'Net Features : pdf

Easily Convert HTML Content into PDF Files

Michael Garrity — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:00:00 GMT

PDF files are commonly used on many websites, but at first glance, it may seem like an unusual choice. After all, these documents aren’t nearly as accessible as more dynamic HTML content.

However, PDFs can be beneficial for some websites and content publishers, for the purposes of preserving a print format, offering an encapsulated file format, making the content easier to publish in an existing workflow, duplicating HTML content, creating more “formal” documents and more.

Luckily, publishing PDF files can be a relatively easy process thanks to software like PDFreactor, from cross-platform software solution provider RealObjects. This software is a formatting processor for converting HTML content in “typeset quality” PDF documents. PDFreactor is typically used for the server-side PDF creation of everything from dynamic data-driven documents to complex, high-quality PDFs, by utilizing common CSS knowledge and reusing investments in CSS-based style sheets to reduce costs for Web-to-print automation.

Earlier this month, the company released Version 6 of PDFreactor, which supports recent trends and changes in W3C Web Standards for HTML5, JavaScript, Web Fonts and CSS3. This new version also includes support for the HTML5 Canvas element, as well as a JavaScript engine that provides access to JavaScript libraries and frameworks, such as jQuery, Prototype, Flotr2, Modernizr and MooTools.

PDFreactor is 100 percent written in Java and can be deployed on most operating systems and application servers, which makes it easy to integrate into the majority of environments using Java, PHP, .NET, Python, Ruby or Perl API.

The software starts at $2,950 and includes support and maintenance for one year, educational or volume discounts are available. You can also try a 30-day free evaluation version here.

Converting JPGs to PDFs (Freeware)

Allison Howen — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:30:00 GMT

A new Windows’ tool, JPG To PDF, converts JPG files to PDF’s quickly, and provides users with the capability to easily create PDF photo albums or eBooks.

The tool is a stand-alone conversion engine and works without PDF software like Acrobat PDF. Installation of the freeware is simple, and also comes in a portable ZIP version for USB drives.

Additionally, JPG To PDF is very quick, and can typically convert hundreds of JPG files to a PDF document within a few seconds. Furthermore, because of a built-in image analyzer, the tool can also convert TIF, BMP, PNG, GIF, PSD and TIFF files into PDF documents.

PDF Content Optimization in Google Results

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:00:00 GMT

Google has been indexing PDF files - a stalwart of the myriad content forms accessible on the web - since 2001, and by our very rough estimate there are over 500 million PDFs currently indexed by the search engine.

There remains quite a bit of confusion surrounding the use of PDFs in the relation to ranking on search engines, but Google has showed a quick glance at its cards, clearing up at least some confusion today in a post about the format in search results. If you're responsible for website promotion and driving traffic to its pages, pay close attention:

- Google can index textual content from PDF files provided they are not password protected, but by using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) can extract text from images. To be safe, disconnect the actual text from design elements.

- Links within PDFs are treated similarly to HTML links, passing PageRank and other indexing signals. The links can not have the "nofollow" tag. Since PDF content is crawled, it is important therefore to follow the best practice guidance on the use of keyword-rich anchor text.

- Google recommends a single copy of content (e.g. HTML, PDF, etc) but has provided a way for content owners/publishers to indicate the preferred URL by specifying the canonical version in the HTML or the HTTP haeders of the PDF.

- There are two ways to influence the title of the PDF which appears in the search results - the metadata within the PDF and the anchor text of the links pointing to the PDF across the Web.

Electronic Signatures – Adobe and Echosign

Administrator — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:08:00 GMT

Adobe announced its acquisition of Web-based electronic signature and signature automation provider EchoSign. No more faxing for you.

Several weeks (maybe months) ago I had the opportunity to look at EchoSign first hand and have been impressed ever since – even recommending it casually during some conversations with business owners. The product helps to automate the signature process from request to distribution and execution, but what I liked best (and likely you will too) was the out-of-the-box integrations with CRM solutions including SalesForce (the number one rated app on SalesForce’s AppExchange for the past five years), SugarCRM, Oracle CRM on Demand, NetSuite and even Google Apps.

The company has been performing well with more than three million users worldwide and has some notable names on their client roster including Dell, BT, Time Warner Cable, Delta Airlines, ADTRAN, Dow Jones, American Express and many others.

Echosign’s solution will be offered as part of Adobe’s online document exchange service platform and will be integrated with other Adobe document services including SendNow for managed file transfer, FormsCentral for form creation and CreatePDF for online PDF creation.

“Adobe’s document solutions help organizations turn inefficient, paper-based workflows into streamlined electronic ones,” said Kevin M. Lynch, vice president and general manager of Acrobat® Solutions, Digital Enterprise Solutions, Adobe. “By adding electronic signature capabilities to Adobe’s document exchange services platform, we will be addressing the need to provide better customer experiences by significantly reducing the time, cost and complexity associated with having a document signed.”

PDF Shrink 4.5 for Windows

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:30:00 GMT

If your daily duties as a Web professional include interaction with PDF documents, you’ll want to read through the following.

Apago Inc. today introduced PDF Shrink 4.5 for Windows, bringing the popular Mac utility to Windows users. PDF Shrink facilitates the production of PDFs at a quality and file size appropriate for use with smartphones, on the Web, as email attachments, or for onscreen reading.

PDF Shrink can reduce most PDF files—including those created by Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and other common software—by as much as 90% of their original size. To shrink a PDF, simply drag and drop a single PDF file, or a group of PDFs, onto one of the settings. PDF Shrink analyzes the PDF(s) and identifies elements that can be optimized, often without changing the quality of the images. The software can remove embedded fonts and delete unused elements, including metadata, thumbnails, and duplicate data.

“One of the major complaints with PDF is file size,” states Dwight Kelly, president of Apago Inc. “PDF Shrink has been extremely well received on the Mac and we’ve had a demand for a Windows version for some time. We are pleased to respond to the need of many consumers and businesses by delivering an affordable, easy-to-use windows utility for reducing the size of PDF files.”

PDF Shrink 4.5 for Windows retails for $35 is available for purchase today at Apago’s online store.

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Ads For Adobe PDF Moves To Desktop

Administrator — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:07:00 GMT

The Ads for Adobe PDF Desktop application is now available for high-volume PDF publishers.

The application allows publishers to select groups of PDFs and folders containing PDFs on your Windows XP® system for "unattended upload and ad-enablement" via the Ads for Adobe PDF service.

I feel like I've written exhaustively on the Yahoo (YPN) and Adobe Ads for PDF program here at Website Magazine. I would be interested to know how many content publishers are using the service and the revenue they have generated from participating as well as the performance of ads appearing in these PDFs.

- Yahoo and Adobe to Offer Online Ads in PDFs (11-29-07)
- Adobe/YPN: Don't Expect Much (12-06-08)
- Update on Yahoo/Adobe and WM - Thumbs Up (1-4-08)
- Adobe Ads for PDF - How It Looks (1-22-08)
- Ads for Adobe PDF (YPN) Open (3-12-08)

PDF Solution for Dreamweaver Users

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:50:00 GMT

Webassist announced the release of SiteScribe today, a solution that enables DreamWeaver users to create a PDF document of any website. The extension should make creating print-quality versions of sites and their disturnution easier and allow for a more seamless review cycle as users can insert comments.

Features include the printing of entire linked domains, the ability to manually select page options, flip between various screenshot sizes, remove or insert images from PDF and include metadata just to name a few.

The initial release of SiteScribe is for Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, or Windows Server 2003, and requires Java 1.4 or higher. SiteScribe supports Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 and Dreamweaver 8.