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.
At work alone you can go through a number of health risks–both mental and physical. Banging your head on the keyboard, getting annoyed by repetitive clicking, gaining weight from sitting in front of the computer, having had the sanity beaten out of you with the slowness of your computer–sound familiar?
That’s an average day for all computer users, no doubt. Well, believe it or not, PDF users can experience all that while working with ONE PDF file!
While PDF creators may neglect to create a stress-free, picture perfect PDF to work with, you, on the other hand, can actively prevent the usual stress bugs and unhealthy habits that are associated with every file. By simply adhering to these 10 basic PDF rules you can start leading a healthier life in front of a computer.
1. Deal with large PDF Files in short glances.
The number one frustration with the PDF is file size. They open slowly, they download slowly and they can even cause your browser or reader to crash. Unfortunately, not everyone takes the time to compress images, unembed fonts, optimize scanned pages or remove unused elements in their PDFs.
However, if you’re on the receiving end, take advantage of the wait time to get a cup of coffee, check your inbox or survey your RSS feeds. Believe me, checking in with the download in short glances is way less frustrating than one long wait session.
2. Add security to your PDF.
Have you been worried about the contents of your file? For the most part, your daily frustration includes being concerned about your work, making sure everything is done properly and that confidential information remains confidential.
For peace of mind, always add security features. Encrypt your PDF, add a self-signed digital ID or assign user and master-level passwords. This will go a long way to reducing the worry that causes sleepless nights.
3. Have good PDF tools.
A good idea for PDF users is to have a good list of third party tools handy. Working with the PDF file often involves manipulating the content more than anything else, and for the most part basic copying and pasting or quality printing are restricted. Consequently, working with PDF files can be extremely stressful.
You need to use more than one tool to be efficient with the format. While there are many task specific PDF tools online, the basic tools to have include a good PDF viewer, a fully loaded PDF creator and a versatile PDF file converter that outputs to more than one format. Having the right tools will make your life easier.
4. Add bookmarks to your PDFs.
Bookmark lengthy PDFs. There’s nothing more irritating than having to blindly scroll and “Ctrl + G” your way through a PDF you just created. Toggling back between the TOC page and the rest of the file means eyestrain, permanent frowns and headaches–the most common and most fatiguing ailments in the workplace. Having your pages visually indexed on the side, will save you and your recipients a bottle of Aspirin.
5. Redact your files.
Something close to a heart attack will usually come when, despite having set and re-checked your PDF security settings, you realize that confidential information has just been sent out. A pounding heart and high levels of stress due to that “uh-oh” feeling are definitely unpleasant reactions to have.
One cure to this: redaction. Redacting your PDF files can block out and even eliminate text and graphics from your PDF completely. There are redaction tools easily available online and should be added to your PDF toolbox before you heart gives out in a panic.
6. Update your PDF software.
You might be using older versions of Acrobat or Reader. While there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the tools you’re used to, you should worry about PDF hacks that have been developed using those versions. Being caught unaware by viruses and trojans can take years off your life as you try to restore your old system.
As a rule, you should update your software on a yearly basis. There are too many PDF hacks out there to leave it to chance. If you’re dead set on older versions, you might take heart in the fact that most newer versions do retain older features while developing newer ones.
7. Follow PDF/X and PDF/A subset standards.
There’s nothing more disappointing like preparing a PDF only to find out that you haven’t prepared it as well as you should have. Having to redo your work can heighten the stress levels when you’re already swamped with a million other things to do.
When preparing a PDF for any type of publication or archiving, whether it be on a large or small scale, use pre-flighting tools and refer to archival standards. They’ll help you create a PDF that won’t add to your to-do list.
8. Make PDF forms fillable online.
To users, this is now a necessity. And if you’re using the PDF to distribute forms over the Web, it should be a necessity for you too. If you want to do away with the long hours of mind numbing data collection and processing, make your PDF forms interactive and fillable online.
Using Adobe LiveCycle can integrate and automate the process with your company’s back end systems. Why burden yourself with extra work and effort that can be solved with technology already out on the market?
9. Stockpile on multimedia PDFs.
Working constantly with PDF files can amount to a daily 9-5 drone of routine with a 10 minute smoke break every 2 hours. Indeed, not a good way to cope with your day. Instead, break the monotony and low morale with an inspiring multimedia PDF. If complete with animation, sounds and visually compelling material, multimedia PDFs can provide a good mental break from your work. A really good multimedia PDF could help you reset your mentality and prevent you from leaving the desk for another cigarette.
10. Find comfort in knowing there are others who can help.
There’s always comfort in numbers. When in doubt of your PDF skills and in danger of developing low self-esteem, visit a PDF user community. These sites are usually equipped with a forum and network of users who, like you, are looking for simple camaraderie and support. PDF tips and tricks, industry news and software resource lists are also usual staples of user communities, but they can differ from site to site. Overall, they’re an asset to your PDF resource list.
