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The More You Know: Redaction

There have been many exciting changes to our PDFelement Community, and I’d like to take this moment to point you in the direction of our monthly Tutorial Request Thread! There’s been a lot of feedback regarding the need for additional tutorials and explanations for PDFelement features, so I thought I’d give you a chance to tell me what tutorials you want to see in the future!    This week’s tutorial will be on the topic of redaction. I’ve received a few different questions about the redaction tool in the forum over the past few weeks.    For those of you who’ve never used this feature before, the redaction tool removes or hides information in a document, usually in the form of blacking sections out; the black bars notify the reader that the text or image contains sensitive information. This way, information can be selectively disclosed, and sensitive parts of the file remain secret. For example, in the United States, court records are made public, so lawyers often go over the transcripts after the trial to redact personal information.    Of course, this feature isn’t limited to corporate use, and personal users can utilize redaction to protect their own sensitive information as well!    Mac:    Step 1: Locate the redaction tool under “Protect” -> “Redact”. You can change the color of redaction on the righthand side. While selecting colors, you’ll be able to see a sample of what the results will look like.         Step 2: Highlight the sections that you would like to redact. If you are performing redaction on a document with words, the program will likely detect it and highlight the words (refer to the image below). Otherwise, you can use the pointer to select the area that you would like to black out.        Step 3: You can mark all the sections you would like to redact in the document before pressing “Apply Redactions”. It’s important to note that this is a non-reversible procedure.        Step 4: Ta-da! You will end up with a blacked out (or other colored out) redaction on all the information that you would like hidden.      Switching colors    Many people have been asking for a specific whiteout tool, but little do they know, this is it! You can switch the color of your redaction to suit your needs, including making it white.    Step 1: Click on the eye dropper  Step 2: A “+” sign will appear on the colored circle closest to the right. Click on this for the palette to appear.      Step 3: Once you select the color you would like to switch to, the last circle will become that color, appear under “fill color”, and it will show up on the sample section.      Windows:    On Windows, the procedure is roughly the same: you mark the areas that you would like to redact, then you apply your redaction permanently by selecting “Apply”, which is a separate button.        On both versions, you can utilize the sticky note feature to make a note regarding the reason for redaction. You can access this through the menu that pops up when you right-click.            To change the color of the redaction on Windows, bring up the “Properties” menu via right-click.        A bonus feature for redaction on the Windows software is the ability to search for certain words and redact them all at once. This can be handy when you have a large document and you’re trying to cover all instances of a specific name or phone number. To access this, select the “Search & Redact” function on the ribbon under “Protect”.      Type in the word that you would like to redact throughout the document, and all instances of it will be highlighted.           And there you have it. That’s my quick and easy guide on how to use the PDFelement redaction tool to secure your information and files.    Is there another feature that you would like to see a tutorial on? Feel free to request it in our forum, or in the comments below! Plus, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below as well.    By Rebecca Chen, Community Manager at PDFelement  
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The More you Know – Equations for Form Calculation

Creating a fillable spreadsheet or invoice? Want to make sure that the person filling in the document doesn’t mess up the calculations? This is a good opportunity to use the calculation tools in PDFelement! You can easily set the text fields to calculate the sum, product, average, maximum, and minimum values.    After months of seeing requests on the forum for the option to subtract and divide on forms, subtraction and division for form calculation has now been added to PDFelement Windows in version 6.8.0!  Hooray!    Understandably, since these are new functions, there has been some confusion surrounding them. So, here is a quick guide on how to utilize the different form calculation tools: 
  The Basics:  Sum, Product, Average, Maximum, Minimum    These calculation functions that have always been part of PDFelement. The process is relatively simple and similar:    Step 1: Create or edit your forms under the “Form” tab. Make sure that the “Form Edit” button has been selected.     Step 2: Once you have laid out your text fields and are ready to set the calculations, double click or right-click on the text field where you would like to display the total amount. This will bring up the “Properties” menu.    Step 3: Select the “Calculate” tab in the properties menu. Select the second option and pick your method of calculation from the drop-down menu.    Step 4: Select all the boxes on the form that contribute to that final text box. Click “OK” and close the Properties menu. Your commands have now been saved.        To test: Select the “Close Form Editing” icon and fill in your form.    Sum sample:      New Form Calculation Operations: Subtraction and Division    The steps for using subtr action and division are like those above. Once you go into the Properties menu, and go into the “Calculate” tab, choose the third option – “simplified field notation” – at the bottom and manually input the calculation formula.        Tips:   Use “-“ for subtraction and “/” for division   When making your own simplified field notation, make sure that the names of the text boxes match completely, including spacing and capitalization. Otherwise, the software won’t register the box.  Some odd symbols may pop up when you use division (such as the example below), but don’t worry about this. Just continue to type in your numbers and the final total will appear once all the text fields have been filled. 
 
