of the platform you’re using, you can access it anytime online, no registration is needed, and you get the file converted instantly without having to leave the site.

The New Able2Extract 7 Is Here!

Now, it isn’t often that PDF conversion gets associated with simplicity. PDF converters are often too complex that only PDF experts can make full use of the software, leaving you stuck with using only the basic features for complex documents.

But, today we’re proud to announce the release of the latest version of our flagship product which eliminates that issue:Able2Extract 7.

In this new version, we’ve got enhanced conversion performance, a newly designed interface, and new and improved conversion capabilities.So whether you have a complex PDF to convert or a presentation due in the next hour, Able2Extract 7 can simplify and improve that conversion process.

This latest version of Able2Extract is the greatest improvement in our PDF conversion products to date.What’s new? What can it do? Read on.

First off, for those who have already used previous versions of Able2Extract, you’ll notice a newly designed user interface. The simple clean design makes it easier to navigate, search and convert your document.Open a file, select your data, and click to convert– all can be done from the toolbar.

Able2Extract Interface

One major feature of Able2Extract7 is that it’s the first PDF converter which can convert to all major Microsoft Office formats: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher.

Able2Extract Formats

Here’s a sneak peek at the new conversion improvements.

PDF to PowerPoint conversions are faster and more accurate. For those who need a better PDF to PowerPoint output, this conversion feature has been rebuilt with custom options that offer better control over your content.

Improved Excel custom conversion options. As great as the custom Excel conversion options were in the previous version, Able2Extract 7 gives you even more control over the row and column structure of table data being converted.You can tweak your conversion right from the Excel conversion toolbar.

Able2Extract XLS Toolbar

Enhanced PDF to Word graphics and text manipulation features. We all know that as easy as a PDF to Word conversion may sound, it isn’t always the case. Thus, this latest version offers better conversion output and more precise graphics and text handling features.

New PDF to Publisher conversion. You’ve asked for it and here it is. Anyone needing a professional and cost effective publishing solution can now use Able2Extract 7 for PDF to Publisher conversions!

Able2Extract Publisher Conversion

And just as you can custom convert with Word, PowerPoint and Excel, you can also choose to custom convert with Publisher.

Performance wise, Able2Extract 7 can a lot more in a lot less space than most converters.In addition to all the conversion improvements, Able2Extract 7 can now support non-unicode font types.

This means users can convert PDF files in their native language: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arab and Greek. And despite these new features, the overall size of Able2Extract 7 has been reduced!

So check it out. The software is compatible with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2007. You can download Able2Extract 7 as a 7-day free trial to test out for yourself.