Filed under: Macintosh, Office, Apple, Commercial
Pagehand lets you compose PDF files natively
by Jason Clarke Jul 25th 2009 at 1:00PM
Have you ever wondered why you can't simply author PDF files directly in a word processor? Most word processors like Microsoft Word use their own proprietary format, or a standard format like RTF. But Adobe's PDF format is the recognized standard in cross-platform page layout file formats; if you send someone a PDF file, you can be virtually guaranteed that they will be able to open and view it. And better yet, what they see will be exactly what you intended.
Though it may not seem like the world needs another word processor, the folks at PageHand decided that the ones that are currently available left something to be desired. And thus, PageHand, the word processor, was born.
PageHand has to be the most approachable word processor I've ever seen. When you first launch it, a sample document opens that is essentially a written tutorial. You are encouraged to change and edit the sample document as a way to get comfortable with PageHand's features, and can always revert back to the original sample document right from the Help menu item. With this tutorial, a new user could be comfortable navigating PageHand and using its various features very quickly.
TUAW previously covered PageHand prior to its release during WWDC, when they posted a first-look preview video. It's now in release, and is available for a limited time for $39.95, after which it will go back to the regular price of $49.95. There is a 30 day trial version available, and a money back guarantee.
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Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
car vehicles said 1:08PM on 7-25-2009
Looks an interesting piece of software if you can pdf immediately after writing, especially since it usually takes me several goes to launch pdf for some reason.
Free trial looks well worth a shot.
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joem said 2:12PM on 7-25-2009
I think it's also worth noting that Pagehand has MUCH better typography features than pretty much every other word processor.
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edward said 7:49PM on 7-25-2009
I would use it if it worked with windows.
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Paulringo said 6:13PM on 7-25-2009
There is a plugin for Microsoft office that enables native PDF creation. It's available here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4d951911-3e7e-4ae6-b059-a2e79ed87041&displaylang=en
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macboy14 said 7:23PM on 7-25-2009
The latest service pack for 2007 enables PDF saving. No plugins needed. It is available directly from the Save As menu plus it gives the ability to slim the PDF down for Web Publishing.
macboy14 said 7:20PM on 7-25-2009
All Mac OS X applications that can print, can save as a PDF.
Go to print but click the PDF drop down button to save as a PDF.
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nizzy1115 said 7:25PM on 7-25-2009
I use PrimoPDF both at work and at home. It works great and functions by just going to the print menu and choosing PrimoPDF as your printer. Best of all its free.
Saint Seminole said 4:46PM on 7-26-2009
I've always used PDFCreator, because Word's built-in one seems to lock up (every single time). But PDFCreator works in all software programs (even firefox).
And it's free, unlike the profit-ware you're advertising above.
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Unregistered said 1:46AM on 7-27-2009
CutePDF for me & and its free even for office use.
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dw808303 said 7:55AM on 7-27-2009
I think a lot of posters are missing the point -- PDF isn't a conversion with this app, it's the _native file format_. No lossy conversion, no wondering if your margins, fonts, or tables are going to change in some unpredictable way. It's a word processor that produces, as its default file format, a file that _every_ user of a current computer can view at 100% fidelity.
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deanshultz said 10:05AM on 7-27-2009
uuummm...not impressed, even if it were free - and not even remotely impressed w/ paying for functionality available for free.
oh, we can skip the "100% fidelity" argument, as it is the rare document that loses something in translation.
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Ross Carter said 8:31PM on 7-30-2009
As the developer of Pagehand, I want to echo what dw808303 said. Pagehand saves all its data inside a PDF file. There is no converting, or exporting, or Saving As. You just save, and the file is a PDF that anyone can view. Only Pagehand can edit the content. For many people, this is exactly what they want: a file format that everyone can view, perfectly, without keeping track of the same file in two different formats.
The PDF format is just one feature. There are many others. We've got some typography features in the works that nobody--note even InDesign--offers.
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