Two options for PDF creation that don't break the bank

Started by Eclipse, August 15, 2016, 01:23:18 AM

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Eclipse

Between CAP, my business invoices, and my paperless records system for both, I live in .PDFs.
I'm at the tail end of fully digitizing unit records (mostly saving stuff now that are "nice to have" vs.
the personnel files that were doen a year ago - will this project ever end?)


CAP computers ship with Acrobat Pro, which is great, but it's $$$ if you're using your personal machine, or have a
CAP machine that for whatever reason doesn't have a .PDF editor, here's two good options.

FoxIT Phantom Standard
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-editor/
This has all the features of Acrobat, and non-profits can purchase it for ~$50.
The "Optimized Scanned PDF" feature is really handy, especially for some of the "creatively" scanned
docs members produce.  You can sign, edit, type in and do all the normal PDF functions.

DocHub
http://dochub.com/

If you're using Google Docs, this is invaluable. You can generate .PDFs out of Docs, then type into or
sign them directly in Docs without having to download them first.  I use this every week for editing attendance logs.
The most needed functions are free, including signing .pdfs with an image file. There are some quantity limitations
per month, but I rarely if ever hit them.

And of course, a reminder that a lot of expensive applications can be purchased at lower prices through CCB:
http://ccbtechnology.com/about/nonprofit-technology-program/






"That Others May Zoom"

kwe1009

Nitro PDF is another good choice.  The free version even allows you to do things like add text, extract images, and even convert the entire document to plain text (it doesn't keep the original format).  It also has a signature feature so you can "sign" documents.  The pro version is a little over $100 and is very comparable with Acrobat Pro.

JeffDG


Spaceman3750

When Adobe introduced PDF signing and filling to the free reader, my interest in a pro client went close to nil. The only thing I still struggle with is document merging or rearranging.

I think CutePDF does an editor but I haven't checked in a while.

Online PDF tools make me twitch, but that's the corporate info security guy in me, and isn't really grounded in CAP's needs.

winterg

I use smallpdf.com to merge and split PDF files whenever I need to.  It has worked great for me. 

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.


foo

PDFCreator is free and installs as a printer.

1. Scan your docs as image files (e.g., .jpg or .png)
2. In a Windows file explorer window, multi-select the images that make up a single document, then right-click and select Print. This brings up the Windows Print Pictures dialog.
3. Select PDFCreator as your printer and then print.

Now you have PDF that can have text added to it and be signed in the free Acrobat Reader if needed.


Eclipse

Quote from: JeffDG on August 15, 2016, 01:38:17 PM
Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 01:23:18 AM
FoxIT Phantom Standard
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-editor/
This has all the features of Acrobat, and non-profits can purchase it for ~$50.
Acrobat XI Pro is $55 for non-profits
http://www.techsoup.org/products/adobe-acrobat-xi-pro-for-windows--G-40959--Tasks

That is not an Acrobat license, that is Techsoup's admin fee for an Adobe organizational donation.
The licenses (up to 4per FY) have to be donated to the organization, not an individual user per the terms listed
on that page and here: http://www.techsoup.org/restrictions#adobe.  The organizaiton then pays whatever the "donation" costs to Adobe direct.

Individuals can apply Acrobat DC, the admin fee is $5 and the monthly cost is $12.99. That's about $160 for year one.


"That Others May Zoom"

Eclipse

Quote from: neummy on August 15, 2016, 02:33:46 PM
PDFCreator is free and installs as a printer.

Actually, if all you need to do is render documents into .PDF, Windows 10 does that natively without any add-ons and
so does Chrome.

PDF merging of large documents, as mentioned by Spaceman, was probably the biggest need I had.

The online services like SmallPDF are real handy when using a Chromebook or a portable device.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make, especially CAP members, is to send a Word document
upstream with a sig file embedded instead of rendering it into a .pdf.  That means anyone downstream
can easily change your document or snag your signature, and you can't guarantee the formatting when it's open.
(yes, people still use MS Works to view Word docs).

The same goes for "signed" .pdfs that aren't flattened as the final step - you can go in an pull out the sig very easily.
Always make sure to do that last step.

"That Others May Zoom"

foo

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:42:01 PM
Quote from: neummy on August 15, 2016, 02:33:46 PM
PDFCreator is free and installs as a printer.

Actually, if all you need to do is render documents into .PDF, Windows 10 does that natively without any add-ons and
so does Chrome.

PDF merging of large documents, as mentioned by Spaceman, was probably the biggest need I had.

The online services like SmallPDF are real handy when using a Chromebook or a portable device.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make, especially CAP members, is to send a Word document
upstream with a sig file embedded instead of rendering it into a .pdf.  That means anyone downstream
can easily change your document or snag your signature, and you can't guarantee the formatting when it's open.
(yes, people still use MS Works to view Word docs).

The same goes for "signed" .pdfs that aren't flattened as the final step - you can go in an pull out the sig very easily.
Always make sure to do that last step.

Merging multiple pages into a single PDF is what my solution is all about. And it's free.

Spaceman3750

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:42:01 PM
The same goes for "signed" .pdfs that aren't flattened as the final step - you can go in an pull out the sig very easily.
Always make sure to do that last step.

Or I can just use a screen shot to carve it out in 2 seconds.

It still floors me that in 2016 we're still using applications that even require a signature, and anything requiring that kind of approval isn't going through eServices.

Eclipse

Quote from: Spaceman3750 on August 15, 2016, 02:46:06 PM
It still floors me that in 2016 we're still using applications that even require a signature, and anything requiring that kind of approval isn't going through eServices.

