Author Topic: Free PDF tools review? (Read 128394 times)

tomos · « **Reply #25 on:** September 16, 2007, 12:03 PM »

I believe doPDF does what Fineprint does, and it's freeware to boot.
-Nighted (March 04, 2007, 04:06 PM)
i've tried out doPDF but it has some problems which i have mentioned here, so i would like to know if anyone else has these problems..
-lanux128 (April 12, 2007, 09:12 PM)

they're (doPdf) at version 5.2 now, (you said 5.1 promised those issues were resolved)
I was just going to install - are those issues not resolved yet for you?

(didn't know which thread to post in..)

lanux128 · « **Reply #26 on:** September 16, 2007, 08:26 PM »

yes tomos, the devs have fixed the problems that i had mentioned previously.. sorry didn't update here earlier..

• http://www.dopdf.com

jzippo · « **Reply #27 on:** September 17, 2007, 01:46 AM »

I bought Foxit Reader 2.1 as I thought it seemed like a good deal. But, alas, I find that I cannot trust the software entirely. I have experienced (once now, but only annotated a few PDFs) that the annotations made in Foxit does not show in Adobe Reader 8.0.0 and 8.0.1. Not only that, but Foxit left the PDF with annotations in it that were visible (but empty) in Adobe Reader but invisible in Foxit. Adobe Reader also gave me a error message: "Wrong number of arguments for a setcolor operator". Has anyone else here had this experience? I don't know if I can trust the software enough to continue using it. Worst case scenario is that Foxit Reader would make it impossible for me to move to my annotated PDFs to another annotating system if I wanted to as it seems to have issues with portability.

I wrote to Foxit's support about this problem a while ago in the hopes that they could (at least) give me instructions on how to avoid this while waiting for a new version of Foxit. This is what I wrote:


Hi,

I made comments in a PDF using Foxit. Now, when I open it in Adobe
Reader 8.0.0 or 8.1.0 and start scrolling it I get the error message:
"An error exists on this page. [...]" followed by another one stating:
"Wrong number of arguments for a setcolor operator." The uncommented
version does not cause Adobe Reader to exhibit this behavior.

I have attached two screen shots documenting this error in this mail.
I have also attached the commented and uncommented version of the PDF.

Why does this happen and what should I do to avoid this until you
create a fix for this problem?

With kind regards,
...

The answer I got was:


Hello,

We open the files in Foxit Reader,but there is no problem.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Your sincerely,
Kurica
Foxit Software Support
www.foxitsoftware.com

And, so I replied:


As I wrote to you before, the problem was not that Foxit Reader was
unable to show the comments, but that Foxit Reader's comments causes
problems in a PDF-standards compliant reader, namely Adobe Reader 8.

If you understood my problem as stated above and still chose to 
test the document I sent to you only in Foxit Reader, then that must mean
that you are encouraging the whole world to install Foxit Reader in
order to read comments generated in your software? When did "Portable"
in PDF (Portable Document Format) stop meaning exactly that? Thus,
given that PDFs are meant to be portable, I encourage you once again
to look into this problem.

And have not heard anything else from them after that.

Here's two of the screen captures that I sent to them.

First, the error message:

Free PDF tools review?

And, here's one of the "invisible" annotations created by Foxit in the same document:

Free PDF tools review?

PhilB66 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 17, 2007, 02:12 AM »

@jzippo

Have a look at PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER (FREE). Main features

"View, Print, Export Text & Images and add content to PDF files, type on PDF's in any font, fill and save forms"

jzippo · « **Reply #29 on:** September 17, 2007, 04:15 AM »

Forgive my scepticism

: what is the catch? Watermarks? Evaluation marks? Not compliant with the PDF-format in general? What exactly is it that makes PDF-XCHANGE unmarketable?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #30 on:** September 17, 2007, 04:32 AM »

Presumably they want you to buy their other products - none of which are free (though they are reasonably priced).

jzippo · « **Reply #31 on:** September 17, 2007, 04:59 AM »

Why would you want to name your company Tracker Software?

Makes me think about spyware and those sort of things. Does anyone know if PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER is free from that kind of stuff?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #32 on:** September 17, 2007, 05:43 AM »

If you are worried check out:

http://www.snapfiles...-xchange-viewer.html

Other free download sites have similar good reviews of their software and all that I looked at say they are adware/spyware free.

Why should it be surprising to find a company offering a PDF viewer for free? There are loads of free PDF viewers out there - most companies offering similar have companion products which they want to sell to offer full Adobe Acrobat style PDF creation and editing facilities. A free, good quality viewer is one way of encouraging purchases.

jzippo · « **Reply #33 on:** September 17, 2007, 06:18 AM »

My understanding was that PDF-XChange Viewer Free wasn't simply a reader but also useful for annotating PDF-documents. My experience of such software is that is not free, and if it is free it comes with some kind of limitation so as to provide an incentive to get the non-free version. I am of the opinion that one should always try to exercise caution when something seems to be too good to be true. The reviews from snapfiles seems to be extremely positive, and that too triggers my critical mind, but I guess I will have to find out for myself now. If it does provide good annotation capabilities for free and with no limitations, then that is all that I need.

PhilB66 · « **Reply #34 on:** September 17, 2007, 06:51 AM »

PDF-XChange Viewer was featured on Lifehacker on June this year, and the reviews are good. Having said that, it might have the same compatibility issues as with Foxit (read the comments on Lifehacker), but hey it's free.