  This is how you can set up calculations in PDFelement for Windows. Any questions or tutorial requests? Comment below!    We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. See you there! 
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The Top 5 Uses of PDF Tools for Students

As part of our Back to School promotion running until September 14th, we are highlighting the ways that PDF software can be useful when it comes to your education. This week, we outline the top 5 uses of PDF editors for students! 
  It's that time of year again - time to get ready to head back into the classroom and start another semester of assignments. Ever tried completing an assignment in PDF format or signing a PDF application form electronically? If so, you’re likely aware that editing a pdf can be difficult without the right software.    We all know that students barely have enough time as it is, and the little time they do have should not be wasted trying to figure out how to edit a PDF.  With a decent pdf editing tool, you don’t have to go through the hassle of having to print a form, complete it by hand and scan it back onto your device before sending it back.  Here are the top five ways pdf editing tools can make your life easier as a student: 
  1. For collaborating on group projects 
  Pdf editors allow you to create pdfs from scratch, scanned hard copies, or convert digital documents. Top pdf editors also include OCR technology that allows you to edit scanned text, and they let you easily transfer PDFs from your device to other devices and vice versa. This means you can fill out your assignment in pdf on your desktop at home, et view it just as easily on your smartphone. Plus, you can easily collaborate with your classmates as well, by using annotation markup tools such as highlighting, commenting, and more. This way each member can participate in the review process for a group project.   
  2. For converting files to different formats
  A good pdf editing tool allows you to export pdfs into other editable formats like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, HTML, or plain text, maintaining the original files hyperlinks, images, and other elements, while preserving the original formatting. You can also convert other file formats to PDF effortlessly, still retaining the same formatting and look as the original. Perhaps you did a class presentation in PowerPoint, but want to preserve the slides later in PDF format. This is easy to do with tools like PDFelement. 
3. For the ability to compress assignments and share them easily    Most pdf editors allow you to compress and reduce large pdf files to optimum sizes so that they can be easily stored and shared in smaller capacity without compromising their quality. This can come handy when you want to send assignments to professors via emails or when you need to upload a large Dropbox file for your group project.      4. For reading e-books and online content 
  Most pdf editing tools come with relevant layouts and settings that offer you advanced reading experience with smooth scrolling and fast search. If any of your textbooks are online, or if you need to view online PDF content, you can do so easily with tools like PDFelement. 
  5. For form filling  With PDFelement, you can create or edit PDF forms easily, either from scratch, from a template, or by converting a Word doc to a PDF form using automatic form field recognition. This is really helpful if you need to complete an application form such as a student loan request, request to get entry into a campus club, or request to get entry into a program. Plus, with digital signatures, you can electronically sign the form and it will be legally binding. 
   
We hope PDFelement will help make your school year a little easier! If you have any other tips for students, let us know in the comments below! And remember to check out our Back to School promotion and discover how you can save big!
   
 
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Spiceworld 2017 – It’s a Wrap!

So what is SpiceWorld? Is that the movie about the Spice Girls?
  Nope. In case you’ve never heard about this conference, it’s an annual one held in Austin, Texas, by SpiceWorks, which is the biggest IT community online! There are always thousands of IT pros and vendors; this year, we had a chance to visit globally well-known giants such as Canon, Cisco, and HP. It was a three-day long mix of how-to sessions, networking, happy hours, and parties.  Meet our Team! From left to right:
Ray – North America Sales Representative, Stella – EMEA Sales Representative, Faisal – Brand Development Manager, Patrick – Product Development Lead

This was the PDFelement Team’s first time at SpiceWorld, and we were a proud Chipotle sponsor. At this conference, we wanted to share our passion for creating simple software solutions for life’s everyday challenges through multimedia, utility, office or mobile applications with all of you!

