A new program that can create PDFs on RISC OS hit the platform today in the form of PDFmaker by R-Comp. The application is part of the new PDFsuite, which was released this week and also includes a PDF document viewer that can print out documents. The collection costs just under 20 quid and will be on sale at the Wakefield 2008 show.PDF documents have swelled in popularity as more and more computer platforms support them. They are usually produced by DTP and graphics applications, which can import and export the file format, allowing users to transfer documents easily between computers.
R-Comp's Andrew Rawnsley said the beauty of PDFmaker was its easy-to-use interface, allowing punters to create PDFs with a few mouse clicks. The software was produced using programs created by !PDF developer Colin Granville and RISC OS Ghostscript porter Martin Wuerthner, with permission.
Andrew said: "Time and again we hear people saying that they use Windows machines for making/viewing PDF files (electronic documents), in the belief that RISC OS is fundamentally deficient in this area. To counter this, we're launching PDFsuite - an affordable CD containing everything you need to view, print and create PDF files on RISC OS machines."
Andrew added: "Time permitting, we hope to have two more products finished this week."
Update at 23:38 23/4/2008
We asked R-Comp's Andrew Rawnsley what makes PDFsuite tick (and whether or not it's Ghostcript, !PDF and a smart new user interface to glue it together). However, he told us: "Thanks for the article - always nice of you to put smart-ass comments and links to alternative products. Always makes one more co-operative in future."
We're happy to pass on this vital information. R-Comp also say they are now using a secure SSL-based ordering form on their website.
Links
R-Comp's PDF suite website
Some alternative PDF tools