The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group PDF Hacks - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
The Portable Document Format (PDF) has become a de facto standard; it is
universally supported over all platforms, a number of vendors offer commercial
PDF 'solutions', and there are Open Source applications that write and/or read
PDF.
This title takes the reader beyond simple 'export/print to PDF' facilities. For
example, the size of a PDF file may be reduced by a process called refrying that
can reduce duplicate resources — a common situation where two or more PDF files
have been combined. On-screen readability can be improved by cropping.
Convert PDF files to a format designed for mobile devices; PDF carries quite a
load of overheads, which makes it unsuitable for Palms and Pocket PCs, but a
free program, Plucker, provides a solution. Want to edit a PDF file? Not easy,
but by no means impossible. There are editing tools available. These issues are
covered in the hacks, which explain how to use particular the tools and where to
find them.
The 100 hacks are grouped in chapters: Consuming PDF (covers topics such as
available readers, conversion solutions, and pacing a slide show); Managing a
Collection; Authoring and Self Publishing; Creating PDF and Other
Editions; Manipulating PDF Files; Dynamic PDF; and Scripting and
Programming Acrobat.
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Tyler Mitchell: PDF Hacks ISBN 0-596-00655-1 Published by O'Reilly, 278 pp., RRP $49.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the March 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
