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Win2PDF Pro Adds New Batch Convert Files Feature

Our latest update to Win2PDF Pro (V10.0.122) adds a new capability to batch convert certain types of files directly into PDF (or another image/text format). The types of files that can be converted are:

[Note: This feature is only available in the Win2PDF Pro version of the software. If you do not have Win2PDF Pro but would like to try this feature, you can request a 30-day trial license.]

Win2PDF Batch Convert can be accessed in 2 different ways. First, it can be accessed from the Windows Start menu under the Win2PDF program group.

Second, Batch convert… can be accessed from the File menu of the Win2PDF Desktop app, as shown below:

Once selected, the user will be able to select 3 options: 1) The input folder containing the files to convert, 2) the output folder where the converted files will be placed, and 3) the file type format for the converted files. The output folder must be different from the input folder.

The conversion process can be canceled if you have a large number of files and wish to abort the operation, or it will convert all files and notify the user when finished.

Only files with supported extensions will be converted (PDF, HTML, XPS, TIFF, JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF). Other file types will be ignored.

Here’s an example: Suppose you had a folder of logo samples in different image formats, and you wanted to convert all of them to grayscale PDF files. You could do so very easily by choosing the input and output folders and then choosing the output file format as “PDF Image Only (Grayscale)”.

You can read more at the Batch Convert section of our online user guide, or try it out for yourself. And finally, the Batch Convert feature can be accessed from a command line interface.

New Feature Preview – Win2PDF Auto Rename – UPDATE!

In a recent blog post, we introduced the Auto-Rename feature. Based on user feedback and internal testing, we’ve made some changes to the interface and improved the functionality of this feature. The latest update to this preview can be installed to existing Win2PDF Pro users by applying the 10.0.120 Win2PDF Pro Service Pack which is available at our support download page.

[Note: This feature is only available in the Win2PDF Pro version of the software. If you do not have Win2PDF Pro but would like to try this feature, you can request a 30-day trial license.]

Here’s a quick YouTube example of what this process looks like with the updated interface:

And here’s the process of using the feature broken down step-by-step.

To start using this feature, you’ll first open a PDF file by either by right-clicking a PDF file from Windows Explorer and choosing Open with -> Win2PDF Desktop, or by starting the Win2PDF Desktop App from the Windows Start menu and choosing File -> Open… to select a PDF file. The Auto-Rename feature will apply to all PDF files in this folder. Then select Auto-Rename… from the Auto-Name menu. You’ll see all of the PDF files in your folder appear in the Auto-Rename window along with several options.

Next, you’ll choose the rename options that you want to use for the renamed files. You can stack or add up to 5 options to Include for the new file name.

As you add options for the renamed file, you’ll see a preview of the file renaming in the lower part of the window. You can make changes to the options until you get the desired final file name.

As an example, let’s consider a folder of PDF invoices generated automatically with a generic name like “output(x).pdf”. If you want to rename these to something more meaningful, especially if there is textual information in the PDF file you want to include for the name, we can do that quite easily by selecting different options in the Auto-Rename window.

If we examine this example window (shown above), we’ll see that we were able to change the “Output(x).pdf” files to ones composed of:

A starting text of “Order”
A separator character of [space] inserted before next option
A Content Search field that captured the invoice number in each PDF file*
A separator character of [space] inserted before next option
The current Month (Dec)

* Note: Defining the search term works the same as before, as was documented in the previous blog post.

Also note that there are a variety of separator characters that you can have inserted between the various rename options, or you can have “none”.

And finally, once you rename the files, it will also give you a chance to Undo the changes before leaving the Auto-Rename window.

More details on the Auto-Rename feature is in our online user guide: How to Rename PDF Files (win2pdf.com)

Initial feedback has been very positive with these changes, but we’re interested in any additional feedback or suggestions. Let us know by sending an email to [email protected].

Win2PDF Not Affected by Log4j Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Just a quick note since we’ve received several questions about the recent Log4j exploit and the alarm its causing in IT departments around the world.

Question:

The Apache Software Foundation has released a security advisory to address a remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228) affecting Log4j versions 2.0-beta9 to 2.14.1.

A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system. Log4j is an open-source, Java-based logging utility widely used by enterprise applications and cloud services.

Does win2PDF use this software?

Answer:

No. Win2PDF does not use Java or Log4j.

Win2PDF is not vulnerable to CVE-2021-44228.

New Feature Preview – Win2PDF Auto Rename

Have you ever had this problem: You have a large number of PDF files that aren’t named descriptively, so you’d like to rename them in a batch process. And further, you want to rename the files based on a specific piece of data that is contained within the PDF file, like a customer name or an invoice/document number?

Well, now you can! We’re in the process of rolling out a new feature called Win2PDF Auto-Rename that will address this issue. The updated setup program for this version is currently available on our helpdesk download page.

