pdf

Google Chrome's built-in PDF viewer can make opening PDFs super quick. Unfortunately, you don't have access to all of the same tools you can use in apps like Adobe Reader. So how can you choose to download or open PDFs in standalone apps rather than the browser window? It's a quick fix if you follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Chrome and type "about:plugins" into the omnibox at the top.

Step 2: Scroll down and find Chrome PDF Viewer.

Step 3: Click the "Disable" link to prevent PDFs from loading within Chrome.… Read more

PDF files have long been an awkward fit with the Web, but a new project from the developers of Firefox shows how online PDFs are changing for the better.

For years, the only way to view them was with viewer software from Adobe Systems, which created the Portable Document Format in the 1990s. Clicking a link to a PDF often meant a wait as the software loaded, followed by an alien interface, framed within the browser window, that meant actions like searching and printing were different. It's faster today, but PDFs still don't feel like native Web documents. … Read more

Nitro PDF Reader, recipient of a 2010 CNET Editors' Choice Award, has officially jumped to version 2.0. After spending 12 months in beta, Nitro PDF Reader 2.0 comes to us with a host of big-time features, several bug fixes, and other minor enhancements. Some of the most important additions to 2.0 include:

Web browser integration Now you can preview PDF files from within Firefox, Chrome, and IE.

Nitro PDF Creator 2 As if the original built-in PDF creator wasn't enough, now you can pump out PDFs at four times the speed and with a 50 percent … Read more

Google has begun work on the first step of rebuilding Chrome from the inside out on a more secure foundation called Native Client, CNET has learned.

That first step is the built-in Chrome module used to let Google's browser read PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Linus Upson, vice president of engineering for the Chrome team, revealed the plan in May at the Google I/O conference, and now evidence is emerging that the first step is under way.

References to the Native Client version of the PDF extension have begun cropping up on the Native Client's bug-tracking database. … Read more

Apple's Preview application initially was just a quick viewer for displaying image and PDF files in OS X, but over the years it has acquired a number of features that have turned it into a useful utility, especially since it is much simpler than tools like Photoshop and iPhoto while offering similar basic manipulation options. We recently covered how to use Preview for editing and organizing multipage PDFs, but in addition it can be used to import images from various sources, including locally attached or shared scanners that use Apple's Bonjour print services. Unfortunately, even when scanning relatively … Read more

Businesses need affordable PDF solutions that don't require budgeted training time to learn. Soda PDF Professional 2011 with OCR offers itself as the "Smart & Simple" enterprise PDF solution. It proved to be capable, flexible, easy to use, and affordable enough for individuals and organizations that need more than what free tools offer yet can't afford the big-box bundles.

During the installation process, Soda PDF gave us the option to designate it as the default application for PDF files. The program opened with a Getting Started page inside a well-executed interface with attractive, businesslike graphics and … Read more

Creating basic PDF documents in OS X can be done through the print dialog box by using the menu titled PDF, provided the program you're using makes use of Apple's built-in print services. With this menu you can among other options save, fax, or e-mail a document as a PDF. This is convenient for the creation of PDFs, but in addition you can use both it and Preview, Apple's default PDF handling program, to further manage and refine any PDF documents you create.

Sometimes when managing PDF documents you may want to save only a subset of … Read more

Simplicity is a trait we love in software, and JPEGtoPDF delivers it in spades. This basic utility makes the process of converting images into PDFs as easy as pie. It has just the right number of features; you can customize your conversion job, but you won't spend hours digging through menus and tweaking the program's settings. It's a great choice for anyone looking for a way to convert JPEGs to PDF files without a lot of fuss.

The program's interface is plain, consisting of a single screen that contains all of the utility's features. First, … Read more

Foxit PDF Reader, the program that many consider to be a faster, lighter, more able Windows alternative to Adobe Reader, has recently jumped to version 5.0. This newest release comes with many of the same solid features, a few new ones, and an upgraded interface.

As with the previous version, the setup process is a bit cumbersome. First, watch out for the two check boxes that make Ask your browser default search provider and Ask.com your home page. Opt out as necessary. Then, toward the end of the installation process, be sure to read carefully and opt out … Read more