MakePDF for Word, Version 4.5

MakePDF for Word, Version 4.5

Your client calls and needs you to deliver prepared documents via e-mail in Portable Document Format. What do you do? If you want a complete, inexpensive (about $40 for a single PC) and fully installed solution in less than 10 minutes, then point your Web browser to www.docauto.com and download MakePDF for Word from Document Automation Developers.

MakePDF is a fraction of the cost of Adobe Acrobat, which costs $299 for a single PC. MakePDF provides access to the most important features, such as simple interface, security, enhanced font embedding and table of contents generation. With MakePDF you can produce a quality PDF file as easy as sending it to the printer on your desk.

MakePDF comes in two basic formats for integration with Microsoft Word and the iManage document management system. There also are variations of the program that provide built-in e-mail integration with any Messaging Application Programming Interface-compliant e-mail system, such as Microsoft Outlook, Novell GroupWise and Netscape. This allows you to e-mail the PDF file from within the document itself with just a few mouse clicks. Corel WordPerfect integration is available through MakePDF for iManage.

I downloaded my copy of MakePDF for Word with Outlook integration from the company’s Web site. The installation was simple and straightforward. MakePDF installs itself within Word as a toolbar with an easy-to-use interface. The installation also creates the MakePDF Printer Driver in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.

As a Adobe Acrobat user, I appreciate MakePDF’s bold features tied to a user-friendly interface using a single drop-down menu. The “Set MakePDF Options” menu allows you to configure the program to your own preferences.

The “Output” tab sets the default directory in which the PDF files will be created, as well as file overwrite options. You can tell the program to automatically use the Word file name for the PDF file, saving time and keystrokes as PDF files are created. Another handy feature is the “Page Layout” tab, allowing users to overlay a PDF file with another file, such as a letterhead template. This is great if the document you want as a PDF doesn’t have the template needed when it was first created in Word.

In the “Fonts and Images” tab, you can set the resolution for fonts and graphics, embed true type fonts, determine how images will be compressed, and convert color images to gray scale as the PDF file is being created.

MakePDF does a great job of converting Word styles to PDF table of contents entries in the “Hyperlinks” tab. Another checkbox converts Web link text, such as www.lawofficecomputing.com to hyperlinks that become active in the recipient’s PDF file.

The “Security” tab has optional check boxes to encrypt your PDF files with a master password. A user password can be used for the recipient to open the PDF document. You also can grant or deny rights to print the file, or copy or alter text, graphics and notes.

In the “Watermark” tab, you can insert just about any kind of watermark in your PDF document in a variety of formats, text styles and rotations.

With your options set, making a PDF file is only a single click away. As soon as you select the MakePDF icon, the Windows printer dialog box with the MakePDF printer driver pops up. With another click, depending on your options, your PDF has been created in the default directory specified. It now can be opened with Acrobat Reader. However, I would like to see an option in which the actual PDF file loads automatically when it’s created.

MakePDF did a superior job of converting one of our training manuals into a PDF document. In fact, MakePDF did a better job in terms of graphics quality conversion, compared to Adobe Acrobat’s same basic feature.

Another MakePDF option allows you to create the PDF and opens your e-mail program with the PDF file already attached.

One of my favorite features is the ability to create several PDF files at once with the Bulk MakePDF program. Simply tell MakePDF the Word files you want in PDF, and with a single mouse click, the program converts those files in a fraction of the time it takes to convert them individually.

The company’s Web site provides a wealth of information on MakePDF and offers users a limited trial version. Since the company offers a money-back guarantee, I recommend you download the full working copy of MakePDF.

There also is a handy user’s guide (in PDF of course) describing all of the program features.

There isn’t much to dislike about MakePDF. This program is a superior tool for packaging important documents in a format that can be opened by almost half of a billion users with Adobe Reader. Law firms no longer have to send unsecured Word documents to their recipients. I highly recommend MakePDF.

Document Automation Developers
(888) 432-3552

www.docauto.com

Price: Prices start at $40 for a single user and $45 for a single user with e-mail integration.

Windows 95 or later

Reviewed by Harry W. Salavantis, a legal software applications specialist and president of Resource Advisors for Computers Corp., in Albany, N.Y.

Oct/Nov '03 Issue

PROS
The program is full-featured, inexpensive and easy to use.

CONS
The ability to immediately view the PDF upon creation would be a helpful feature rather than launching the document through Windows Explorer.

VERDICT
I recommend it. MakePDF is a superior product that should be a part of every desktop.