Recent versions of Adobe’s Acrobat and Reader software include a feature called “Read Out Loud” (ROL). A well-intentioned effort, ROL was (originally) meant to provide a snazzy new feature that would look good on sales calls, impress gullible executives, that sort of thing. It would just be super cool, it seemed, to be able to […]
View PostI spend a lot of time talking to the folks who manage online content, some of the unsung heroes of the web. PDF, viewed from the content manager’s perspective, is a black box. Traditionally, no-one expects content managers to modify PDFs; they’re supposed to simply post them when requested to do so. Under this model, […]
View PostI recently returned from 4 days in Orlando, Florida, where committees of the International Standards Organization (ISO) met to discuss, among other things, the future and direction of the PDF format (ISO 32000) and various subset PDF standards, including PDF/A (Archive), PDF/E (Engineering) and PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility). PDF Standards set technical benchmarks for PDF technology […]
View PostAs the iPhone continues to grow in popularity, business applications for the iPhone OS are proliferating. Inevitably, a number of these applications focus on electronic documents, which is another way of saying (whether their developers recognize it or not) that they focus on PDF files. This article surveys a few of the current crop of […]
View PostI just installed Apple’s latest Snow Leopard operating system (OS X 10.6), and headed straight for the updated Preview utility, which now claims the ability to annotate PDFs, a key feature of Adobe’s flagship Acrobat software. I opened a PDF into Preview, tapped the new Annotate button, and was rewarded by a slight shrinking of […]
View PostUsers of Adobe Acrobat Professional have a variety of reasons to become familiar with the PDF Optimizer (Advanced > PDF Optimizer). From debugging problem PDF documents to reducing file size and enhancing online performance, the Optimizer is a smart last step before securing and deploying your PDF files. This article introduces the value, rationale and […]
View PostAuthor’s Note: In July, 2009, Adobe Systems asked me to update this article, originally written for AcrobatUsers.com in 2006. I probably use Google hourly, if not more often. I also search local and network hard drives looking for proposals, reference materials and so on. Whether I think about it or not, full-text search is […]
View PostHealthcare costs in the US have significantly outpaced inflation for several decades. Alongside the question of universal coverage, the healthcare reform debate in Washington, DC, therefore, rightly centers on controlling costs. Policy-makers have recognized that current long-term trends are unsustainable – what to do about it is the subject du jour. To get my blood […]
View PostAfter an early, abortive attempt at charging $50 for Reader, Adobe Systems quickly determined that distributing the ability to view and print for free would promote sales of Adobe’s Acrobat desktop software for creating, manipulating and managing PDF files. Indeed, the free Reader was a critical piece of the puzzle. As a result of this […]
View PostAlmost 4 1/2 years after initiation of the PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) project, ISO has now granted “Approved Work Item” (AWI) status to PDF/UA, the first formal step in the ISO process which ends (we hope) in an ISO Standard for accessible PDF. From this point forward, the US and International Committees for PDF/UA will be […]
View PostEvery PDF sent, saved or submitted reduces your carbon footprint and saves money too. Appligent Document Solutions CEO Duff Johnson looks at the role PDF can play in the environmentally-aware and budget-conscious office. Going green is no fashion statement There are many reasons to focus on green technology. Even for those unpersuaded by ocean acidification […]
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