novaPDF Professional 11.9.492

Overview

Converting a document to PDF accurately is not an easy task, and PDF Reader Pro is a simple yet rich in features shareware that will help you achieve it without trouble. Not only it creates a PDF file with the same content as the original file, but it also has the power to add watermarks, password protect it, modify paper size and resolution, merge it with other PDF files and many more.

Installation

Installation is pretty straightforward. At some point you are asked to pick a name for the printer that will be installed (novaPDF Reader installs as a virtual printer). You can type a custom name for it, or choose between “novaPDF” and “novaPDF Pro v7”. The first one is recommended if you want future versions to overwrite the current installation and the second one is recommended if you want to separate different versions from this one. Then you can set it as the default printer. Before installation begins, you need to select which languages you want to install for the program and after that, one last configuration remains. You will be asked if you want to install an add-in for Microsoft Office applications which will allow you to save your projects as PDF files by simply choosing that command from the File menu. Afterwards installation starts and will finish quickly.

You can install this software in any computer running Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista or 7 OS.

Interface

The main window has a brief explanation guide on how to use the program’s functions without using the application itself. It shows you how to create PDF files using Microsoft Word or Excel, as well as how to do the same from any application that has printing support.

If you want to create a PDF file directly with novaPDF, just select the printer you assigned during setup, and then select the file for conversion. Click “Create” and the process will begin.

From the window that will open you can change various options regarding the PDF file, like how graphics should appear and security settings.

Pros

One big advantage is that you can define different profiles, with each one having different configurations saved. For example, if you are at work and use a shared computer you can avoid altering the settings every time by choosing the profile with the appropriate preferences.

Apart from that, it provides you with many printing options. You can add information about the file, such as title, subject, author etc. or change the way that the images are displayed (e.g. compress them to reduce file size). What’s more, you can embed watermarks and secure the document with a password, or restrict permissions to prevent it from being copied or modified.

When creating the PDF file it embeds the fonts used so that it can be viewed and printed without trouble even on systems that do not have installed the font that’s used.

If you chose to install the add-on for Microsoft Office programs, a new command will appear in Word, Excel and Powerpoint that will let you save your projects to PDF directly. You can do that by clicking on the “Save as PDF” option in the File tab from the menu bar.

Cons

There is a bug when you choose to create a PDF file. The window that opens will remain on top of all other windows, even if the “Stay on top” option is unchecked. To solve this you can just check that option and uncheck it again.

Alternatives

PDFCreator, Bullzip PDF Printer, Software602 Print2PDF, Foxit PDF Creator, PDF24 Creator are some software that can convert any document to PDF. They all work the same way novaPDF does: they are installed as a virtual printer and convert the files to PDF by sending them to that printer. Foxit PDF Creator is the one that stands out because of its simplicity.

Conclusion

To sum up, novaPDF Pro has a lot of options to personalize and edit a document before creating a PDF file out of it. Additionally, it is very reliable, easy to use and doesn’t have any problems working with other software.