Looking for an easy way to convert that website you?re visiting into a PDF file? Computer Geeks has found it for you! While we?ve covered software solutions in the past that do just that, this is a website that requires no software, even offering a bookmarklet that?ll allow you to convert websites to PDF files instantaneously.
PDFmyURL generates PDF files after you enter the web address of the site you?re looking to convert. If you want the ability to generate these PDF files on the fly, you can retrieve the bookmarklet from the front page, giving you the convenient ability to generate a PDF file at any time.
There are even more advanced options granting you added features that extend beyond its core functionality, including the ability to run this off your own server.
For immediate use, visit the site and enter the address you?d like to convert. For future application, you can take the bookmarklet (sitting right in the middle of the front page) and drag it to your toolbar. Once there, it?ll be available for whenever you wish to turn a website into a PDF.
This is an excellent tool for those who love to share the information we uncover during our travels on the net. I love unearthing neat tools of this sort, and will continue to keep Computer Geeks readers updated whenever I happen upon one.
Nowadays, PDF files are as ubiquitous as Word documents, oftentimes being the preferred format for documentation in the workforce. They?re easily accessible with Adobe Acrobat Reader and conveniently easy to exchange amongst recipients.
They?re also secure ? almost to a fault.
As I?m sure you?ve experienced, PDFs are usually locked, preventing you from editing or copying the contents. It?s been reported that some people are unable to even print them, unless privileged to do so.
While these measures are advisable in some instances, where the information is of a sensitive nature, these limitations are usually unnecessary. FreeMyPDF is a free service that does just as its name suggests, freeing you of those restrictions. All you need to do is upload the file to the site, where it then strips the PDF file of any passwords and other restrictions, returning ?it to you for all your editing delight.
I should add that this will not work with those PDF files which require a password to just view the file. If such a password has been assigned to the file in question, you will not be able to use this service to render it inactive.
If you?ve ever received a PDF in the office that you?d like to edit or print, there?s a good chance that you aren?t able to. With FreeMyPDF, a simple and easy to use service, you can do exactly that.
If you?d like to use this service, visit their site here.
When you?re the standard, it?s normal to become comfortable, the popularity of your product trumping the need to introduce changes that are more than just cosmetic. However, popularity is often the result of the familiarity of your product taking precedence over its reliability. In every market, consumers exhibit a tendency to stay with the standard out of habit, excusing glaring flaws that become acceptable in the face of the unknown.
One such example is Acrobat Reader, an application commonly used to read PDF files. PDF (Portable Document Format) is the file format created by Adobe Systems for the exchange of documents. Independent of the usual variables that are attendant to the compatibility of a file format (software, hardware, and operating system), PDF files are self-contained documents of a two-dimensional nature. Until just recently, Acrobat Reader — also created by Adobe Systems — was the the only application that one could use to view a PDF file. A little over a year ago, Adobe released the format as an open format, making it possible to read the file with other solutions.
Acrobat Reader, like all popular products that suffer from the aforementioned complacency, has seen its evolution stunted by a lack of attention given to its performance. Though primarily used for just viewing files, its bloat is obvious, the application consuming approximately 30MB of space. While Acrobat Reader has features that haven?t yet been adopted by competing software, there are a number of alternatives that offer its core functionality without the excess baggage.
One option is Evince. Evince is notable for its simplicity, its name accompanied by a tagline that reads, ?Simply a document viewer.? That?s exactly what Evince is, its unassuming interface underscored by the speed that you?d naturally expect from what is nothing more than a document viewer. ?A neat addition to Evince is its ?Presentation Mode,? which handles the PDF file as if it were a slideshow. In this mode, each page is treated as a slide. Originally written for use with Linux, there is a Windows version that offers the same features.
Another great alternative is SumatraPDF. For those who simply want to view and print PDF files, SumatraPDF does so without any of the lag one notices when using Acrobat Reader. While plain in appearance, not unlike Evince, its functionality is readily gleaned from the easily navigable interface. With just a few buttons, you can avail yourself of this tool for the functions that are most used by those viewing a PDF: open, page-jump, search. Though its use is limited to just those fundamental tasks we associate with Acrobat Reader, it moves at an impressive speed, with a minimalistic design that spares you the needless trimmings.
Lastly, there?s Foxit Reader, an alternative with a feature set that’s comparable to Acrobat Reader’s . Free and available for Windows, Foxit Reader is regarded by many to be the most satisfying choice for those who?ve sought a competent substitute for Acrobat Reader. One reason for its popularity is the impressive feature set: email the PDF while viewing it, highlight part of the screen and save it as an image, and convert the PDF to text.? Those features come with the free version, with even more impressive options included in the Foxit Reader Pro Pack, should you opt to purchase it ? chiefly, the ability to edit your PDF files.
In the case of Acrobat Reader, this is but one of many instances where you?ll find that the most popular software isn?t necessarily the best solution. Acrobat Reader is certainly no slouch, coming from the company from which the PDF originated, but there’s no denying that it can stand to shed much of the weight that its present form is dragging. Until that?s done, the alternatives mentioned above should be more than enough to fulfill your needs where viewing PDF files are concerned.
