Adobe Reader Nonupdate

While it is not my reader of choice, there are some occasions where Adobe Reader is required.  For example, today I had to go over some proofs that had a built in editor provided in the PDF.  For this type of situation, only Adobe Reader will load this editor and allow the edits.

I decided to make sure my Adobe Reader was up to date, even though I though I had checked the box to update the reader automatically.  I opened Adobe Reader 9, and I sent it to fetch the updates.  As this was proceeding, it struck me that Adobe Reader is actually in the 10th edition, so why was 9 blissfully updating to a more recent version of 9. 

Adobe should at least give me the option of upgrading to Reader 10 (X) when I tell it to upgrade 9.  I had to manually go to the Adobe site, and look around for the download.  While it only took a few minutes, I suspect that most users will not bother to make sure they have the latest version of the software, and rely on Adobe's built in tool.

Jonas

Crack My PDF

PDF's not infrequently have some restrictions.  I get annoyed when I am looking at one on the screen, and then can't print the info, or save it as a file to the drive.  There are also times when the password is forgotten and the PDF won't open.

For those occasions, CrackMyPDF is the site to turn to.  They claim to be able to remove these restrictions, with a simple upload to them, and after they work their magic, voila, the PDF has all the restrictions removed.

In testing, I tried three PDF's that had a password required for opening.  I have to admit that I felt better when CrackMyPDF struck out on all three occasions.  However, if there is a printing or saving restriction, it certainly is worth a try.

CrackMyPDF

Browser Hangup

I am a big fan of the FireFox browser and use it on all my machines. Heck, I even use it on my desktop at work. I find it stable, secure, and ideal most of the time, however, recently I did have an issue.

MaximumPC lets you download their archived magazine issues as PDF's. They are typically large files, and this one was around 22 mb. I tried to download it several times, and each time it just hung up at around 4 megs. My connection was fine and I was able to do other things simultaneously, so I really was not sure what the issue was.

After several attempts, I decided to switch to another browser, this time the Google Chrome one that is generally bulletproof. It downloaded it on the first try. I wonder if there is an issue with the FireFox browser for this particular issue, but for now, the moral is that if one browser is having difficulty downloading a PDF, give Google Chrome a try.

Digital Faxing

I have to admit that anyone asks to me fax something, it is such a throwback to the preinternet days. After all, most folks have access to high speed internet access, so why the heck would we use that silly fax machine? I generally scan the item, save it as a PDF, and email it to them as an attachment. This also works well for longer documents, and there is no concern that they will get all the pages from the fax except the important one.

However, there are a few times when there is a need to send a fax. This includes documents that need a signature, and those Luddites that don't know how to work with email attachments. But rather than dust off the ol' faxer, there are some digital options.

One is FaxZero. While it does have limitations, such as an ad on the cover page, and a limit of 3 pages, as well as a limit of 2 faxes daily, it is still useful to the low volume user.

Another option is HelloFax. Here the catch is that the fax must be less than 5 pages. But hey, this is free as well.

A third option is Microsoft Fax. It comes preinstalled in Windows XP and Windows 7. While it will work in Vista, the issue is that it did not come preinstalled in the Home version that most of us received. Microsoft Fax is ideal for a notebook that has a dialup modem installed that likely sees little use.

With any of these options, the document sent can be a PDF, and other options can be used as well such a .DOC.

FaxZero
HelloFax
Microsoft Fax

PDFMasher

PDFMasher via Lifehacker

i2PDF

Today's tool is i2PDF which is a solution to a problem that I have not experienced. However, playing with it is cool, and after seeing what it can do, there will be some occasion to use it.

What i2PDF accomplishes is to take an image, and turn it into a PDF. This could be useful if sending an image to someone not particularly computer savvy as most will have a PDF reader installed.

The program is a quick download, and by simply dragging the image onto the software box, with a few clicks, a PDF is created of the image, ready for printing, saving or emailing.

i2PDF

SumatraPDF v1.6

When it comes to a PDF reader, quite often, more really is yes. Many users simply want a reliable piece of software that quickly opens up their files, and does little else.

For those folks, SumatraPDF v1.6 is a solution to take a look at. After a quick and free 4.3 MB download, the software is installed in a jiffy. SumatraPDF opens PDF's with no difficulty, and has sharp text, and the usual zoom features, and not much else. For the vast majority of PDF work, this is all that is needed, and should be ideal for older systems and netbooks.

SumatraPDF

Take a look at our other suggested readers here.