Infix PDF Editor now at version 4

[Curt]

In the early summer I recieved a free license from Iceni for Infix version 3 Standard because I posted about it. By posting again, here&now, I am not trying to upgrade my license from 3 to 4, because I can say already that the "Professional" version is what I want; and they don't give that one away. If you want to know more about Infix, after reading this, here, it may help to read the first thread.

Since summer I have only used the program a few times, all though I was very impressed with it. The problem that stopped me from using it more often was  the amount of time Infix will use to load all of my fonts every time it should open a PDF file; it was simply too SLOW (I have many fonts)! Otherwise I think it is a VERY fine and totally easy-to-use program. The guys at Infix have of course been told about the problem from more people than me, and now they have launched version 4, with shorter font loading time EDITED: and a bunch of new features.


http://www.iceni.com/infix-pro.htm

Why upgrade to version 4 ?

    * Fill-out PDF versions of traditional paper forms
    * Direct document translation using XML import/export
    * Convert any document to PDF using the Infix PDF Printer
    * Edit the hidden text in OCR documents
    * Support for 20+ languages (spellcheck and hyphenation)
    * Restyled user interface plus support for Vista & Windows 7
    * Improved support for leader dots in tables of contents
    * Faster font loading
    * Support for latest versions of PDF
    * Supports Windows Vista & Windows 7
    * Automatic updates

Plus all the other features of Infix Professional.

-Iceni Infix

Who can upgrade?
Any previous version of Infix can be upgraded to Pro for one price - $59.

Single-user Pro license    $159
Upgrade from Infix (any version) $59
5-User Bundle $649
Enterprise (unlimited licenses) $2,995

Infix (Standard) Single-user license $99
5-User Bundle $445

The version 3 that I already have is a so-called Standard version, but listed at $99 it is quite expensive, some may think. Nevertheless I think the Professional version 4, that I am testing now, at $159 may be an even better deal (well, shouldn't it be?!) because of certain features (that really should be standard in Standard !). One is the "automated text filling" (see video), but there are plenty.

The best feature of Infix may be the complete likeness with a normal rich text editor. It is almost incredible that Infix should be the only PDF editor that actually looks like an editor, (but it apparently is), because this was the very "feature" that caught my interest in the first place - I wanted a PDF editor that I could figure out how to use! Surely I cannot be the only one wanting this? Infix is just as easy to use as any rich text editor. Fantastic!

I don't agree with Infix on their price politics, (though they have lowered Pro from $199 to $159), but nevertheless I have already decided that I am going to pay the necessary $59 to upgrade my Standard 3 to version Professional 4; at this price I can strongly recommend it. At $159 the need for a professional editor must be present, unless of course you have more money than I have, for this. However, if you have a lot of fonts installed, you may not want to close Infix between jobs; it is much faster than before  but still loads the fonts a little (too) slow  if there are many. If you only have the default number of fonts you may not notice the loading time at all.

Picture thumbs, click for full size:

Default view and size makes the text too small for my eyes:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


125% and "fit width" is good for old eyes:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


The first time you open Infix it is literally ready to edit at once:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


Some may find the preferences to be too few:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


What to do with a document:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


text features:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


what you can do with an object:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


Quick Start Guide included in Help:

Infix PDF Editor now at version 4


http://www.iceni.com/products.htm

No, this was not sort of a mini-review.

[Perry Mowbray]

No, this was not sort of a mini-review.

-Curt (December 17, 2009, 07:11 PM)

It's a pretty good substitute though    Thanks

[Curt]

- thank you

I really just wanted to tell about a great program that sadly has been neglected because (maybe) it has a poor name, a wrong price tag, and a boring look.

[Perry Mowbray]

Whilst we're not doing reviews... have you used PDF-XChange?

I think it's my favourite at the moment, especially the free viewer; but the pro version has many of the same features. I've always been tempted to purchase the PRO version, but the need hasn't quite tipped the balance yet. Also, it's a fairly competitive category of software these days, so actually choosing one among many isn't easy. I'd be interested in a your short comparison if you had...

You are so right about the name: you can see where they get it from (like Surfulater), but, I mean, really??

Looks are an interesting point. As long as they are functional is the main thing, but if software can also be fun then using it is not so much of a chore (which is pretty important at work  ).

[Curt]

I use (Tracker) PDF XChange Pro 2 as my default viewer. I have not yet given myself any reason as to why I purchased the pro version, because I use Nitro PDF Pro 6 as virtual creator. It is quite expensive but also in another league. Among many features Nitro Pro includes a Word>Pdf converter that really sets the standard! I got a license for free via for-free-on-internet.com.

When it comes to virtual printing, I will chose Nitro if the job doesn't requite any editing of the file, because Nitro has some settings that makes it fast to use. Infix is too slow to use as primary print-to-pdf because it (always?) will pop up before saving, but it is the fastest to use if you know in advance that you want to edit the print, before saving as pdf.