Grorgy · « **Reply #35 on:** September 17, 2007, 07:01 AM »

you are right it does do more than a reader, but given there are so many free readers out there they need to add something to make people want to use their software and, when needed, purchase their complete solution, just another marketing ploy, but hey, if it works in our favour, i'm all for it

PhilB66 · « **Reply #36 on:** September 17, 2007, 08:56 AM »

How about Jarnal - a Java Notetaker and PDF Annotator?

Was mentioned in this thread https://www.donation...62.msg24547#msg24547

katykaty · « **Reply #37 on:** September 17, 2007, 04:13 PM »

My understanding was that PDF-XChange Viewer Free wasn't simply a reader but also useful for annotating PDF-documents. My experience of such software is that is not free, and if it is free it comes with some kind of limitation so as to provide an incentive to get the non-free version. I am of the opinion that one should always try to exercise caution when something seems to be too good to be true. The reviews from snapfiles seems to be extremely positive, and that too triggers my critical mind, but I guess I will have to find out for myself now. If it does provide good annotation capabilities for free and with no limitations, then that is all that I need.
-jzippo (September 17, 2007, 06:18 AM)

I've used PDF-XChange Viewer for about a year now and I've had no problems with it.

The annotation tools seem to work fine for me, though I don't use them all that much and don't tend to share the annotated documents so I'm not sure how well other readers will cope.

urlwolf · « **Reply #38 on:** September 17, 2007, 06:01 PM »

Can jarnal open a pdf? I have tried with no success.

lanux128 · « **Reply #39 on:** September 17, 2007, 07:36 PM »

... I was just going to install - are those issues not resolved yet for you? ...
-tomos (September 16, 2007, 12:03 PM)

tomos, if you haven't installed doPDF yet, get it's beefier cousin - novaPDF Lite from giveawayoftheday.com..

tomos · « **Reply #40 on:** September 18, 2007, 01:46 AM »

... I was just going to install - are those issues not resolved yet for you? ...
-tomos (September 16, 2007, 12:03 PM)

tomos, if you haven't installed doPDF yet, get it's beefier cousin - novaPDF Lite from giveawayoftheday.com..
-lanux128 (September 17, 2007, 07:36 PM)

thanks Lanux, I was too late... -
did install doPdf though & probably will install PDF Creator/Gohstscript
so should be well covered !

katykaty · « **Reply #41 on:** September 18, 2007, 12:53 PM »

jzippo, here's a pdf with attachments made by Xchange Viewer so you can see how well they work in different readers.

As you can see, I've abandoned taste and slapped in lots of different styles

Warning: this file is BIG - 660kb. The original pdf was only 16kb so the annotations do add a heavy load. Maybe that's why it's free

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #42 on:** September 18, 2007, 02:11 PM »

Opens fine in Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional - you can even edit the stuff you added (except for the handwriting in the left hand margin).

Darwin · « **Reply #43 on:** September 18, 2007, 02:29 PM »

Like Adobe Acrobat 7, everything, with the exception of the handwriting in the left hand margin, is editable in Scansoft PDF Converter 4 Pro as well. I can move the handwriting and managed to rearrange/add to it to make it say "Penicilin". Xchange Viewer is pretty cool!

katykaty · « **Reply #44 on:** September 18, 2007, 02:31 PM »

That was the pencil tool - I didn't have my Wacom to hand

Clive · « **Reply #45 on:** September 19, 2007, 07:47 AM »

Anyone know if it's possible to run an app like DoPDF on a USB memory stick?

rjbull · « **Reply #46 on:** September 19, 2007, 08:40 AM »

I can move the handwriting and managed to rearrange/add to it to make it say "Penicilin". Xchange Viewer is pretty cool!
-Darwin (September 18, 2007, 02:29 PM)

can't spell penicillin, though

PhilB66 · « **Reply #47 on:** September 19, 2007, 08:57 AM »

Anyone know if it's possible to run an app like DoPDF on a USB memory stick?
-Clive (September 19, 2007, 07:47 AM)

Tomahawk PDF+ (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=71), Swift PDF (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1216), and PDFProducer (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=142) are portable pdf tools. If you insist on doPDF, then MojoPac might offer a solution, but it's not free. Lifehacker article here.

Also, this thread HOWTO: create a portable application? might prove useful ???

Darwin · « **Reply #48 on:** September 19, 2007, 04:17 PM »

can't spell penicillin, though

Yes I can! Just didn't do it correctly, that's all...

J-Mac · « **Reply #49 on:** September 19, 2007, 11:18 PM »

can't spell penicillin, though

Yes I can! Just didn't do it correctly, that's all...
-Darwin (September 19, 2007, 04:17 PM)

Like Adobe Acrobat 7, everything, with the exception of the handwriting in the left hand margin, is editable in Scansoft PDF Converter 4 Pro as well. I can move the handwriting and managed to rearrange/add to it to make it say "Penicilin". Xchange Viewer is pretty cool!
-Darwin (September 18, 2007, 02:29 PM)

I'm thinking of purchasing PDF XChange Pro. I've been using the free viewer since the last PDF viewer thread here a few months ago, and it IS cool.

By the way I decided not to go with Nuance's OmniPage/PaperPort promo. Nuance's non-support policy is just too irksome for me. I've put up with them for a few years now and I am not going to enrich them anymore.

Jim