Pre-SpiceWorld

In my experience, going on a vacation takes a lot of planning and preparation, especially when it comes to packing. Will I need that extra sweater? Are you sure I won’t need these extra socks?

But going to a conference required planning and preparationon the next level. The team spent the week before the conference in a frenzy, putting together presentations, making trips to IKEA, and gathering the necessary supplies for our booth, including the Microsoft Surface Pro that Michael won! Let’s see what our first-time SpiceWorld attendees thought about their experience!
Faisal

PDFelement’s goal for #SpiceWorld2017 was to really get our name out there. We’re the only PDF solution software next to Adobe that offers enterprise-grade functionalities on both Mac and Windows; we were specifically designed for small-medium businesses and our prices reflect that.

My own personal goal was networking. I wanted to meet other IT pros and learn about how they’re leveraging PDF solutions and how they’re improving document workflows at their own offices. Most importantly, I wanted to understand the market for PDF technology and improve our product to suit user needs. I was happy to see that many people came to our boothan d was really interested in trying out the 6-month valuation that we were doing!
I thought that the conference was a fun experience. My three main highlights included:

1. Meeting one of our PDFelement 5 users, it was nice to meet a user in real life! 
2. Trying authentic Texas BBQ for the first time. The portions were massive and the ribs were really juicy. Look how happy Ray and Patrick are! 
3. After watching the SpiceRex wander around the conference, he finally visited our booth on the last day and we got a picture with him! 

Patrick
The vendor I wanted to meet was Softchoice, since they are one of the biggest IT solutions and services provider in North America. We managed to set up a meeting with them at the conference and had a chance to chat. It was cool to meet them in person and pick their brains. Hopefully, there will be a chance to work with them in the future, especially since they are based in Montreal. It would be nice to work with another Canadian IT company. 

I have to say that our first time attending SpiceWorld felt pretty good! We had the chance to meet a lot of IT professionals anddecisions-makers and talk to them face-to-face. I thought it was very valuable to hear about the technical challenges that they are facing everyday. It felt even better when we were able to show them how our product and services can help their company solve these problems.

Aside from the conference, I just wanted to say that the local cuisine was awesome. I will definitely come back to Austin just for a bite of theTe xas ribs and couple of local beers!

Ray

I must say, I was a bit worried about how our booth was going to turnout, since we were designing the set-up remotely and didn’t have a chance to visit the venue until we had to physically set up for it. I was also curious about what the Spiceworld attendees were looking for at the conference, and hoped that they would be interested in what we had to share. But the backdrop our designers made ended up fitting like a glove and the IT pros that visited our booth were very friendly when I had the chance to talk to them face-to-face. Usually, I handle all of our sales inquiries over the phone or email, and it can be very hard to tell what the other person is thinking or feeling.
What I enjoyed most on this trip was the casual culture of Spiceworld and Austin’s BBQ. Overall, I thought that it was a pretty good conference!
  Stella This would be my first time attending at SpiceWorld and in Austin. Going into the conference, I was really looking to communicate with our potential users face-to-face and listen to their voices, and to truly learn their pain points and business needs.
SpiceWorld turned out to be a great place to connect with people, and I was very excited to hear the positivefeedbacks from potential users after I introduced PDFelement. The only thing I regret is not attending SpiceWorld sooner; I hope to see you all again next year!
Well, there you have it. Good food, good drinks, and better company. We are very proud of how our PDFelement team did at #Spiceworld2017. It was an exciting opportunity to showcase our products alongside other Fortune 100 companies; we learned a lot from our fellow vendors about their experiences. We’ll be back next year, and we hope you will be too!       *Written by Rebecca Chen, Community Manager at PDFelement  
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Simplify HR Forms Using PDF

