Wisconsin Lawyer
June 01, 2013
Comparison of PDF Software for Lawyers
Several products for working with PDFs are available, but as with many categories of technology, different companies’ products are not identical and a product good for one firm is not necessarily the best for another.
The author describes the highlights and drawbacks of four PDF products – Acrobat, Nitro Pro 8, PDF Converter Enterprise 8, and pdfDOCS – that have many law firm-appropriate features. A detailed chart lists and compares the features of each product reviewed.
The author’s choice? Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8, because its feature set strikes a good balance between functionality and price. Your preference will depend on your particular needs.
|
Acrobat |
Nitro Pro 8 |
PDF Converter Enterprise 8 |
pdfDOCS |
Creating PDFs |
Word - Printer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Word - Tool Bar Add-on |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Excel - Printer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Excel - Tool Bar Add-on |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
PowerPoint - Printer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
PowerPoint - Tool Bar Add-on |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
WordPerfect - Printer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
WordPerfect - Tool Bar Add-on |
N |
N |
Y1 |
N |
From Scanner |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Drag and Drop to Open Program |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Drag and Drop to Desktop Icon |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Watched Folder |
Y |
N |
N |
Y |
Toolbar Add-on |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Right Click Context Menu |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Combine Multiple Files in Single PDF |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Binders/Portfolio |
Y |
N2 |
Y |
Y |
PDF/A-1a |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
PDF/A-1b |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Outlook Ribbon Integration |
Archive Outlook Message/Folder |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Searchable Archive |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Attachments in Native Format |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Convert non-PDF Attachments to PDF |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
Append to Existing PDF |
Y |
N |
N |
N |
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) |
Native to Program |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y3 |
Make Searchable |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Convert to Word |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Convert to Excel |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Convert to PowerPoint |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Convert to WordPerfect |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
Convert to RTF |
Y |
Y |
N |
N |
Convert to TXT |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Convert to Image |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Editing Documents |
Editing Text |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Add New Text |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Replace Text |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Text Reflow |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Strikethrough |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
Underline |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Subscript Text |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Superscript Text |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Highlight |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Comments/Notes |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Callouts |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Stamps |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Bookmarks |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Links |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Native Compare Capability |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Compare 2 PDF Documents |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
Compare PDF Document to Word |
N |
N |
Y |
Y |
Compare Any Doc Type to Any Doc |
N |
N |
N |
Y4 |
Working with Pages in PDFs |
Auto-rotate |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Rotate |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Extract |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Delete |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Split |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Insert |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Insert from File |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Insert from Scanner |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Insert from Clipboard |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Insert Header/Footer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Bates Numbering |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Working with Forms |
Add Form Fields |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Form Wizard |
Y |
N |
Y |
N |
Typewriter Tool |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Applying Security to PDFs |
Redaction |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Metadata Removal |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y5 |
Digital Signature & Certificate |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Create Self-signed Digital Certificate |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
Restrict User Actions to Change,
Print, Edit, etc. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Document Encryption |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Password Protect Documents |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Connectors |
Worldox |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Other Document-Management Software |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Evernote |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
Dropbox |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
Box.com |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
Google Drive |
N |
N |
Y |
N |
SharePoint |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Share PDFs from within Program |
Email |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Ease of Use (Rating scale: 1 (low) to 10 (high) |
8 |
10 |
8 |
8 |
Feature Set |
9 |
8 |
10 |
6 |
Value for Cost |
8 |
9 |
10 |
7 |
Manual/Help/Online Resources |
9 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
|
34 |
35 |
35 |
31 |
|
|
|
|
|
Cost |
$449/$1996 |
$119.99 |
$149.99/$125 |
$2507 |
Notes
1 Installs PDF Converter Assistant to Open PDF/XPS command in File Menu.
2 Nitro Pro 8 will not create portfolios but can open individual PDFs inside a portfolio using the attachments panel. Documents will open using the associated program, that is, Word for a Word document, Excel for Excel worksheets.
3 OCR module is now included as part of pdfDOCS base package.
4 Requires optional CompareDocs.
5 Metadata that can be removed is limited compared to the other products reviewed.
6 CompareDocs adds $400 per user to this price.
7 Upgrade from Acrobat 7 Standard or Pro or newer for $199.