Windows 10 – PDF Blog – Topics from the makers of Win2PDF

Win2PDF on A Mac? Win2PDF Pro Now Works On Windows for Arm devices, Including Macs

For years (decades, actually), Win2PDF has been providing customers with software to create, convert, and modify PDF files on their Windows computers. Typically, these have been Intel-based PCs, servers, and even older Macs/Macbooks with Intel-based processors (running Windows virtualization software like Parallels or VMWare).

But now we’re starting to get requests for Windows on Arm-based devices, which are increasingly popular for light-weight notebooks, tablets and especially with the newer Apple Mac M1 and M2 computers.

Starting today, with our Win2PDF Pro 10.0.159 prerelease, we’re providing limited support for Windows on Arm in our Win2PDF Pro software.

What is Arm? If my computer is running Windows, why does it matter?

For most users, it doesn’t. It does matter, however, to software developers like us. Additional coding is required to make software compatible with Windows for Arm, and we’ve just started that process with this prerelease. Very simply put, historically Intel processors have been more powerful and versatile (requiring comparatively higher resources and power). Arm processors, on the other hand, are newer, more efficient, require less power, and are increasingly matching or exceeding performance compared to Intel chips.

That’s why Arm processors are popular right now. Their low power consumption makes them ideal for lightweight mobile products like Apple MacBooks and Microsoft Surface.

Will Win2PDF Pro fully support Windows on Arm?

The Win2PDF Pro software contains three primary components – a PDF printer (named “Win2PDF”), an Image printer (named “Win2Image”), and a Win2PDF Desktop App. The Win2PDF printer creates PDFs by printing from any application, the Win2Image printer creates image files by printing from any application, and the Win2PDF Desktop supports multiple format conversions to and from PDF, batch convert, advanced rename features, and email options.

Currently, the Win2PDF Pro for Windows on Arm prerelease only supports the Win2PDF Desktop App and command line functionality. The reasons for the limited support are lengthy and technical, but in a nutshell, the first two components – Win2PDF and Win2Image – are printers, and these printers are more difficult to adapt to work on different hardware. We’ll continue to evaluate and work on expanded support for Windows on Arm in the future, but for now, it’ll just work with the Win2PDF Desktop App and command line.

Ready to get started?

Head over to the Win2PDF website to download Win2PDF Pro for Windows on Arm now.

If you do not already have a Win2PDF Pro license, request a 30-day trial license and put “Win2PDF Pro for ARM” in the Subject field.

New Win2PDF Pro Features: Batch Convert To A Single PDF File

In our previous blog post announcing the 10.0.154 Win2PDF Update, we mentioned a couple of new features that are specific to Win2PDF Pro. Let’s take a closer look at the first.

Batch Convert to a Single Merged PDF File

Previously, the batch convert feature in Win2PDF Desktop converted a folder of files in one format to another folder with a different format. If you had 10 .JPG files, for example, you could create 10 PDF files with batch convert.

However, suppose you had a folder of image files that were scanned pages of a book or document and you wanted to convert them all into a single PDF file, and one that had searchable text?

That’s where the new feature comes in. To use it, you just need to open the Win2PDF Desktop app and choose Batch Convert…

Select the folder that has your original files (Convert Files From). These can be PDF files, image files, or documents in various formats. And select the output folder (Save To Folder), and then choose the Save Type to be “Merged File…” When any of the “Merged File…” options are selected, you will be able to input a Merged File Name for the resulting file.

In our example, we’ll convert a folder of seven .PNG image files (each representing a scanned survey result), and store the results in as a Searchable (OCR) PDF file named ‘Survey Results.pdf’. Note: Any type of PDF output format can be used, but the OCR feature will make sure the results are searchable.

Notice that there are several Merged File options, which allows you to control the order in which the files are merged together. They can be sorted by alphabetical order (based on the original filename), or based on the time the original files were created or modified. When you press the Convert button, you’ll see the following pop-up.

And that’s really all there is to it. In this case, the seven individual image files (pages) in one folder have been saved to a single PDF file, and one that is searchable.

