Overview - PDF Utilities
PDF (Portable Document Format) is one of the formats for submitting documents in electronic form. Its main feature is cross-platform. This means that the PDF document will look the same when viewed on any software in any operating system or when printed on any hardware.
The PDF format has become very popular today. In fact, it has become the real standard for the exchange of electronic documents. Therefore, many people have to deal with various tasks related to the PDF format: creating and reading files, filling out forms, editing and commenting on documents, and so on. To date, to solve them created a sufficient number of software tools.
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The article covers the following programs: Microsoft Office, Universal Document Converter, Abbyy FineReader, Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, Jaws PDF editor, Advanced PDF Recovery.
Microsoft Office (936 kb, freeware)
Today there are no full-fledged PDF editors with the help of which it would be possible to create documents with all the design. Yes, this is not necessary. Traditionally, PDF documents are created by converting from other formats. For example, an add-in was created specifically for Microsoft Office 2007, which allows you to save documents from any application that is included in it, in PDF format.
Creating a PDF file, for example, from Microsoft Word is no different from the usual process of saving a document. The only thing the user has to do is select this format in the list. This, of course, is very convenient, but this solution has several serious drawbacks. Firstly, it cannot be used to convert documents that are not created in Microsoft Office programs. Secondly, only the most minimal set of settings is available to users.
Universal Document Converter ( 5.79 MB , shareware)
Universal Document Converter is a program with which you can create a PDF file from virtually any document, diagram, chart, table. Such versatility is achieved through the use of virtual printing technology. Universal Document Converter is installed in the system as a printer driver (of course, non-existent, that is, virtual). A user who needs to create a PDF document opens the source file in a standard application for this format and sends it to print. This automatically starts the conversion process. As a result of its execution, a PDF document is created in the specified folder.
This program implements a number of possibilities that allow you to talk about it as a professional utility. You need to start with the fact that with its help you can create not only PDF documents, but also graphic files of the most common raster formats: TIFF, JPEG, PNG, PCX, DCX, GIF and BMP. This opportunity, although not directly related to our current topic, is nevertheless quite pleasant. It allows you to use the program, for example, in prepress, in the process of creating presentations.
Universal Document Converter has extensive capabilities for customizing output files. The user can choose any of the available formats and all its parameters: color depth, quality, compression, and so on. You can also set the paper size, resolution, orientation, enable automatic trimming of empty fields. The program has the function of setting masks for automatic creation of names of output folders and files. Special mention deserves the ability to quickly configure the conversion using profiles - ready-made sets of parameters that are optimal for solving various problems. Universal Document Converter can work on the network. In addition, it implements a COM interface for integration into automated workflow systems.
ABBYY FineReader ( 160 MB , shareware)
Everyone is used to looking at ABBYY FineReader exclusively as a means of recognizing scanned documents. However, this program can in some cases be used to create PDF documents. The fact is that among the options for saving output files there is a format that interests us.
Creating PDF files with ABBYY FineReader looks like a normal recognition process. First, the user must scan the sheets he needs or open the document in one of the supported formats. Then it must be recognized. After that, it is possible to save the information to a PDF document
It is worth noting that ABBYY FineReader has quite ample opportunities to customize the output PDF files. For example, the user can select the size of the pages of the created document, embed fonts, set the quality of the images. It is also possible to protect the output file: set a password to open it, impose restrictions on printing and editing, select the level of encryption, enable or disable the ability to copy texts, images and other content.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the existence of several saving modes in the program:
* Only text and pictures. The source file and images are saved in the output file. However, it will have a small size, but may differ slightly from the original.
* Text over page image. The background file and illustrations are saved in the output file, and the recognized text is superimposed on them.
* Text below the page image. In the output file, the recognized text is saved on an invisible background, and on top of it is a page image. As a result, the page looks almost like the original, full-text search works, but the document is relatively large.
* Image only. Pages are written to the output file as images. They are indistinguishable from the original, but searching in such documents is impossible.
* PDF / A document. Save the output in PDF / A format, which is a form of PDF. It is used for long-term storage of documents. PDF / A is adopted by ISO as an international standard for archiving electronic documents.
When working with ABBYY FineReader, a situation often arises when a part of the text is not recognized, for example, due to the poor quality of the original document. In this case, you can use the option "Replace the uncertainly recognized words with their images." In this case, all suspicious places are simply replaced by their images from the original document. However, this approach has very serious disadvantages. First, because of such replacements, the size of the final file grows. Secondly, the unrecognized text will not participate in the search. Therefore, in some cases it is better to export the document to Microsoft Word, manually rewrite the questionable sections, and then convert it to PDF.