Streamline your Human Resources department with easy to use PDF software that saves time and money while boosting morale and productivity.    A big issue in most HR departments is the massive pile of paperwork that seems to build up out of nowhere. As we know, digitizing paperwork to PDF forms can be a lifesaver for everyone, whether you’re an HR professional or a candidate.    A PDF tool like PDFelement is a great asset to have in your human resource department. Simplify your HR process by digitizing forms like job applications, employee surveys, and time off request forms. Simplify administrative tasks so they can be completed online or via email, allowing for more flexibility and mobility. Enable employees to be more efficient with their time, even when working remotely. And if you need to be reminded, The Benefits of Working Remotely outlines the positive effects this has on productivity and employee morale overall, which should be an important factor to consider if you work in HR.   By using a PDF tool like PDFelement in your HR department, you can:    Store Files Easily  PDFs are easier to manage, store, and update than paper files or even other digital file types like Word or Excel. Having a digital template of forms and contracts on file lets you easily make changes and adjust to changing policies.    Save Time  Another huge benefit of going digital is the time saved from manual data entry. Time is valuable in business, and you don’t want to be wasting it with tedious re-typing and filing. With PDFs you can instantly extract relevant information onto your computer. This makes data more accessible and eliminates human error.    Create HR Forms Easily  Designing your HR forms on a digital platform will save your company time, money, and ultimately labor costs. Need some ideas on how to set up your HR Forms? Check out this article to see some examples for Human Resource Form Templates to get you started, or even easily start from scratch in PDFelement. Create professional and easy to use forms, contracts, surveys, and more using PDFelement’s robust form filling tools like automatic form field recognition and OCR. You can password-protect your document or redact certain sections as well to ensure the document remains secure. Your candidates, employees, and budget, will thank you.    Fill HR Forms Easily  PDFelement’s powerful features allow employees and employers to collaborate and communicate more efficiently, with the ability to digitally annotate, edit, and sign PDF forms, even on-the-go from a mobile device. With easy to use digital e-signatures, and security tools like password protection to ensure confidential information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, PDFelement has candidates and employees covered. Plus, you can easily convert PDFs to or from other file types if necessary to make the process even easier.    When your HR department is spending less time caught up in administrative tasks they can spend more time doing their primary job, which is recruiting, training, and taking care of employees. A functional human resource team is the key to a successful business strategy, and through a PDF tool like PDFelement, human resource management can be made much more efficient and user friendly.    Are there any other ways you can think of that PDFs are beneficial to HR Teams? If so, feel free to comment below! 
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How to Put Together an Effective User Manual for Your Product

Creating a user manual in digital, PDF format can provide the best reading experience for your users. Before you understand how to write a manual, you need to understand the purpose of a user manual. A user manual educates the user about the features of the product while also teaching him or her the method of using these features in an effective manner.  A user manual should be easy to read and refer to. Creating a user manual involves a number of things, the first being the content you include. The content should be clear as well as concise so that users can get the answers they’re looking for quickly. How to write an instruction manual Before you start writing a user manual, you need to define your target audience clearly. You can develop a profile for your users either informally by making assumptions about their characteristics or formally by creating a detailed, written profile.  You should write and format the user guide in a way that is easy for the users to understand. If your user doesn’t have a technical background, then you should go for clear and straightforward explanations instead of highly technical language. Moreover, you should organize the text such that it follows the way users think which means that it is better to group the product features according to function instead of grouping them according to their frequency of use.  Another thing that you must remember when talking about how to write a manual is that you should write down the problem that the user is aiming to solve in detail followed by a solution. Of course, offering a solution to general problems is a good idea when you are marketing your product. However, once the customer purchases the product, he or she must figure out how to use the product. So, make sure to identify problems that users might face, mention them in the manual, and then provide steps on how to solve them. In case of a complicated issue, break it into smaller parts.  Formatting and Appearance of your User Manual Now that you have the content of your user manual, you can focus on the other things involved in the creation. You first need a cover page and a title page if your user manual exceeds one page. Similarly, if your manual is more than 10 pages long, a table of contents should also be included.  Make sure to insert graphics that support the text to make the manual more visually appealing and easy to read. You can add screenshots and illustrations to explain certain points more easily, especially in complex procedures.  Make sure to choose readable fonts since the primary quality of a user manual is that it can be easily read. For an effective user manual, it is best to stick to only a few fonts that complement each other.  Now that you have finalized the fonts and the pictures, you need to think of the layout and what should be places where on a particular page.  Finally, make a user guide template so that while you type a particular section, the text is displayed in the font you selected automatically. Finally, before you start making your own manual, make sure to go through some instruction manual examples to have a clear idea.  Remember, tools like PDFelement can easily help you put together a PDF user guide that is easy to read and navigate, while looking visually appealing.    Have any other tips on creating user manuals? Let us know in the comments below!  
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The More You Know: Setting Tab Order