Please note: For the moment, this preview feature is visible in all Win2PDF versions, but it will only work as a Win2PDF Pro feature. Standard edition users will see this feature in the preview, but will not be able to complete the rename function. If you would like a 30-day Win2PDF Pro Trial license, contact us.

Let’s look at an example. Suppose we have a reporting system that outputs invoice files with names like “file1.pdf”, “file2.pdf”, “file3.pdf”, etc. What we’d like to do is to search through each PDF file and find the invoice number, or the customer name, or some other field of data to use as the file name. Here’s a short screencast that shows how it works:

Win2PDF Auto-Rename Preview

Let’s also walk through this example step-by-step. Suppose our starting folder of files looks something non-informative like this:

In our example, the files are invoices, and what we really want to do is rename each invoice to the Invoice # that is found within each file. To do this, we first right-click on one of the PDF files and choose Open with -> Win2PDF Desktop to load the file in the Win2PDF Desktop App. For the time being, all the files you wish to rename must be located in this same folder.

Next, after the file has been opened in Win2PDF Desktop, we’ll need to define the search field in the PDF file.

When we select Define Auto-Name Search Field, Win2PDF will search for this text (in our case “Invoice “). Then, it will capture the next string of characters (which is the invoice number) to use for our rename operation. After the selection has been made, you’ll see a confirmation window showing the field data that was extracted.

Now that this has been defined, our last step is to go to the Auto-Name -> Auto-Rename screen to change the file name options.

And that’s exactly the output we want. You’ll see there are currently other options available as well, such as using a content field to find the data for the file name. And you can include a variety of user-defined terms as well if you want to include date and/or time stamps as well. More options may be included in future revisions based on user feedback.

When we select the Rename button, it will show us a confirm window and it gives us the opportunity to Undo the changes if we want to make any changes.

For now, this is a working preview of this feature and we’re looking for real-world examples to help us refine the interface and functionality.

Have a scenario we should consider? Let us know!

Microsoft’s Windows 11 has Arrived!

Earlier this week Microsoft announced the availability of their latest operating system — Windows 11 .

This is not a universal upgrade like Windows 10, however. Many PCs won’t be able to upgrade to Windows 11 due to hardware limitations. You can check if your PC can be upgraded using Microsoft’s PC Health Check app.

Win2PDF supports Windows 11, and continues to support older operating systems like Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and even Windows XP.

While you may be using Windows 11 as the default OS if you purchase a new PC soon, we expect many organizations to continue with Windows 10 as most of the changes in Windows 11 are centered on the user interface and user experience.

If you do upgrade or get a new PC, make sure you are using the latest Win2PDF update for best results.

New Win2PDF 10 Update Now Available!

We have just released a significant new update (Win2PDF 10 build 116) to our Win2PDF download page. As with other recent updates, this is a FREE upgrade for all Win2PDF users using Win2PDF 7 or higher software.

While we’ve previewed several of these features in blog postings over the past several months, now they have all been collected into an official release with enhanced usability features, new and improved command line features to assist with automated PDF workflows, and bug fixes and performance enhancements. It includes:

Windows explorer ight-click context menu for Win2PDF — Right-click context menu in Windows explorer

1) Usability

Added support for directly converting image files and HTML files from a Windows Explorer Convert with Win2PDF context menu. To convert a JPG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, or HTML file to PDF, right click and choose “Convert with Win2PDF (see image above).
Added support for viewing PDF files from a Windows Explorer View with Win2PDF context menu. To view a PDF with Win2PDF Desktop, right click and choose “View with Win2PDF”.

2) Command Line Usage and Automation Enhancements

Added support for using web addresses (URLs) for input files in most command line features.
Added PDF/A output support to TIFF2PDFA, JPG2PDFA, PNG2PDFA, BMP2PDFA, GIF2PDFA, and Image2PDFA command lines.
Added support for GETCONTENTSEARCH command line to return text after a search term in a PDF file. This can be used to rename PDF files based on the contents of the file in a Microsoft Power Automate Script.
Added “Web Page To PDF” and HTML2PDF command line features.
Added support for SPLITPAGESAFTERSEARCH command line to split pages based on a PDF search field.
Added support for SIGN command line to sign a PDF using a digital certificate.

3) Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

Please download this free update and let us know if you have any questions.

HTML to PDF command line option now available in Win2PDF

Win2PDF.com has offered a free online HTML to PDF converter for some time, but it has limitations. It only works with public web pages, not private pages on an intranet or local HTML files. It also can’t be automated.

If you try our latest free update — Win2PDF 10.0.114 — there’s a new feature to the Win2DPF Desktop App’s command line options — HTML to PDF. With this option, you can convert a local HTML file or a web URL directly to a PDF file.

From a Command Prompt window, just issue the command:

`win2pdfd.exe html2pdf "sourcehtml" "destpdf"`

The “sourcehtml” can be a specific local HTML file or a web URL. If the file name or path contains spaces, make sure to include double quotes (“”) around the complete source file name or URL. The URL can be specified as “https://www.example.com” or “www.example.com”.