In general, this program has extensive capabilities for creating PDF files. However, the scope of its application is sharply limited. After all, with the help of ABBYY FineReader, you can create PDF files only from paper documents and pictures.
Adobe Reader ( 22.6 MB , freeware)
This program is the de facto standard tool for viewing PDF documents. It is absolutely free and any user can download it from the official site of the developer - the Adobe company. In addition, its distribution is placed on almost all driver disks that come with various computer hardware.
In principle, Adobe Reader has everything you need to read and print PDF documents. First of all, it is the ability to conveniently view files of this format using scaling, text search. Also in Adobe Reader, support for working with forms is implemented: with its help, you can enter, save and send information. We should also mention the search for PDF documents on the local computer by the words or phrases of interest to the user in the content of the pages, annotations, bookmarks, fields or metadata. Implemented in this program and all the necessary functions for data protection and authentication. Today, when many scammers "work" on the Internet, this is especially important.
There are many different threats associated with PDF documents. From time to time, researchers find "holes" in programs to read these files. They allow attackers to run malicious code on victims' computers when they open specially crafted PDF files. The last such vulnerability was discovered in the fall of 2007.
In addition to all this, the latest version of Adobe Reader has functions that are not directly related to working with PDF files, but for some people they can be quite interesting and useful. Of particular note among these are the possibility of holding online conferences, an RSS reader for reading news, joint viewing of documents, viewing three-dimensional images with the possibility of their rotation and other features.
Foxit Reader ( 3.36 MB , freeware)
The work of many users with PDF documents is limited to viewing and printing them. Usually Adobe Reader is used for this. However, this program has one serious drawback. Due to its “tricked out”, it takes up a lot of space, requires quite a lot of system resources and works relatively slowly. And in it there are such functions and features that most of the users simply do not use. As a result, many people prefer to use older versions of Adobe Reader, less functional, but faster. Meanwhile, there is another, more successful solution to this problem - the use of Foxit Reader. This is a fast, miniature and undemanding to system resources viewer documents PDF.
Despite its small size, Foxit Reader has everything you need to comfortably view and print PDF documents. First of all, this is a simple, multilingual (there is Russian in the list of available languages) interface with the ability to scale, select the page display layout, rotate them. Also in this program there is a function of selection and copying of text and pictures, support for JavaScript, a tool for filling in PDF forms, automatic updating. For Foxit Reader, there are a number of add-ons that significantly expand its capabilities. With their help, you can create announcements of PDF documents, insert any comments into the text, edit files, but all these improvements are paid.
The most famous plugins for Foxit Reader:
* Foxit Reader Pro Pack - a set of tools that allows you to work with annotations, convert a PDF document to a text file, fill out forms, carry out a spell checker, edit text.
* Foxit Form Designer - has the functionality of the Foxit Reader Pro Pack, to which is added the ability to create forms.
Jaws PDF editor ( 17 MB , shareware)
Jaws PDF editor is a universal tool for working with PDF files. With it, you can view, print and edit any documents of this format. True, you cannot create PDF files in the Jaws PDF editor.
So, this program can be used simply as a PDF file viewer. It has everything you need for this: a convenient navigation bar with a preview, the ability to quickly jump to any page, scaling, text selection, search, support for JavaScript. Separately, it is worth noting the ability to set bookmarks in the document and quickly move between them in the future. This is especially useful when working with large PDF files. Implemented in this program and full work with forms. It allows you to fill, edit, view and print them.
In Jaws PDF editor there is a whole set of functions for working with comments. The user can leave any text notes in the documents. In addition, the program implemented the ability to highlight text in color, underline, strikethrough. This allows users to share PDF documents, noting the unreleased places, paragraphs, to which particular attention should be paid. In the process of viewing a person can enable or disable the display of comments, as well as export and import them from external files.
An interesting feature of the program under consideration is a set of tools for working with pages. With it, you can delete pages, move them from place to place, import into separate files and export from other documents. In fact, Jaws PDF editor allows you to merge and split PDF files.
Advanced PDF Password Recovery (1.9 MB, shareware )
When creating PDF files, the author can close them from unauthorized use. To do this, apply two types of protection. The first one is encryption. When using it, the file cannot be opened without knowing the correct password (it is also called the user password). The second protection option is used to set restrictions on printing a document, making changes to it, or highlighting text. That is, to perform any of these actions with a secure PDF file, the user must enter a special password (owner-password). This is an internal PDF format feature.
