Nuance Introduces Free Alternative PDF Reader; Converts PDFs Into MS Office Files
March 3, 2010 - Nuance Communications, the Burlington, MA, software company that made news in October 2009 with its purchase of eCopy, has introduced an alternative to Adobe Inc.'s PDF Reader, the Nuance PDF Reader. The Nuance PDF Reader provides the first-ever ability to convert PDF files being viewed in the reader into fully formatted Microsoft Word, Excel and Office XML documents through a cloud-based service hosted on NuancePDF.com. (With cloud-based computing, software, applications and resources are shared via the Internet, and do not have to be stored on a computer workstation.) The Nuance PDF Reader also provides a built-in SharePoint Connector that allows users to open and save PDF files directly into Microsoft SharePoint repositories.
Nuance also maintains that its PDF Reader is smaller and more secure than the Adobe original. The free Nuance PDF Reader also enables PDF form save, annotations and Microsoft SharePoint features not available in alternatives.
Nuance notes that PDF (Portable Document Format) is now an official International Standards Organization specification (ISO 32000-1), which will allow Nuance to develop new solutions that go beyond traditional PDF products, as well as provide features not tied to proprietary Adobe technology. For example, the Nuance PDF Reader is fully compatible with Adobe Reader, but it doesn't include proprietary Adobe “extras,” such as Adobe AIR, which Nuance says can add to download and installation size. The Nuance PDF Reader is just 18 MB to download, and requires just 20 percent of installed disk space compared to the Adobe Reader.
PDF files being viewed within the free Nuance PDF Reader can be encrypted and sent to the Nuance PDF Document Conversion Service, where the user can select a format and have the converted Microsoft Office document returned as a secure e-mail attachment. The NuancePDF.com cloud service showcases the PDF-to-Office conversion technology invented by Nuance in 2003 in collaboration with Microsoft.
Nuance PDF Reader also addresses a PDF security issue found within some readers by providing users with the option to prevent JavaScript installation — something Nuance says the Adobe PDF viewer doesn't do. The firm notes that preventing JavaScript installation creates a safer, more secure PDF environment. According to the firm, hackers have used the PDF JavaScript vulnerability to gain control of a user’s computer, exposing users to system attacks and the transfer of personal information simply by viewing infected PDF files.
Notes Robert Weideman, general manager and senior vice president of the Nuance Document Imaging Division, “Nuance PDF Converter Professional has become the number-one alternative to Adobe Acrobat because it delivers all the rich features users need in PDF, and implements useful features not available from alternatives. Nuance is proud to be the first to deliver a free PDF reader that connects to cloud-based productivity software, in a reader that is smaller, safer and feature rich.”