Today, we will be walking you through the steps for setting the tab order on your forms on PDFelement! I find that I’m filling out more forms digitally than I used to, and some of them get quite lengthy. While my Mac’s track pad is quite easy to use and more sensitive than the one my other laptop had, it’s still nice to restrict all my movement to keyboard shortcuts and prompts when I’m filling in these forms. I really appreciate a form with a tab order that makes sense and takes me through the fields chronologically and naturally. I want to feel that the tab order is taking me through the form in the way that I would go about it if I were filling in the form manually.    Mac After you’ve completely put in all your form fields, and placed them where you want them to appear, you can select “Show Tab Numbers” on the right-hand side. Or, right click to select the option from a drop down menu.  You should see purple boxes with numbers in them appear in the top left corner of each form field. This indicates the current order that the user will be tabbing in. The numbers are assigned in the order that you created the fields in.  To change this order, simply begin clicking on the boxes in the order that you would like them to be tabbed in. You will find that the boxes will change into their new order numbers as you are click the next box in the sequence, so don’t panic if they aren’t changing right when you click! Once you reach the last box on the page, there will be a pop-up asking whether you’ve completed the action of setting the tab order. Click “Yes” to confirm and “No” to continue editing.    Windows  The process of setting up the tab order is similar in the Windows version of PDFelement. I will briefly summarize the steps and bring up the points where it differs:  1) To bring up the menu to set tab order, you must right click on any form field to select “Set Tab Order”. The purple boxes will appear in the same place. The sequence will be set by the order in which the fields were created in.  2) Once you have clicked on all the boxes to assign the order that you want and are satisfied, click “Yes” to confirm and the purple boxes will disappear.    Tips:  Tab orders are set by page. This means that the first field of each page will begin at 1. However, this will not affect the user’s workflow, as the last box on page one will tab into the first box on page 2 and so on.  Although you are setting the tab order by page instead of by document, save this task for the very end when you have input all the necessary fields, as you need to start at “1” to set the order on each page.  The confirmation pop-up will appear after you click the last unclicked box each time you complete a page. Make sure to click the last box, even though at this point, the number will be what you want. Otherwise, you won’t be able to save your work. If you are done editing the tabbing sequence for the time being and would like to hide the purple numbers, simply: a. Mac: Click on another field editing option (such as form field recognition) to let the program know that you would like to exit “Show Tab Numbers”.  b. Windows: Right click again and de-select the option to “Set Tab Order”.  There you have it. This is how you set up tab order in PDFelement. Any questions or tutorial requests? Comment below! We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. Check it out! 
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The More You Know: Creating a Table of Contents

Imagine this: You have a long report. We’re talking hundreds of pages long. Do you want to have to scroll all the way down to chapter 30 manually? Or would you prefer an interactive table of contents that links you directly to different sections of the document in just one click? In this week’s PDFelement tutorial, we’ll go over how to create a table of contents for your PDF files, whether it be a portfolio or e-book!  
  First, you’ll need a table of contents page. If you don’t already have one, you can create one in PDFelement under File -> New -> Blank. You can type up your content and adjust the formatting. Make sure to include page numbers that correspond to the pages in your document. 
  Personally, I find it easier and quicker to create my table of contents in Microsoft Word and then export the file as a PDF. I find that Word has a wide variety of formatting tools more suited to creating a nicely aligned table of contents. There are also templates available to make the whole process go by even more quickly! 
  Once you are finished with your table of contents, open the PDF file in which you would like to include your table of contents. 
  Head over to the “page” menu. Add the table of contents page that you just created by selecting “Insert."
 