All of these features are used to keep confidential information secure. However, quite often the user needs to bypass this protection. For example, if he himself forgot one of the passwords to his document. In this case, Advanced PDF Password Recovery can help solve the problem. This is a special utility designed to decrypt PDF files and remove various restrictions from them.
In the basic edition of Advanced PDF Password Recovery, only those restrictions that are set using the owner-password can be removed. This process is carried out very quickly, regardless of the complexity of the keyword. In addition to this, the professional version of the program is able to select a key when using a 40-bit encryption algorithm. That is, we are talking about removing the protection defined by the user password. It should be noted that Advanced PDF Password Recovery implements brute-force algorithms optimized for modern processors. According to the developers, the program is able to find the right key in a few days, regardless of the complexity of the keyword. The latest, most advanced version of Advanced PDF Password Recovery implements the Thunder tables technology. According to the creators of the product, it allows you to find the key in just a few minutes.
Summing up
Program - License Type - Assessment (max 10) - Localization
Microsoft Office Add-in - Freeware - 4 - Full
Universal Document Converter - Shareware - 9 - Full
Abbyy FineReader - Shareware - 6 - Full
Adobe Reader - Freeware - 9 - Full
Foxit Reader - Freeware - 7 - Complete
Jaws PDF editor - Shareware - 7 - None
Advanced PDF Recovery - Shareware - 8 - Full
When choosing software for working with PDF documents, it is necessary to proceed from your needs. For example, the standard add-in is great for those owners of Microsoft Office 2007, who only occasionally have to create files of this format. If you have to solve this problem all the time, or you need the ability to customize the parameters of output documents, or there is a need to convert objects from other applications, you will need a professional utility - Universal Document Converter. ABBYY FineReader is only suitable for creating PDF files from paper sheets, but only if they are of good quality.
Choosing a program for viewing PDF documents is better to build on the capabilities of your computer and the tasks assigned to you. If you use all the features of this format, and your computer has sufficient computational resources for the effective operation of Adobe Reader, then you can stop on this utility. Otherwise, it is better to use Foxit Reader, which, although less functional, but works much faster.
CNews
The PDF format has become very popular today. In fact, it has become the real standard for the exchange of electronic documents. Therefore, many people have to deal with various tasks related to the PDF format: creating and reading files, filling out forms, editing and commenting on documents, and so on. To date, to solve them created a sufficient number of software tools.
')
The article covers the following programs: Microsoft Office, Universal Document Converter, Abbyy FineReader, Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, Jaws PDF editor, Advanced PDF Recovery.
Microsoft Office (936 kb, freeware)
Today there are no full-fledged PDF editors with the help of which it would be possible to create documents with all the design. Yes, this is not necessary. Traditionally, PDF documents are created by converting from other formats. For example, an add-in was created specifically for Microsoft Office 2007, which allows you to save documents from any application that is included in it, in PDF format.
Creating a PDF file, for example, from Microsoft Word is no different from the usual process of saving a document. The only thing the user has to do is select this format in the list. This, of course, is very convenient, but this solution has several serious drawbacks. Firstly, it cannot be used to convert documents that are not created in Microsoft Office programs. Secondly, only the most minimal set of settings is available to users.
Universal Document Converter ( 5.79 MB , shareware)
Universal Document Converter is a program with which you can create a PDF file from virtually any document, diagram, chart, table. Such versatility is achieved through the use of virtual printing technology. Universal Document Converter is installed in the system as a printer driver (of course, non-existent, that is, virtual). A user who needs to create a PDF document opens the source file in a standard application for this format and sends it to print. This automatically starts the conversion process. As a result of its execution, a PDF document is created in the specified folder.
This program implements a number of possibilities that allow you to talk about it as a professional utility. You need to start with the fact that with its help you can create not only PDF documents, but also graphic files of the most common raster formats: TIFF, JPEG, PNG, PCX, DCX, GIF and BMP. This opportunity, although not directly related to our current topic, is nevertheless quite pleasant. It allows you to use the program, for example, in prepress, in the process of creating presentations.