Actually, there's very little that really does - Promos and 120s are online now, which were the big thing.

Probably the major one still is Wing Banker, which could go away if CAP made better use of Sertifi.


"That Others May Zoom"

Spaceman3750

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:53:00 PM
Quote from: Spaceman3750 on August 15, 2016, 02:46:06 PM
It still floors me that in 2016 we're still using applications that even require a signature, and anything requiring that kind of approval isn't going through eServices.

Actually, there's very little that really does - Promos and 120s are online now, which were the big thing.

Probably the major one still is Wing Banker, which could go away if CAP made better use of Sertifi.

Encampment applications. Plus it would be nice to see a list of my cadets who have signed up for encampment (also integrating CEAP).

Eclipse

Quote from: Spaceman3750 on August 15, 2016, 02:55:13 PM
Encampment applications. Plus it would be nice to see a list of my cadets who have signed up for encampment (also integrating CEAP).

Yeah, I'd love to see those moved to the NCSA system or similar.  One of the few things I still sign "wet" as I want to see the whole
packet.


"That Others May Zoom"

stillamarine

Quote from: Spaceman3750 on August 15, 2016, 02:46:06 PM
Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:42:01 PM
The same goes for "signed" .pdfs that aren't flattened as the final step - you can go in an pull out the sig very easily.
Always make sure to do that last step.

Or I can just use a screen shot to carve it out in 2 seconds.

It still floors me that in 2016 we're still using applications that even require a signature, and anything requiring that kind of approval isn't going through eServices.

What about senior applications with the fingerprint card? If there's away to do those I've missed it.
Tim Gardiner, 1st LT, CAP

USMC AD 1996-2001
USMCR    2001-2005  Admiral, Great State of Nebraska Navy  MS, MO, UDF
tim.gardiner@gmail.com

Eclipse

Quote from: stillamarine on August 15, 2016, 03:50:46 PM
What about senior applications with the fingerprint card? If there's away to do those I've missed it.

Yeah, still has to be send via USPS, huge PITA.  Not sure how CAP would ever get around that unless it
could somehow get into the Livescan system.

"That Others May Zoom"

Майор Хаткевич

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 03:56:54 PM
Quote from: stillamarine on August 15, 2016, 03:50:46 PM
What about senior applications with the fingerprint card? If there's away to do those I've missed it.

Yeah, still has to be send via USPS, huge PITA.  Not sure how CAP would ever get around that unless it
could somehow get into the Livescan system.


I've always wondered, especially now with high quality scanners...why can't we simply scan the finger print card? Isn't that what the FBI does in the end with them?

JeffDG

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:35:14 PM
Quote from: JeffDG on August 15, 2016, 01:38:17 PM
Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 01:23:18 AM
FoxIT Phantom Standard
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf-editor/
This has all the features of Acrobat, and non-profits can purchase it for ~$50.
Acrobat XI Pro is $55 for non-profits
http://www.techsoup.org/products/adobe-acrobat-xi-pro-for-windows--G-40959--Tasks

That is not an Acrobat license, that is Techsoup's admin fee for an Adobe organizational donation.
The licenses (up to 4per FY) have to be donated to the organization, not an individual user per the terms listed
on that page and here: http://www.techsoup.org/restrictions#adobe.  The organizaiton then pays whatever the "donation" costs to Adobe direct.

Individuals can apply Acrobat DC, the admin fee is $5 and the monthly cost is $12.99. That's about $160 for year one.
Actually...it is an admin fee for a DONATION.  You pay the $55, and Adobe donates a license to you at no additional cost.

Adobe also permits you to run a second copy on a personal machine once you pay for a license for the primary.

Eclipse

Quote from: Капитан Хаткевич on August 15, 2016, 04:02:02 PM.why can't we simply scan the finger print card? Isn't that what the FBI does in the end with them?

I think that is how NHQ gets them to the FBI, I could be wrong on that, but it was brought up in a recent conversation in that
regard.

The chain of possession would certainly be more direct and the time to reception greatly decreased.

With that said, have you seen the way some members scan stuff?   Everything from crooked blurry bizarre custom formats to
25Mb TTFs.  Not insurmountable, but part of the Great Plan.

"That Others May Zoom"

JeffDG

Quote from: Eclipse on August 15, 2016, 02:53:00 PM
Probably the major one still is Wing Banker, which could go away if CAP made better use of Sertifi.
If only someone had thought of that, and perhaps done a presentation this past weekend at the National Conference on how to do that.

Eclipse

#19
Quote from: JeffDG on August 15, 2016, 04:05:19 PMActually...it is an admin fee for a DONATION.  You pay the $55, and Adobe donates a license to you at no additional cost.

Adobe also permits you to run a second copy on a personal machine once you pay for a license for the primary.

They don't donate it to you, they donate it to the organizaiton.  There's a difference, and it's only 4 copies per fiscal year, so irrelevant regardless.

Further to this, it's likely CAP is ineligible for those 4 copies: https://helpx.adobe.com/enterprise/help/non-profit.html
They might be able to get in under the corporate mantel, but it'll require a few phone calls, ones NHQ has probably (hopefully?)already made.

I looked into TS first when I started looking for alternatives to Acrobat.  Adobe is notoriously tight-fisted and married to their exorbitant pricing.
NHQ is already (presumably) paying for an OEM licensed copy with every computer they buy.

If you can get a copy of Acrobat XI for $55 good on 'ye, I don't think it's going to happen.

"That Others May Zoom"