nitroPDF half price offer ... but be quick offer ends on 15th October

[Carol Haynes]

I haven't actually used this product yet (but I am going to try out the trial version).

I received a special off from VCOM today to purchase at half price (~$50) see here

From what I can see from web reviews and its own website it looks like a really comrephensive toolset for PDF files. It isn't just a 'printer driver' to generate PDF files but rather a workflow soltuion to PDF creation and modification and includes features such as PDF form design.

You can see the full product details here: nitroPDF

There are some interesting reviews too try here and here (half way down).

NitroPDF seems to do just about everything the full version of Acrobat 7 does and then some.

Here are some of the more interesting things you can do to PDF files:

#  Mark up and review documents. Add feedback to PDFs with the full range of PDF commenting tools: note, text box, text highlight, text cross-out, text underline, pencil, eraser, rectangle, line, oval, polygonal line, polygon and cloud. Modify comment color, position, author, subject and opacity, and lock or unlock position.

# Include files as attachments. Include any external file in an existing PDF document as an attachment. For example, attach audio files to PDF documents, or use a microphone to record audio comments directly.

#  View and edit document properties. View title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, PDF version, number of pages, base URL and file optimization information; modify title, author, subject and keywords.

# Add custom metadata. Add an arbitrary number of additional metadata fields and values to a PDF.

#  Search collections of files. Search entire folders of PDF documents, or search all PDF files on the computer. Searches for a text string in any combination of full text, bookmarks, comments, author, title, subject, keywords, creator, producer, creation date and modification date.

# Index collections of files. Create indexes of PDF documents for faster searching. Use advanced search tools: choose to match whole words or use stemming, and use Boolean logic.

[Carol Haynes]

Have just started playing with this. The interface is nice and clear with lots of options. Here are a couple of imteresting features ...

One of the nice things is to have all the file properties instantly available and editable in the navigation bar:



Another nice feature (which I haven't seen elsewhere) is the ability to edit graphics within PDF documents ...

[m_s]

It does look good - have downloaded it too and will play later.  Even with this very generous discount, I think it will probably be too expensive for me at $50...   

[Jibz]

I was seriously considering this deal, but after browsing their support forums I am a lot less hyped. Apparently they are using some crippling activation system (read for instance here, here and here) .

Also, I could find no mention what so ever about what exactly the license covers. Am I buying only this version? Will I get updates/upgrades? For a year? Forever?

Seems like a nice product though.

[Carol Haynes]

Well I have taken the plunge! It is a seriously nice product.

The activation system is similar to other activation systems (MS & Adobe etc). Basically You activate it online within 30 days byt clicking on a box. The only info gathered is the serial number they have supplied and your name. You can optionally give your email address but you don't have to.

The product can be installed on two systems simultaneously (the license says eg. desktop and laptop) intended primarily for the same person's use.

They do have a deactivate system - so presumably it is fairly easy to transfer the product from one computer to another without having to contact them.

Having read the threads you pointed to the issues seem to have been a bug which is now resolved in version 4.9. As for the updates I am not sure what the policy is but there is a product update button under help, and the version on offer above is version 4.8. It updated fine to version 4.9!

[Jibz]

Having read the threads you pointed to the issues seem to have been a bug which is now resolved in version 4.9.

-CarolHaynes

Glad to hear that. I am not a big fan of product activation for a number of reasons, but at least it's good that they try to fix the problems it is causing their paying customers .

As for the updates I am not sure what the policy is but there is a product update button under help, and the version on offer above is version 4.8. It updated fine to version 4.9!

-CarolHaynes

Let's not hope you get free updates until the next major version number then .

[Carol Haynes]

Just got this reply ... lets hope the next major release is going to be within 60 days!

Nitro PDF Upgrade Policy   
 
Nitro PDF product releases fall into two categories, referred to as
major and minor releases. A major release is normally identified by a
change in the first digit of its release version number, i.e. 4.9 -> 5.0. A
minor release generally signifies a bug fix or minor feature
enhancement. This can be identified by an increment in one of the successive
release numbers, i.e. 4.7 -> 4.8, 4.8 -> 4.9.

Minor releases are issued free to customers who own the same major
version (1.X, 2.X, 3.X).
Major releases are issued free to customers who purchased their license
within the prior 60 days.

The upgrade price for a major release will be approximately 40% of the
product's current retail price.

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions then don't
hesitate to let me know.

[Jibz]

Oh .. sorry to hear that .

But thanks a lot for sharing this information .. I will probably keep away from it until v5.0 is released then.

If that happens roughly 60 days after the discount has expired, I reserve the right to complain at length about their sales tactics .

[Carol Haynes]

To be fair the sale price is available via a resller.

By the way I sent query by email and got a response within 3 hours - not bad support ...

[Jibz]

By the way I sent query by email and got a response within 3 hours - not bad support ...

-CarolHaynes

I used the web based sales support form on their homepage on October 7th (same day as you) asking the same question .. all I have gotten so far is an automated reply giving me a case number and saying they will get back to me as soon as possible .

Perhaps it's some mixup, or they give priority to paying customers (which would only be fair) .