Hmm... in my head it is early morning here, and I am not yet all awake.

[Perry Mowbray]

I just found http://www.7-pdf.de/ that seems to have some nice features:

• Created hyperlink indexed and tagged PDF (PDF files)
• Production of tables of contents of paragraph styles
• Windows Explorer shell integration
• Command Line Version / PDF Batch Converter 7p.exe

(Bolding mine) I wonder if automatic hyperlink creation is unique amongst freeware?

[Curt]

Not yet commenting your post, Perry, but just quoting the Iceni site some more on Infix Pro:

No other PDF editor comes close to Infix when it comes to dealing with text.

    * Edit PDF like a Word Processor
    * Make changes to paragraphs and columns of text
    * Copy and paste graphics and text between PDFs
    * Spell-check PDFs in 20+ languages
    * Search & replace in long PDF documents
    * Make corrections to hidden text in scanned OCR PDFs
    * Use tabs, margins and indents controls for better layout

New for version 4:

Form-Fill Tool   PDF form-filling
Quickly fill-out forms that you would otherwise have to print out and post!      

Translate    Translate using CAT tools
Export entire documents to XML, leaving a PDF skeleton. Then import translated XML back in-place.
                    
Print to PDF    Convert to PDF
Print your documents via the Infix PDF Printer to convert them into PDF ready for editing in Infix.

20+ languages    Support for 20+ languages
Hyphenation and PDF spell-checking support for more than 20 languages.

[Curt]

I can see now that I forgot to tell the difference between Standard and Professional; I merely told the difference between version 3 and 4. Actually I blame my lose of focus on the Iceni site; it is a little messy, with many hard-to-find links, etcetera. 

Infix Professional offers all of the editing features of Infix Standard and Form Filler plus the following:

Do more with PDF graphics
Infix Pro includes tools for handling graphics such as grouping, hiding and locking. It also adds the ability to edit and create clipping masks plus a vertical ruler to allow easier object alignment.

Impose / Place PDF
Re-use your PDFs as components in new documents by simply placing them on the page. Resize, rotate and move as you would any other object. Since Infix can also convert any kind of document into a PDF, you can effectively import any kind of document into a PDF.

CMYK colour picker and swatches catalogue
Professionals rely on CMYK colours so Infix Pro offers a CMYK colour picker. It also includes a catalogue of all colours used in the document - the swatch catalogue. The can be used to maintain a consistent colour palette while editing a PDF.

Translate PDFs using CAT tools and XML
Export a PDF as XML for translation using your favourite CAT tools. Then import the translated XML back into the PDF. Infix will fit the translated text back into the place where it originally came from, minimising the need to adjust page layouts.

Works with Infix Server
Make PDF templates for Infix Server. Tag areas of text for replacement using the fielding facility. This also enables you to specify the kind of reflow that will occur during replacement. Tag images specifying the cropping and alignment to be used when replaced.

Advanced PDF text fitting
Whether for Infix Server templates or general artwork, advanced text fitting ensures your copy looks its best. Infix Pro offers complete control over fitting enabling you to control which metrics get altered during the fitting process. It can even perform text fitting across connected text blocks.

PDF Pre-flighting
For piece of mind, Infix Pro can check for low-resolution images, non CMYK artwork and over-set text using the simple pre-flight checking tool. It also checks for problems when preparing PDF templates for use with Infix Server such as font embedding and mapping issues.

Search & Replace across PDF documents
With the powerful batch mode, Infix Pro can search across multiple PDFs or entire directories full of PDFs. It will work through all documents, leaving original documents in-tact and keeping track of any errors or problems during processing.

PDF Search and replace by font, colour or size
More advanced search criteria allow you to limit searches by the size, colour or font used for text. Useful for changing text in headers/footers without disturbing similar content in the main body of a PDF.

Conversion of text to outlines
For guaranteed printing success or to stop any further edits of a document, Infix Pro can convert all contained text into vectors.

Lock-down PDF elements in templates
Produce PDFs for clients with restrictions allowing objects to be locked, moved only vertically (to ensure alignment isn't altered), restrict the colour palette that can be used and the fonts that may be employed.

-Iceni

[Curt]

... I can say already that the "Professional" version is what I want; and they don't give that one away.

-Curt (December 17, 2009, 07:11 PM)

Wow, they read this thread and gave me a free key for the PRO version!!

[Perry Mowbray]

 

[shobazi]

   It's a pretty good substitute...

[rjbull]

Infix Pro PDF Editor on offer at Bits du Jour on Wed. 25th August 2010 at half price - but that's still $79.50 instead of the regular $159.00.

[rjbull]

Same Bits du Jour offer to be repeated on Thursday 10 February, 2011, same price as above.