I'm on the hunt....what do I use?

[Kathy]

I want to make a document that has clickable links to anchors within the document.

Add to that, I'd like it to be a saveable file...preferably a pdf or something similar that would be downloadable and then readable without problems.

Is it possible to create a document that has clickable links to other areas within the document? Example...a table of contents that you click on the topic and it takes you within the document to the right page and perhaps has a searchable slot for keywords within the document?

And then...saving this document. What format could I use?

I'm unsure even which was to start my search.... Anyone have some help?

 

[floris]

I want to make a document that has clickable links to anchors within the document.

p d f



It has everything you need, and keeps the layout, copyright protection and easy to print everywhere

 

[jilly]

yeah, but she has to create it in something else, though..

I think you cant create a pdf file directly, unless the newest version is improved - you'd have to make it in word or something like that first, then convert it to a pdf - depending on what copy of word you have, you can insert 'anchor links' in to the document - anchor links are what jump you around a page like you are asking - if not you could also create it in html, and then convert that to a pdf file.. Adobe will let you create 5 pdf files free as a trial before buying acrobat - there's also a free pdf creator at:


http://www.pdf995.com/

they allow you to download and use a program to create pdf giles for free..

 

[floris]

Acrobat Distiller or whatever it is called these days .. has a Word plugin which lets you 'save file for pdf' .. I used this a lot when making invoices for clients, etc. And send a copy over email too. (for those who weren't in my country)

 

[Kathy]

Ohhh...I have no problem making a pdf from a document....My mac does that for me automatically. What I don't understand is...can I make anchors within a WORD Doc and then save it as a PDF and the anchors/links work? I tried it and it didn't work so I didn't know if it was a trick or not. I've never seen a pdf with clickable links (not that I can remember) so I didn't know if this was the correct route or not.

Distiller is 2,000 and is used for network use of pdf creations. (According to what I read on the adobe site. I could buy adobe's acrobat but do I need to if my mac will save files as pdf for me?

 

[Wayne Luke]

Distiller is 2,000 and is used for network use of pdf creations. (According to what I read on the adobe site. I could buy adobe's acrobat but do I need to if my mac will save files as pdf for me?

You need the full version of Adobe Acrobat on your machine. Your Mac uses a simple Unix Library to output to PDF. This library doesn't take advantage of the additional features available in the PDF format such as fillable forms, links, print protection, copy protection, encryption and many others. With the full version, you can do everything in your PDF that you can do on a website and more.

If you want to create full-featured documents then you need the full version of Acrobat which is about $450.00 if I recall correctly. If you are going to rely heavily on page layout such as writing a book, you should also look at Pagemaker and/or Indesign also by Adobe. They can print to PDF and have access to most features plus great layout features. Looking at these myself to make a 4-color catalog for my store.

 

[Kathy]

oh wow, okie. THere is the standard acrobat and the professional version. One is 299 and the other 499. There doesn't seem to be a big difference (that I can see or understand) in the versions. Seems I need to read some more.

BTW, is acrobat the full document creating application? It isn't something that you import a document into...(like from WORD) and then hit a save button?

 

[Wayne Luke]

oh wow, okie. THere is the standard acrobat and the professional version. One is 299 and the other 499. There doesn't seem to be a big difference (that I can see or understand) in the versions. Seems I need to read some more.

Adobe Products are expensive.

BTW, is acrobat the full document creating application? It isn't something that you import a document into...(like from WORD) and then hit a save button?

Think it does both but I am not sure on the details which are a little fuzzy on the Adobe site. I personally haven't used Acrobat (except the reader) for three years now and then only from within other applications.

 

[jilly]

acrobat is what you use to create PDF's

what you do is open the document, then you go file > print > and then in the printer options area you select the distiller, and it 'print' outputs to a PDF file - thats on a pc though - i havent used it on a mac before so dont know if its the same -

 

[Kathy]

I don't have distiller...as distiller is 2,000 and is purchased for a network (company) to use for creating pdf files within their network (Atleast this is what I understand based on the adobe website).

As for saving files as pdf, I can do this as you described, jilly...without distiller. I'm on a mac and its built in.

But it doesn't save the file with the extras as wayne mentioned above. I need to find a mac alternative to the acrobat...or find someone with it on their pc that I can hire their help. Or purchase standard acrobat if it does what I need...LOL

 

[jilly]

what about the monthly option?

I think they have an option for $9.95 a month, and you can create unlimited PDF files online - I used it for a month, because I had a lot of PDF's to convert, and then cancelled it. It worked fine - I don't know if the online option works for Macs, but I dont see why it wouldnt - here is the link, and they let you sign up for an account and create 5 trial pdf's for free:

https://createpdf.adobe.com/index.pl/4068497567.00271?BP=IE&v=AHP

 

[Wayne Luke]

Unfortunately she needs advanced features. These aren't available in the cheap alternatives you keep pointing out. While they are good alternatives, they don't allow you to tie a PDF to a particular computer for example or prevent printing or include hyperlinks or forms that can be filled out online.

I do suggest that people follow these lower priced alternatives if all you need are basic documents that can be read on multiple platforms. PDF995 is especially good and it is what I use for most of my PDF creation.

 

[Shane]

Would you be creating PDF files off a website cause PHP does support a PDF creator.

 

[KeithMcL]

Kathy, I'm not sure if this is any good but try http://www.jawspdf.com/download/index.html

 

[Kathy]

Thanks, I'll check all these out.

I did find that my workplace has acrobat in one of the labs so I'll be working on my computer in WORD and then taking the file to convert it on acrobat to see if that works. If not, I'll create the entire document on acrobat to see how it goes.

 

[padmaster]

FWIW - I created an 'Engineering Procedures' document in Word for my department at work. I turned on the document map and used 'headings' for the clickable 'table of contents' in the document map.

 

[mcahill]

If it helps...

there is a PDF class for PHP which lets you create PDF's on the fly off the server. I am using it to create contract documents, etc.

http://www.ros.co.nz/pdf/

It's not simple, but it beats spending thousands on distiller to sit on a server and process a document a week.

 

[Shane]

Kathy, I'm not sure if this is any good but try http://www.jawspdf.com/download/index.html

I use this one myself. It is really good. A++++++++++++++++++++ from me.