The Win2PDF BATCHCONVERT command line has also been updated to support merging to a single PDF.

Batch Merge PDFs To A Single PDF

In addition to batch converting between formats, you can also batch merge folders of existing PDF files to a single merged PDF. You aren’t limited to only converting between files types, you can also merge multiple PDF files together.

It operates in the same way by opening the “Batch Convert…” window and then choosing a folder of PDF files as the input. Again, you can choose the order of merging based on the file names, or the dates of creation or modification of the files.

You can also combine multiple PDFs into a single merged PDF from the command line using the BATCHCONVERT command.

This has been a frequently requested feature. In prior releases, Win2PDF could only append one file at a time, and we’ve had many customers wanting to merge multiple PDFs together in a single operation. Now you can with one click!

If you want to try this feature please request a 30-day evaluation license for Win2PDF Pro.

New Microsoft Edge Browser To Use Adobe Reader As Default PDF Viewer

Microsoft and Adobe recently announced the inclusion of Adobe Reader as the default PDF reader in its newest Edge web browser. Basically, Microsoft will swap out its own PDF reader with Adobe’s. The result will be “higher fidelity for more accurate colors and graphics, improved performance, strong security for PDF handling, and greater accessibility, including better text selection and read-aloud narration,” Microsoft claims.

This move is expected to streamline the PDF reading experience for Edge users, and make it easier to access and view PDF files directly within the browser.

“This addition will only be available in Edge for Windows 10 and 11 at first, and it will arrive in the form of a browser update that’s delivered next month, in March 2023.”

For years, Adobe Reader has been the go-to PDF reader for most users, but with the inclusion of Adobe Reader in Edge, users will have a more seamless experience reading PDF files without having to download and install a separate application. This integration is expected to benefit users who work with PDF files regularly, such as those in business or education.

Microsoft’s decision to include Adobe Reader in Edge is part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the browser’s functionality and user experience. Having a more reliable and feature-rich native PDF viewer in the Edge browser is positive development for all users of PDF technology, including Win2PDF customers.

Creating A Custom Paper Size For PDF Files Using Win2PDF

Most paper printers can support a limited number of standard paper sizes. In the United States, the 8.5” x 11” letter paper size is used most commonly, while the 8.5” x 14” legal paper size is used less frequently. In Europe and other countries, a slightly different sized A4 (297 x 210 mm) paper size is used most commonly, along with other metric based sizes.

Even though they aren’t printing to paper, virtual printers like Win2PDF and Win2Image support a large number of standard paper sizes. In addition, Win2PDF and Win2Image also support custom paper sizes. Suppose you are printing a large spreadsheet and don’t want to “shrink” the table to fit on a standard paper size, and also don’t want to see the table spill over and get broken up onto multiple pages in the PDF file. This is easy to do using a custom paper size.

Here is a short video that shows how to create a custom paper size for Win2PDF.

How to Create A Custom Paper Size for Win2PDF

Custom paper sizes are available and work the same for all versions of Win2PDF and Win2Image.

A Better XPS Viewer for Windows 10 & Windows 11

Though Microsoft’s XPS Viewer is still available in Windows 10 and Windows 11, it is no longer enabled by default. Users who still need an XPS viewer, however, can now use the most recent update to the Win2PDF Desktop app which supports viewing (and manipulating) XPS files directly. You can even directly convert XPS to PDF for better long term archiving. This is more useful than having to install the Microsoft XPS Viewer manually (by adding it via the optional features in Windows settings) and be limited to only viewing XPS files.

By using Win2PDF Desktop as an XPS Viewer, You can open and view an XPS file, extract or split pages, and export to a different file format like PDF, text or image formats.

XPS Viewer support is included as a free update to our 10.0.124 Win2PDF download.

* For more details on the XPS (XML Paper Specification) file format definition, you can read the subject article on Wikipedia.

Win2PDF will support the new Windows 11 operating system

Microsoft announced details of its latest version of Windows operating system last week. Windows 11, as it will be called, will have some new features and interface changes, and will be a free update to existing Windows PCs. It will be available later this year.

