Tag Archives | doc

How to Make Working with PDFs Better

Dec/31 in Online Apps

So what needs to be done to make the PDF format better?  Here are a few of my opinions, and some tools and services to make those requests come true.

Better PDF Editing Abilities

Need an easy way to edit PDF files without the expensive PDF editor?  In the past, I have told you about creating PDFs via Open Office.   However, what if you could convert those PDFs to Word doc files to edit instead?  Pickup the Free PDF to Word Converter for Windows to get the job done.

Better PDF Browser Support

How about better PDF support for the browser?  PDF files are notorious for crashing your modern web browser.  So with that said, what tool can you use to make the experience better?  A browser add-on named PDF Download.  It’s features include:

  • Convert Web pages to PDF. (NEW) Convert any Web pages to great looking PDF files, and then save, share, print or archive them.
  • View PDF as HTML. View the contents of PDF files faster and eliminate browser problems by instantly converting any Web-based PDF to a browser-friendly HTML Web page.
  • Control PDF files in Firefox. Stop crashes and get the upper hand on Web-based PDF files by automating and controlling how your Firefox or Flock browsers deal with them.

PDF Download works with Firefox 2 & 3, Flock 1, and Internet Explorer 7 & 8 (beta) web browsers.

Better Printing Abilities to the PDF Format

Now this one isn’t really PDF’s problem, however I do have a solution.  If you are wanting to cut down on the paper you use, printing to the PDF format can save you some cash in the long run as well as conserve that printing paper.  All you need to do is grab PrimoPDF for Windows.  It will add the ability for you choose “Print as PDF” from any print screen.  All you have to do is select it as the printer of your choice.

So what other things bug you about PDF files, or have you found any other solutions to your PDF powered problems?  It might not be the best standard in the world, however it can come in handy from time to time.

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Convert Wacky Microsoft Office Files

Jan/25 in Desktop Apps

I ran into a problem yesterday, because I got a .docx file e-mailed to me and I could not open it. Why? Well from what I could tell this seems to be one of Microsoft’s wacky file formats that you can only open using their products. Since I use OpenOffice.org as my word processor, spreadsheet, and more of choice I needed to find a quick fix.

That is when I stumbled upon this neat tool provided by Microsoft. Get read for this name… the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

(Try to say that ten times fast!)

I downloaded and installed it, now I can right-click the oddball files, pick “Open With…” and choose this new download. When you do it pops up with a box asking you what you would like to convert it to. With my .docx file I just turned it into a regular .doc file and I was done.

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