Universal Document Converter has extensive capabilities for customizing output files. The user can choose any of the available formats and all its parameters: color depth, quality, compression, and so on. You can also set the paper size, resolution, orientation, enable automatic trimming of empty fields. The program has the function of setting masks for automatic creation of names of output folders and files. Special mention deserves the ability to quickly configure the conversion using profiles - ready-made sets of parameters that are optimal for solving various problems. Universal Document Converter can work on the network. In addition, it implements a COM interface for integration into automated workflow systems.
ABBYY FineReader ( 160 MB , shareware)
Everyone is used to looking at ABBYY FineReader exclusively as a means of recognizing scanned documents. However, this program can in some cases be used to create PDF documents. The fact is that among the options for saving output files there is a format that interests us.
Creating PDF files with ABBYY FineReader looks like a normal recognition process. First, the user must scan the sheets he needs or open the document in one of the supported formats. Then it must be recognized. After that, it is possible to save the information to a PDF document
It is worth noting that ABBYY FineReader has quite ample opportunities to customize the output PDF files. For example, the user can select the size of the pages of the created document, embed fonts, set the quality of the images. It is also possible to protect the output file: set a password to open it, impose restrictions on printing and editing, select the level of encryption, enable or disable the ability to copy texts, images and other content.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the existence of several saving modes in the program:
* Only text and pictures. The source file and images are saved in the output file. However, it will have a small size, but may differ slightly from the original.
* Text over page image. The background file and illustrations are saved in the output file, and the recognized text is superimposed on them.
* Text below the page image. In the output file, the recognized text is saved on an invisible background, and on top of it is a page image. As a result, the page looks almost like the original, full-text search works, but the document is relatively large.
* Image only. Pages are written to the output file as images. They are indistinguishable from the original, but searching in such documents is impossible.
* PDF / A document. Save the output in PDF / A format, which is a form of PDF. It is used for long-term storage of documents. PDF / A is adopted by ISO as an international standard for archiving electronic documents.
When working with ABBYY FineReader, a situation often arises when a part of the text is not recognized, for example, due to the poor quality of the original document. In this case, you can use the option "Replace the uncertainly recognized words with their images." In this case, all suspicious places are simply replaced by their images from the original document. However, this approach has very serious disadvantages. First, because of such replacements, the size of the final file grows. Secondly, the unrecognized text will not participate in the search. Therefore, in some cases it is better to export the document to Microsoft Word, manually rewrite the questionable sections, and then convert it to PDF.
In general, this program has extensive capabilities for creating PDF files. However, the scope of its application is sharply limited. After all, with the help of ABBYY FineReader, you can create PDF files only from paper documents and pictures.
Adobe Reader ( 22.6 MB , freeware)
This program is the de facto standard tool for viewing PDF documents. It is absolutely free and any user can download it from the official site of the developer - the Adobe company. In addition, its distribution is placed on almost all driver disks that come with various computer hardware.
In principle, Adobe Reader has everything you need to read and print PDF documents. First of all, it is the ability to conveniently view files of this format using scaling, text search. Also in Adobe Reader, support for working with forms is implemented: with its help, you can enter, save and send information. We should also mention the search for PDF documents on the local computer by the words or phrases of interest to the user in the content of the pages, annotations, bookmarks, fields or metadata. Implemented in this program and all the necessary functions for data protection and authentication. Today, when many scammers "work" on the Internet, this is especially important.
There are many different threats associated with PDF documents. From time to time, researchers find "holes" in programs to read these files. They allow attackers to run malicious code on victims' computers when they open specially crafted PDF files. The last such vulnerability was discovered in the fall of 2007.
In addition to all this, the latest version of Adobe Reader has functions that are not directly related to working with PDF files, but for some people they can be quite interesting and useful. Of particular note among these are the possibility of holding online conferences, an RSS reader for reading news, joint viewing of documents, viewing three-dimensional images with the possibility of their rotation and other features.
Foxit Reader ( 3.36 MB , freeware)
The work of many users with PDF documents is limited to viewing and printing them. Usually Adobe Reader is used for this. However, this program has one serious drawback. Due to its “tricked out”, it takes up a lot of space, requires quite a lot of system resources and works relatively slowly. And in it there are such functions and features that most of the users simply do not use. As a result, many people prefer to use older versions of Adobe Reader, less functional, but faster. Meanwhile, there is another, more successful solution to this problem - the use of Foxit Reader. This is a fast, miniature and undemanding to system resources viewer documents PDF.
