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Nathan Jerpe
Neophyte

Date Joined Nov 2007
Total Posts : 192

Posted 3/23/2008 7:48 PM (GMT -4)

So I hear there's free/cheap software around these days to do this.

Can anybody recommend something?

What about encrypting PDFs, preventing them from being copied more than X times, read on multiple computers, etc? Has anybody done much investigation in that area?

Cheers,

Nathan

http://roguelikefiction.com

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 4388

Posted 3/23/2008 7:53 PM (GMT -4)

depends on what you plan to do with them after they're created.

Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!

Managing Editor of Flashing Swords

Visit my art gallery on art wanted
All my books in print

Nathan Jerpe
Neophyte

Date Joined Nov 2007
Total Posts : 192

Posted 3/24/2008 11:16 AM (GMT -4)

Hmmm...I'll just worry about the first chunk of this question, tabling DRM and encryption and all that for now.

What to do with the PDF after its created? Well, I suppose:

1.) Make it available to people so that they can receive it via email or direct download and read it. A Table of Contents, bookmarks and embedded hyperlinks would all be a plus. Discouraging text selection and copy/paste would be a plus.

2.) Send it to a publisher so they can print it.

Basically I'm interested in the read-only aspects of PDF. I've heard of features that provide for document collaboration, editing, etc. but that's outside of my scope, for now.

I saw that SourceForge has PDFCreator, has anybody tried that one?

http://roguelikefiction.com

crystalwizard
Forum Moderator

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 4388

Posted 3/24/2008 12:23 PM (GMT -4)

well, for 1) it doesn't matter what you use to create the .pdf with, as long as acrobat reader can open it

for 2) you best talk to the publisher before you create that pdf and find out what they want and if they make them, themselves.

Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!

Managing Editor of Flashing Swords

Visit my art gallery on art wanted
All my books in print

R. L. Copple
Acolyte

Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 205

Posted 3/27/2008 1:45 AM (GMT -4)

Google PDFCeator. It is an open source program that has worked well for me in the past. Don't think it can add much features like bookmarks and such to it, but it prints right from your word processor or any windows program and will create a readable PDF. It can even merge multiple files into one document. Good for creating a basic pdf file of your work.

R. L. Copple

blog.rlcopple.com
www.raygunradio.com
www.haruah.com

Infinite Realities available at Amazon.com

Firlefanz
Sage

Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 1105

Posted 3/27/2008 8:07 AM (GMT -4)

Open Office has a button to create PDFs straight from a normal file. Works like a treat.

- Call me Firle.

Hannah Steenbock

Mystical Adventures
Sphaira

"Die arische Frau" in Pandaimonion - Die Formel des Lebens
"Der Weg nach Eridani" in Earth Rocks 3/2007 (pdf)

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