Will Win2PDF support it?

Yes! Win2PDF will fully support Windows 11* when it is officially released. We intend to release Win2PDF on the same day that the Windows 11 software is made available.

_{* Just as with Windows 10, Win2PDF will only support Windows 11 with the Intel and AMD processors (which accounts for most PCs); it will not support Windows 11 on the Qualcomm (ARM) processors.}

Will my current PC be able to run Windows 11?

Microsoft has an overview of how to find device specification requirements, versions, and languages available for Windows 11. They also have an app you can download to see if your existing PC will be capable of installing Windows 11.

Will there be a charge for the Windows 11 Win2PDF update?

No. It will be a free update to all Win2PDF 7 and later versions of Win2PDF.

If I get a new Windows 11 PC, will I be able to transfer my license to a brand new PC?

Yes. Just install Win2PDF on your new PC and use your existing license code to activate the software.

We’ll have further announcements prior to the release of both Windows 11 and Win2PDF later this year. If you have any questions in the meantime, just let us know.

Get Into Your PDF Flow using Microsoft’s Power Automate Desktop Software

Soooo many requests:

“I wish there was an easy way to convert all of these text files to PDF automatically.”

“Why can’t I just save an entire series of web pages as searchable PDF files?”

“How can I consolidate weekly reports from different applications and formats to a single PDF file without spending my whole afternoon doing so?”

These and other questions arrive in our email inbox daily. It seems everybody has some level of repetitive PDF processing that they do and are looking for an easier way to get it done. And since many of these issues are specific to a particular application or to your own business process, it’s not easy to find a one-size-fits-all solution that gives you the type of “push button” solution you really want.

That’s one reason why we’ve been so focused on creating tools like Win2PDF Auto-name, Win2PDF command-line processing, Win2PDF Plug-ins, and Win2PDF mail integrations. All of these features give powerful automation control to the user to eliminate repetitive steps and reduce processing errors.

Now, there’s something that combines all of these Win2PDF “tools” into a single problem-solving toolkit that works with all of your files and other applications. And best yet, it won’t cost you a penny!

Microsoft’s new Power Automate Desktop software is a free download for Windows 10 users that allows you to easily automate any repetitive tasks from your desktop, including the creation or manipulation of PDF files using Win2PDF. Once installed, you just need to create a desktop flow (the series of steps that automate a specific action or task). And no, you don’t need to be a coder to use it. Microsoft has a simple interface that most anyone can use.

It’s quite easy to build your first desktop flow using either pre-built drag-and-drop actions or by recording your own desktop flows to run later. For this latter method, it works similar to macros in Microsoft Office, by recording repetitive actions from your desktop across multiple applications—like your web browser, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Win2PDF, etc.—and then lets you replay the automation whenever needed.

For example, a quick desktop flow to convert all TXT files in a folder to PDF using Win2PDF (using the Win2PDF Auto-name feature) might look something like this:

A very simple recipe like this could save you a lot of time if you are currently working with PDF files regularly and in the same manner.

We’ll be diving into this topic in a bit more detail in future posts, including some more detailed examples where this might be useful. In the meantime, get into the flow and download the Power Automate Desktop software today and look at the Win2PDF Power Automate documentation to see what it can do for you.

Microsoft Officially Ends Support for Windows 7, Win2PDF Doesn’t

Earlier this month Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 7.

“The specific end of support day for Windows 7 was January 14, 2020. Technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC are no longer available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.”

This will pose problems for many companies, especially considering the fact that this operating system is still being used on approximately one-third of PCs globally.

Many customers have been hesitant to move to Windows 10 for a variety of reasons, and one significant issue is that some software applications that worked in Windows 7 don’t work in Windows 10. Since upgrades to Windows 10 can break older versions of business applications, IT departments have been reluctant to make the changes so far until they work out solutions that are compatible.

The good news for Win2PDF users is that Win2PDF 10 fully supports both Windows 7 and Windows 10, so there should not be any issues as far as Win2PDF is concerned. And we plan to continue support of both operating systems as well as Windows XP and Windows Vista for the foreseeable future.