Everyone’s had a bad experience with the PDF at one point or another. Having them repeatedly, though, isn’t all that great for your health. If you can’t avoid them, the best you can do is to improve the ways in which you cope with them.
If you’re a Wikipedia user who’s tried to save an article in the PDF format, then you know that the results aren’t too great. You simply get a snapshot of a saved HTML page in a PDF viewer, give or take a few a few re-formatting touches here and there.
Now you may be thinking that converting an HTML page into PDF is nothing new. It’s something you can do with any HTML to PDF conversion software out there. However, what sticks out about this feature is that the PDF conversion is especially made for Wikipedia articles.
This means you get a clean re-formatted PDF without the webpage formatting you get in your browser and, then in your PDF via conversion. Web page elements like side menus, edit links, banners and bulleted links, get neatly reformatted or eliminated to give you a document-like appearance for your PDF.
If you need a Wikipedia article in proper PDF appearance, simply click on the Print/export link in the lefthand side, copy the URL of the wiki page, paste it into the interface and submit. The generated PDF will be set up with an official title page, a properly formatted table of contents, professional headers and footers, PDF bookmarks and page numbers.
Be warned though that included in your PDF is a 5 page GNU documentation license at the end of the article and a single GNU publication page at the beginning (after the title page). You’ll end up with a few extra pages you didn’t expect. Other than that, WikiType comes in handy for reading those Wiki documents offline in a readable format.
What makes the PDF so enticing to malicious users? There are more reasons than you think.
With the recent headlines about Adobe PDF vulnerabilities being taken advantage of, just about anyone who used a PC was on the alert. PDF files have the potential to do some serious damage to systems and data when infected.
Because the PDF is not without its weaknesses, anticipating ways in which attackers can use the format can be the best way to defend against it.
Below is a brief look at 13 ways—both technical and simple, in which the PDF is vulnerable and can be manipulated by malicious users.
1) JavaScript
Online PDFs are designated with open parameters that can be injected with malicious JavaScript code. Because of the flexibility of JavaScript, hackers have a broad range of what can be done using the PDF file as their hacking tool of choice.
2) Spam
The recent spamming attacks this year demonstrated a way of exploiting the nature of the PDF as file format. Until recently, the PDF never really got caught at the anti-spam gates. Thus, although most anti-spam products now check PDFs and other forms of image spam, PDF containing spam made it into millions of inboxes everywhere. Although not immediately threatening as code executions, spam is still spam and has the ability to deliver Trojans, viruses, and malware.
While you’re all excited about the upcoming holidays and can’t think of anything else but that gift list to get through, you can add one more thing to get excited about.
The de facto standard of information interchange, aka the PDF, just got one step closer to being adopted as a standardized format. Last week, the PDF 1.7 specification gained the approval votes it needed from ISO committee voting members as it reached the Enquiry “Close of voting” stage in the standardization process.
Before this certification happens though, the comments included with the votes need to be addressed before the format gets its official ISO standard tag—ISO 32000 (lovely name, no?). Even with those last few hurdles, the PDF’s standardization process is looking good.
Jim King, PDF architect and Senior Principle Scientist at Adobe Systems Inc. will serve as technical editor for the international working group meeting in January where the submitted 205 comments will be resolved.
On his blog he states, “If the group can address all the comments to the satisfaction of all countries, especially the ones voting negatively, it is possible to finish at that meeting and publish the revised document.”
So Is It Still An Adobe-Microsoft Showdown?
In the face of impending success, you can’t help but wonder about OOXML and where its standardization is headed.
OOXML was also submitted and fast tracked for an official ISO standard, but rejected in September. Alongside that rejection was the controversy over Microsoft’s active influence over committee members and their votes. The OOXML proposal then went back to the drawing board for revisions to take the negative votes and comments into account.
Now, three months later, as its Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) draws near in February, OOXML’s standardization is still up in the air as its interoperability, the OOXML hot topic of the day, will be a major factor in the decision to approve it as such.
Making it even harder is that OOXML is constantly held up against ODF, the poster child of open source solutions. It’ll be interesting to see how “open” and how much “interoperability” a Microsoft format can possess in general.
While that issue unfolds, the PDF will more than likely get the ISO standardization without much drama. Has Adobe won this round already without even trying?
These are exciting times for the PDF format indeed.
This means you get a clean re-formatted PDF without the webpage formatting you get in your browser and, then in your PDF via conversion. Web page elements like side menus, edit links, banners and bulleted links, get neatly reformatted or eliminated to give you a document-like appearance for your PDF.
What makes the PDF so enticing to malicious users? There are more reasons than you think. 
Now, three months later, as its Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) draws near in February, OOXML’s standardization is still up in the air as its interoperability, the OOXML hot topic of the day, will be a major factor in the decision to approve it as such.