Acrobat Reader is a PDF viewer and converter, available as a free download from Adobe. Users can view, sign, collaborate on and annotate PDF files, or edit and convert PDFs into file formats like Excel and Word.
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Flip PDF Pro for Mac
Score 5.0 out of 10
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Flip PDF for Mac from FlipBuilder is designed to make it fast and easy for Mac users to convert ordinary PDF files into mobile friendly eye-catching brochures or magazines with amazing page-flipping effect. Integrated with hundreds of templates and themes, the Mac program enables you to create an unique and impressive digital magazine, brochure or catalog within minutes.
After creating a document, converting it into Adobe Acrobat Reader is usually very easy for storage in my computer, sending/sharing via emails, etc. This also saves a significant amount of unnecessary printing and paper waste, which is great for reducing waste. I don't have to worry about not having the right software/app to view, edit, and share with anyone.
It's great for presentations. It makes even the most drab presentation more interesting, and gives you the ability to add animated elements to your presentation. Everybody uses Microsoft PowerPoint, but for Mac it's a little slow and unresponsive. Flip PDF Pro for Mac kind of solves that issue – you can build your project in InDesign, export it out, then import it into Flip PDF Pro. It sounds like a bit of a process but it's actually very easy. Any designer can pick it up and run with it.
Edit PDFs. One of the biggest challenges faced in document heavy workflows is editing a PDF. Adobe Reader DC does a fantastic job of allowing you to edit pdfs on the fly without having to go back to the original form and reconverting it.
Sign PDFs. I spend a lot of time signing contracts and approval forms. Adobe Reader DC allows me to do that quickly without having to use my mouse or another third party platform. I can do all I need right in the Adobe Reader DC workflow.
Merge PDFs. I find quite often that I need to put two or more documents together in one form. I can do that with just a few clicks in the Adobe Reader DC merge workflow.
You can customize or add certain things like your title, logo, toolbar icon appearance, background, fonts, etc. It feels a lot like a design program – which is nice, as a designer.
The program allows you to embed almost any sort of media into your flip book – GIFs are easy to add in and work with, they add a dynamic element to your presentation (which wasn't possible before).
You can create these things called “hot spots” – basically certain trigger areas in your document that can activate something when clicked – like take you to a e-commerce site, for example.
My documents sometimes had a problem with import and output – sometimes it would take a substansial amount of time to export something.
In their mulit-lingual version, our freelance linguist caught some mistakes, some words were not translated or translated into other languages – which can make us look pretty bad.
There's a limit on audio you can output for each page in your document – it had to be "one audio for two pages".
To be honest, I do not have any say in the renewal of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. It is managed at an enterprise level, and the decision to renew or not renew is handled well above my pay grade as an external consultant.
Again, Adobe Creative Suite is widely used and backed by an industry leader, making the experience very familiar and common for anyone who has used a PDF and wants more features to interact with it. It also makes copy text a lot easier than just previewing the file.
The Word app included with Office 365 offers similar collaboration functionality when compared to Adobe reader but with the option to fully change the original document while reviewing. This is both an advantage and disadvantage when compared with the Adobe reader app. Documents left in the Microsoft Word format also have a tendency to appear different depending on screen size and device used and this can be frustrating for some users. Basically, if you need what you have created and formatted to stay put and to appear as you intended and be printed as you intended if needed, use the Adobe PDF format.
There are several PDF conversion programs out there, but really Flip PDF Pro for Mac is probably the best one that I've encountered. The amount of versatility in the program really sells it to me. It works just like a design program, but as a customizable PDF, and it's easy-to-use interface really helps speed things up with our workflow and process. There's a lot of competitors out there, but none of them really stack up.
It has had positive impact in that it has save considerable costs vs. investing in cloud-based/subscription based software.
In terms of security, it also has had a positive impact, in that it doesn't really require IT staff to take the time to patch the software or work on issues with the software.
It has also had a positive impact in that it has not required formal training for users to be able to use the software.
