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Introduction
About novaPDF
Download and Installation
Using novaPDF
Pricing and Support
Conclusion

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Introduction

PDF creation is so much easier these days -- many programs including the new Office 2007 include PDF output -- and there are several free PDF creators available. So why would you want to buy a copy of novaPDF, our review product -- and if you really wanted to spend some money, why choose novaPDF rather than Adobe's Acrobat Professional?

That's a lot of valid observations -- and a great starting point in taking novaPDF for a test run. Read on to find more...

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About novaPDF

novaPDF is from Softland, a company based in Romania, you can learn more about novaPDF from their site...

novaPDF is a PDF creator for Windows that allows to create searchable PDF files -- these PDF files can be created by merely selecting the Print command from virtually any application that allows you to print.

Other than creating a basic PDF, novaPDF also allows you to delve into some advanced PDF features like bookmarks, links, shared network PDF printing, public and private profiles, watermarks, compression, security, etc. Several of these options are more difficult to use in Adobe's Acrobat Professional product, which is also much more expensive. Free PDF creators on the other hand don't provide most of these abilities.

novaPDF is available in three versions: Lite, Standard, and Professional. All the three versions are also available as Server editions that allow network printing abilities. You'll find more details about the differences between the various versions here..

My contact at novaPDF for this review was Claudiu Spulber - thank you, Claudiu.

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Download and Installation

Download the novaPDF installer from their site, run the setup routine and follow the instructions.

novaPDF installs itself as a virtual printer driver so there is no actual program to run.

To create PDF files, you just have to print your documents to the novaPDF virtual printer, like you would print to a normal printer. The resultant PDF will be created and saved to the designated/chosen location.

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Using novaPDF

Follow these step to use novaPDF:

1. Open any document -- in this walk through, I'm opening a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint that I want to convert to a PDF file.
   
   
2. With the presentation open, I choose File | Print -- this opens the familiar Print dialog box, as shown in Figure 1. I selected novaPDF from the Printers drop down box as the printer to use in this case.
   
   
   Figure 1: Print dialog box
   
   
3. Click the Properties button -- this summons the novaPDF Properties dialog box, crammed with options as you can see in Figure 2.
   
   
   Figure 2: novePDF properties
   
   As you can see, there are options for you to choose in any conceivable area -- navigate all the tabs, and make changes as required. A thorough documentation of all these options is beyond the scope of this review, but you can learn more about them by clicking the Help button on the bottom right of this dialog box (refer above to Figure 2).
   
   
   
4. When you are done choosing all options, click OK to apply, and get back to the open application's Print dialog box (refer to Figure 1 above). Click OK/Print to print the document to the PDF output.
   
   
5. You will be prompted to enter a location and name of the PDF as shown in Figure 3.
   
   
   Figure 3: Save PDF file
   
   
6. Save the file to a name and location you want.

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Pricing and Support

The various versions of novaPDF cost between US$19.95 and US$39.95.

Support options include email responses, online knowledge base, phone assistance, and tutorials.

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Conclusion

novaPDF provides a good balance between price and performance -- it's a very useable option between free and highly priced PDF creators so that you can provide PDF output capabilities to a large number of users at a reasonable cost.

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