Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 10
PDF Software and Documentation
In this chapter we list and describe software for viewing, converting, editing, and pro-
gramming with PDF files. We consider both open source software, and zero-cost com-
mercial software where it is provided by Adobe or operating system manufacturers.
There is a large variety of commercial software from third parties, which we do not
discuss here.
We also list sources of further documentation and information.
PDF Viewers
The job of a PDF viewer is to:
• Display the graphical and textual content of the document.
• Allow the user to interact with the document using bookmarks and hyperlinks.
• Enable searching of the textual content, and extraction of text via cut and paste.
Not every viewer has all of these features. Due to the huge complexity of the PDF format
and the formats it encapsulates (for example, fonts and images), performance can vary
significantly—especially on files using more modern PDF features.
Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader is Adobe's own, free PDF viewer and the only one guaranteed to support
the various proprietary extensions Adobe has made to PDF (for example, the more
modern kinds of forms and annotations). It comes with a PDF plug-in for common web
browsers, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and An-
droid. It allows forms to be filled in and submitted electronically.
Adobe Reader can be found at
Adobe's website
.