One note, however: Anyone using the older Win2PDF 3.5 or earlier versions (prior to 2009) will need to upgrade to the most recent Win2PDF 10 version to use the software with Windows 10.

Converting a PDF file to a Word Document (for free) using Google Docs

UPDATE: This post is no longer relevant since Win2PDF now supports for converting Word Files, Open Document, and Rich Text Format files to PDF.

This article about Paul Manafort made the headlines the other day, and it got us wondering: How many people know how to convert a PDF file to a Microsoft Word document? Do you?

While there are some specialized commercial programs that do this conversion, there are also free alternatives available. One of the easiest methods is to use Google Docs to do the conversion from PDF to Word. Here are the basic steps:

1. Open the PDF file in Google Drive

From a Gmail account or any other Google app, click on the Google Apps icon. This will allow you to open another Google app associated with your account, including Google Drive.

Once Google Drive is open, choose Upload files… from the My Drive drop-down menu.

Then, choose the PDF file on your hard drive that you wish to convert to a Microsoft Word document.

2. Right-mouse click on the PDF file in Google Drive, and open the file in Google Docs

When you open with Google Docs, the PDF file will be converted to a Google doc. And once it is a Google Doc, it can be saved as another format, including Microsoft Word.

3. Download the file as a Microsoft Word (.docx) formatted file

And that’s it. Currently, Google’s conversion process does seem somewhat limited and some formatting may be lost, but it will give you an editable Word document from the original PDF file.

Now, what if you don’t want your PDF files converted to Word, or modified in any way?

For that, you just need to encrypt the PDF file to prevent modifications. And there’s an easy solution for this as well. This can be done using our Win2PDF Pro software.

Microsoft 10 S – What you need to know

On May 2nd, Microsoft released a special version of its Windows 10 operating system called “Windows 10 S“.

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What is it?

Windows 10 S is essentially a special version of Windows 10 that is aimed primarily at the education market. Microsoft touts that Windows 10 S is streamlined for security and performance. It is available on many newer, lower-priced devices similar to the Chrome OS devices, which is what this version of Windows is designed to compete against. For those of you that remember the short-lived Windows RT operating system, in many respects Windows 10 S seems like an updated version of RT.

If it’s more secure, is it better than Windows 10?

Not necessarily. It depends on who you are and what you need your operating system to support. Just like the Chrome OS devices, this version of Windows locks down the ability for users to install software outside of the Windows store. In doing so, Microsoft can prevent many types of viruses and malware from being introduced on the device. It also, unfortunately, will block out useful utilities supported by Windows 10 that cannot be installed on the Windows 10 S desktop.

The cost the user pays, of course, is that they are limited to only apps available through the Microsoft Store. If you want to use the Chrome or Firefox web browsers, for example, you will not be able to in Windows 10 S — you’ll be limited to only using Microsoft’s Edge browser. Many other types of 3rd party desktop applications will not be available either.

Microsoft has also announced that users will not be able to use any other search engine than Bing within Windows 10 S, so that’s another major limitation.

Who would use Windows 10 S?

Microsoft is targeting Chrome OS users, and the education market in particular. These types of users generally are just running simple programs and using cloud-based applications and services for their primary computer needs. In education markets in particular, this offers a fast and easy way to deploy devices and keep them relatively secure for basic applications.

Will Win2PDF work with Windows 10 S?

No, not at this time, for the reasons listed above. Win2PDF installs as a Windows printer, which allows it to be used from any application. Since it isn’t a typical standalone desktop application, it’s not possible to package Win2PDF to be available in the Microsoft Store.

What can I do if my laptop came installed with Windows 10 S?

Some devices, including the newest Microsoft Surface laptops, come pre-installed with Windows 10 S. If you want to run applications such as Win2PDF, you can do so by upgrading to Windows 10 Pro from the Microsoft Store for $49.95.

We’ll continue to monitor the roll-out, but currently we do not see Windows 10 S as being a significant platform for business or many home users due to its limited application compatibility.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].