Despite its small size, Foxit Reader has everything you need to comfortably view and print PDF documents. First of all, this is a simple, multilingual (there is Russian in the list of available languages) interface with the ability to scale, select the page display layout, rotate them. Also in this program there is a function of selection and copying of text and pictures, support for JavaScript, a tool for filling in PDF forms, automatic updating. For Foxit Reader, there are a number of add-ons that significantly expand its capabilities. With their help, you can create announcements of PDF documents, insert any comments into the text, edit files, but all these improvements are paid.
The most famous plugins for Foxit Reader:
* Foxit Reader Pro Pack - a set of tools that allows you to work with annotations, convert a PDF document to a text file, fill out forms, carry out a spell checker, edit text.
* Foxit Form Designer - has the functionality of the Foxit Reader Pro Pack, to which is added the ability to create forms.
Jaws PDF editor ( 17 MB , shareware)
Jaws PDF editor is a universal tool for working with PDF files. With it, you can view, print and edit any documents of this format. True, you cannot create PDF files in the Jaws PDF editor.
So, this program can be used simply as a PDF file viewer. It has everything you need for this: a convenient navigation bar with a preview, the ability to quickly jump to any page, scaling, text selection, search, support for JavaScript. Separately, it is worth noting the ability to set bookmarks in the document and quickly move between them in the future. This is especially useful when working with large PDF files. Implemented in this program and full work with forms. It allows you to fill, edit, view and print them.
In Jaws PDF editor there is a whole set of functions for working with comments. The user can leave any text notes in the documents. In addition, the program implemented the ability to highlight text in color, underline, strikethrough. This allows users to share PDF documents, noting the unreleased places, paragraphs, to which particular attention should be paid. In the process of viewing a person can enable or disable the display of comments, as well as export and import them from external files.
An interesting feature of the program under consideration is a set of tools for working with pages. With it, you can delete pages, move them from place to place, import into separate files and export from other documents. In fact, Jaws PDF editor allows you to merge and split PDF files.
Advanced PDF Password Recovery (1.9 MB, shareware )
When creating PDF files, the author can close them from unauthorized use. To do this, apply two types of protection. The first one is encryption. When using it, the file cannot be opened without knowing the correct password (it is also called the user password). The second protection option is used to set restrictions on printing a document, making changes to it, or highlighting text. That is, to perform any of these actions with a secure PDF file, the user must enter a special password (owner-password). This is an internal PDF format feature.
All of these features are used to keep confidential information secure. However, quite often the user needs to bypass this protection. For example, if he himself forgot one of the passwords to his document. In this case, Advanced PDF Password Recovery can help solve the problem. This is a special utility designed to decrypt PDF files and remove various restrictions from them.
In the basic edition of Advanced PDF Password Recovery, only those restrictions that are set using the owner-password can be removed. This process is carried out very quickly, regardless of the complexity of the keyword. In addition to this, the professional version of the program is able to select a key when using a 40-bit encryption algorithm. That is, we are talking about removing the protection defined by the user password. It should be noted that Advanced PDF Password Recovery implements brute-force algorithms optimized for modern processors. According to the developers, the program is able to find the right key in a few days, regardless of the complexity of the keyword. The latest, most advanced version of Advanced PDF Password Recovery implements the Thunder tables technology. According to the creators of the product, it allows you to find the key in just a few minutes.
Summing up
Program - License Type - Assessment (max 10) - Localization
Microsoft Office Add-in - Freeware - 4 - Full
Universal Document Converter - Shareware - 9 - Full
Abbyy FineReader - Shareware - 6 - Full
Adobe Reader - Freeware - 9 - Full
Foxit Reader - Freeware - 7 - Complete
Jaws PDF editor - Shareware - 7 - None
Advanced PDF Recovery - Shareware - 8 - Full
When choosing software for working with PDF documents, it is necessary to proceed from your needs. For example, the standard add-in is great for those owners of Microsoft Office 2007, who only occasionally have to create files of this format. If you have to solve this problem all the time, or you need the ability to customize the parameters of output documents, or there is a need to convert objects from other applications, you will need a professional utility - Universal Document Converter. ABBYY FineReader is only suitable for creating PDF files from paper sheets, but only if they are of good quality.
Choosing a program for viewing PDF documents is better to build on the capabilities of your computer and the tasks assigned to you. If you use all the features of this format, and your computer has sufficient computational resources for the effective operation of Adobe Reader, then you can stop on this utility. Otherwise, it is better to use Foxit Reader, which, although less functional, but works much faster.
CNews
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/19853/
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