Using this option from the command line allows users to automate batch conversion of HTML files to PDF using custom scripts or Microsoft Power Automate Desktop flows. Combined with other Win2PDF command line features, developers can build powerful automated solutions based on HTML reports.

Remote Works Podcast from Citrix

The good news is that over the past year, most of us have had to adapt to at least some level of remote or at-home work. Technology has scaled up and companies have invested in tools for collaborative workflow, teleconferencing (e.g., Zoom calls in your pajamas), and converting paper-dependent processes to electronic documents (PDFs everywhere!).

The bad news is that we may need to rely on these tools and processes for the foreseeable future, as the pandemic lingers and pushes more employers to continue the work-at-home model.

One podcast we’ve found interesting is the Remote Works podcast produced by Citrix. It’s a podcast focussed on the changing nature of remote work, with insightful interviews and topics (sustainability, burnout, security, etc.) related to our new work-at-home reality. Each episode is about 25 minutes long and centers around a unique challenge of remote work. If you are a fan of podcasts, it’s worth adding to your subscribe lists.

For those not familiar with Citrix, many of our Win2PDF Terminal Server Edition customers use the Citrix platform to host their applications (and Win2PDF) for remote access, so they are well positioned to have real-world experience in this area.

In other news, we’re still tracking for a new update of Win2PDF that supports Windows 11 (with full support on day 1), and a few other new features are in the pipeline. We’ll have more details of both in a future post. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of summer!

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.

Digital Signatures, Digital Certificates, and PDF Authentication

For centuries people used a wax seal on letters to prove to the recipient that the letter was from a trusted source and had not been tampered with. Did you know there is a way to do this digitally with your PDF file?

We recently added a feature that allows you to apply a digital certificate to a PDF file when it is created by Win2PDF. The certificate — which can be created by you, or purchased from a certificate authority — allows the recipient to verify that the file was ‘signed’ from the sender and that it hasn’t been altered or modified.

Before we get into the specifics of this feature, we should probably do a little explanation of terms surrounding digital signatures and what is commonly known as “digitally signing” documents, because it can be a confusing topic.

There are several ways of doing this that largely break down into 2 categories.

Electronic Signatures (or e-signatures): This method of signing a PDF allows the user to apply a simple image representing a person’s handwritten signature. It is simple and easy to implement, and is legally permissible for many types of documents, but also not very sophisticated. For example, it would be easy for someone to scan a signature of someone else, and then use it to apply to PDF files without the signature owner ever even knowing about it. Aside from the representation of the signature, there isn’t a formal way of authenticating the creator is who they say they are.

Digital Signatures: This method of signing is more sophisticated and preferred by companies that require a greater level of source authentication. With this type of digital signature, an encrypted certificate is embedded within the PDF file. The recipient of the file can view the certificate and verify exactly “who” created it. For example, if I create a trusted certificate as John Doe from Win2PDF Sales and applied it to a PDF file, the receiver of that file would be able to verify that “John Doe” really was the creator of the file and that the document hasn’t been modified since it was signed. There are also different types of certificates that can be used, from simple digital IDs that you can create yourself in Adobe Reader, to more advanced ones that can be purchased and verified by an approved certificate authority (CA).

The new Win2PDF feature utilizes this second method — digital signature, or digitally signing documents using certificates. It requires a valid Win2PDF Pro software license (request a trial version if you want to try this), and it assumes that you have already either created or obtained your own digital certificate. Adobe’s web site provides documentation on how to create your own Digital ID in Adobe Reader.

Here is an overview of the steps needed to apply a digital certificate to a PDF file using Win2PDF:

Download and install Win2PDF Pro 10.0.108 or later software. [Note: This links to the Win2PDF Pro Service Pack for the latest version.]

Download and install the PDFSignWithCertificate Plug-In.

Once these 2 components are installed, you will see a new checkbox on the Win2PDF file save window. If this box is checked, you will get a pop-up to select a certificate when the PDF file is saved.

When the PDF file is saved, choose your Digital Certificate. If you used Adobe Reader to create your digital ID certificate, for example, the file would have a .pfx file extension and be located on your hard drive folder named:

C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\Security

When the Digital Signature file is applied, it will require you to enter in a password to complete the certificate application to the PDF file. This password is something you set up when creating your Digital ID or obtained from a certificate authority.

Lastly, when you open the PDF file in Adobe Reader, Adobe recognizes the PDF file as being signed with a valid digital certificate. You can see how this is displayed in Adobe below.

If you examine the certificate in the Adobe Reader software, it will show the details that were used. Here, the recipient could verify that the file was signed by John Doe from Win2PDF Sales.

For advanced users, Win2PDF Pro also supports a command line to sign PDF files with a digital certificate.

This has just been an overview of the new Digital Signature feature in Win2PDF Pro. If you have any questions please let us know and we’ll be glad to provide more assistance.