Here you will find some stand-alone tools, samples, checklists and tutorials. If you run into any problems, we're happy to help:Talk to us!
Changing Cross-document Links
- Written by Matthew
When adding links to an InDesign CS4 document through a script, there does not appear to be a way of specifying that cross-document links in the exported PDF are to open in a separate window (when a link is clicked the file opens in the same window and closes the referring file).
Examining the Structure of a PDF
- Written by Matthew
When learning about the PDF format, or trying to track down problems with a PDF, being able to see the structure of a PDF file is a great help. This utility shows a PDF file as an hierarchy of objects using a tree view.
Extracting the First Page from a Collection of PDF Files
- Written by Matthew
Is there a way, it was asked on a mailing list, to extract the first page from each PDF in a collection of over 10,000 files and write it to a separate file? If ever you find yourself in such a position then try this solution.
Checking whether a PDF file is Searchable
- Written by Matthew
Some PDFs are searchable: others are not. Given a collection of PDF documents, this script sorts them into one of two folders. Documents where the text is searchable are placed in one folder and documents that do not (yet) contain searchable text, are placed in the other.
Placing a Scanned Image on a PDF
- Written by Matthew
An in-house request was, "Can you think of a way for me to add my signature to a PDF and position it where I want it?". This script can place any image (which could be a scanned signature) in a PDF and let you position it where you want.
Acrobat Programming Tutorial
- Written by Matthew
This tutorial looks at how buttons and other fields can be used in a PDF. In particular it describes how they can be created and changed by using JavaScript to make more interesting and useful PDF documents.
W2ml: Word to XML Converter
- Written by Matthew
W2ml is a simple yet useful tool to convert the contents of a Word document to a generic XML format. The XML produced is valid against a fixed DTD and can be transformed, for example with XSLT, to meet any requirements.
PDFLinks: Hyperlinked PDFs from Hyperlinked Word Docs
- Written by Matthew
PDFLinks works with Acrobat Distiller or GhostScript to create PDFs from Word, where all hyperlinks are preserved. PDFLinks is particularly useful when converting collections of hyperlinked Word documents to PDF.
Paper-Based Support for Computer-Mediated Activity: A Cognitive Task Analysis
- Written by Brigit
This MSc thesis by Byte Ryte's Brigit van Loggem, Paper-Based Support for Computer-Mediated Activity: A Cognitive Task Analysis, from 2007 examines how users acquire expertise when using software applications, and how the knowledge acquired is applied in solving real-life problems.
Checklist for Manuals
- Written by Brigit
To help evaluate an existing user guide we have produced a Checklist for Manuals. This contains a series of checks against which you can test a printed user guide before it is published.