blog: add annotations to PDF books

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nikos
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blog: add annotations to PDF books

Post by nikos »

here's the comment area for today's blog post found at
https://www.zabkat.com/blog/highlight-pdf-book.htm
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johngalt
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Re: blog: add annotations to PDF books

Post by johngalt »

I am *soooooo* glad they are bringing this to Sumatra.

When I went back to school in 2008, one of the things I got as a part of enrollment was access to the school's software licensing program. I was given access to several things, like Office suite, etc. but as a student, I was also able to purchase site-licensed software at deep discounts. So, I still have, installed and running, my purchased Adobe Acrobat X (Full on Acrobat X, including install disc, with access to all updates for the product, for as long as I own it) for a mere $50 USD. As I still work with the University art time I'm not violating any license laws up until now (and TBH, the "as long as I own it" clause is ambivalent, for on one hand, an argument can be made that I own it until I die, but OTOH, as a software dev yourself, you understand that there are nuances upon nuances with the wording of these EULAs, and I, as a consumer, never really own anything to begin with unless expressly stated in no uncertain terms).

X is much, much better in terms of resource usages both when not running as well as when running than the newer versions, particularly DC (yes, it is actually less resource intensive to run full blown X than to run DC Reader!) - and the main reasons I keep it are the highlighting / commentary tools, as well as the native Adobe PDF printer (which is loads better than the one that comes native in WinX). The ability to make PDFs out of anything is handy, as well, but being able to highlight and comment on passages is a godsend when it comes to reviewing academic papers alone. It works well also with contracts and other legal forms that are in PDF format.

Seeing this feature being added to Sumatra, even as a preview release, makes me smile - If I ever stop working with the University, I'll (probably) technically have to uninstall the Acrobat. Of course, I'll probably also have much less use for it if I stop working with the University in the first place, but knowing there is an alternative that can handle almost all of my requirements is good news indeed.

Of course, I'd (probably) have to take a look at licensing Sumatra for commercial application, but I seriously doubt it would be anywhere near what a single license full blown Acrobat X would've cost me if I had purchased that retail :p
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Re: blog: add annotations to PDF books

Post by nikos »

Sumatra pdf is open source and I'm sure it doesn't have any usage restrictions
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Re: blog: add annotations to PDF books

Post by johngalt »

Ahh, good point - I was thinking about another one I believe.

This will definitely make my life easier.
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