pdf

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on Web browsers not loading Web pages, trackpads and mice getting stuck in a "clicked" mode, and Safari not being able to load PDF files. We continually answer e-mail questions, and while we present a few here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Browser not loading Web pages or connecting to Wi-Fi hot spots

MacFixIt reader "Philippe" asks:

Until last week, [my daughter] … Read more

For people who love to read but don't have a lot of extra cash to spend on books, nothing beats the public library. Love ya, Ben Franklin!

In recent years, many libraries have started offering e-books that you can check out for a few weeks, just like the real thing. Unfortunately, despite the plethora of e-book readers in the App Store, you couldn't read these DRM-protected library titles on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

Now you can. Bluefire Reader now supports not only ePub and PDF formats, but also the Adobe DRM used by most libraries. I just … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on how to embed multimedia in PDF documents, clarification on the version numbers for iPhoto/iLife, items on the desktop rearranging themselves, and using a HDTV as a monitor for a Mac Mini. We continually answer e-mail questions, and while we present a few here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Embedding movies and audio in PDF documents

MacFixIt reader "ngroves" asks:

I need to … Read more

PortableApps offers fully functional, fully portable versions of popular open source software. Its Sumatra PDF Portable is a lightweight version of the PDF file viewer. It's small enough to fit on just about any mobile device or storage medium, giving you the option of viewing PDF files on the go. As a portable application, it will run on any compatible Windows machine without installation and without leaving behind any personal information or changes to the registry.

The Sumatra PDF Portable "installer" copies the program's executable to a destination of your choice; the default destination is a … Read more

Free PDF Creator from GIRDAC InfoTechnologies is a free application that can create PDF documents from hundreds of Windows applications without requiring any Adobe software. It can create a PDF document from the Print properties of any printable file. It can handle multiple users on one system and save each user's settings for regular operation, and it displays a Conversion Report when it's done.

Free PDF Creator is essentially a printer driver that lets you save or print documents in the PDF format from the Print properties dialog of any file. However, it also has a setup interface, … Read more

Junko is a free tool that lets you split PDF files into separate documents by page range or number or combine many PDFs into larger files. By splitting large PDFs into multiple smaller files, you can work on just the pages or sections you need, and they're easier for small apps to handle. Combining multiple PDFs is useful for creating manuals and other multipage documents. Junko is powered by PDFsharp, the open-source .NET library of PDF wares.

Junko's interface is very basic and opens with a blank main view, but it's Aero-compatible and has a customizable toolbar. … Read more

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, I wish I had some way to save this Web page as a PDF so I could print it and take it with me"? Printing a Web page directly often leads to incorrect formatting or a loss of content. But saving a Web page as a PDF typically captures the page as it looks in a Web browser, which ensures that the printed version looks the way it's supposed to. HTML to PDF Converter let users do exactly that, quickly converting both HTML files and URLs to PDF files.

The … Read more

For many people, Windows Explorer and its hierarchical folders work well enough for organizing documents. Those who regularly deal with large quantities of documents, however, may find that they need a means of organizing files that's a little more robust. Benubird PDF is a unique program that lets users organize PDFs and other files into collections that are easy to navigate and work with.

Our first question about Benubird PDF was whether its collections simply linked to the original documents on our hard drive or created new copies that it stored within its own directory. We were concerned about … Read more

Adobe today announced the latest version of its Acrobat suite of products.

Set to hit the market in the next 30 days, the new Reader X and Acrobat X products are promising tighter security, better collaboration, and easier PDF reading.

The free Adobe Reader X will offer a new Protected Mode to sandbox, or isolate, JavaScript code, 3D rendering, and image parsing in order to better secure PDFs. Adobe has seen an increasing number of security holes in its PDF technology over the past few years, creating trouble for the many people who use the ubiquitous file format. The company … Read more