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novaPDF Pro Server
Reviewed by Geetesh
Bajaj, February 12th 2008
Introduction
About novaPDF
Download and Installation
Using novaPDF
Pricing and Support
Conclusion
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:
- Open any document -- in this walk through, I'm opening a presentation
in Microsoft PowerPoint that I want to convert to a
PDF file.
- 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
- 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).
- 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.
- You will be prompted to enter a location and name of the PDF
as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Save PDF file
- 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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