  Choose the option “From PDF” from the drop-down menu. 
    Next, you’ll need to link the page numbers to their target pages. Under the “edit” menu, select the “link” tool. Draw a box around the page number. A pop-up should appear once you finish your box. Make sure to choose “go to a page view.” 
      Hit “set link”. Then, scroll to the page that the link should lead to and click “confirm”. Use the same method to link the rest of the page numbers. 
      And that’s it. This is how you set up your interactive table of contents in PDFelement! Note that this tutorial was shown through the Mac version of the software, but the Windows version has the same steps for creating a table of contents. 
  Any questions or tutorial requests? Comment below! We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. See you there! 
   
 
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The More you Know: Enabling Updates

Have you noticed other users getting updates but don’t know how to get them yourself? Are you unsure if you have the latest version installed? In today’s post, we’ll discuss how to install the latest version of PDFelement and make sure you are getting all the updates. This quick tutorial will ensure that you are able to a) determine the exact version of PDFelement you have installed, and b) set up manual/automatic updates.    First, here is how to check which version you have installed:    On Mac:          1)      Go to “PDFelement 6 Pro” tab > “About”  2)      A pop-up will appear.          On Windows:  1)      Go to “Help” > “About”  2)      A pop-up will appear.     Secondly, if you want to know how to set up manual or automatic updates, simply follow these steps:      On Mac:  1)      Go to the “PDFelement 6 Pro” button > Preferences  2)      A pop-up will appear with 3 options. Click on “Update.”  3)      You will get the option to either manually check for updates (which is good for people who like to wait and see how others find the new update before switching over themselves), or automatically have the system check for you. You’ll be able to set it for daily, weekly, or monthly checks.            If you don’t think you have the latest version, you can always hit the large “check for updates” button at the bottom of the pop-up. Or, alternatively, you can go to “Help” > “Check for Updates.”        On Windows:    1)      Go to “File” > “Preferences” > “Update”  2)      A pop-up will appear. You can select to “Turn off automatic updates” or select the frequency you would like PDFelement to check for updates.          Similar to the Mac product, there is also the option to quickly check for updates without leaving your current screen: Go to “Help” > “Check for updates.”    And there you have it! This is how you check which version of PDFelement you have installed, as well as how you can set up update frequencies for PDFelement.    Any questions or tutorial requests? Comment below!    We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. See you there!     
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Create the Ultimate Travel Checklist

Now that we’re winding down to the end of summer, it’s the perfect time to get that one last trip in. Luckily, with digital tools like PDFelement, you can create the perfect travel checklist, minus the hassle!  As much as traveling can be fun, making a travel checklist prior to your trip is not always as enjoyable. Luckily, through the use of digital tools, you can make the process a bit easier. Whether you have a separate checklist for different areas like packing, itineraries, etc., or an entire vacation checklist that encompasses everything you need to do, bring, or see on your trip, tools like PDFelement can help you create the ultimate travel checklist.  Your ultimate travel checklist should contain the following information: 
  · Luggage 
  First of all, we recommend taking a rolling bag if you want to be able to move about easily. It will fit most of your clothes and accessories, but will still be easy to move. Take into account what the weather will be like at the destination you’re visiting so you can bring the appropriate clothing. Plus, don’t forget about toiletries, and what items you’re allowed to bring in your carry-on! 
  · Itinerary Planning an itinerary involves doing a lot of research on what sights there are to see in the location you are visiting. It also involves taking into account the interests of each person you are traveling with and planning activities that cater to everyone. You’ll also need to plan your flight times, accommodations, meal times, etc. to ensure your trip is organized and that you can enjoy it to the fullest! 
  ·Documents 
  Ensure that you collect all relevant papers before traveling including your passport, visa (if required), ID card, cash and credit cards. Also add health and travel insurance, emergency contact list and scanned copies of all these important documents in your bag or wallet in case you lose them. Write them on your travel checklist, so you don't forget! 
  ·Home Security Measures 
  Another part of your travel checklist should always involve security measures that you’ve put into place for while you are away. If no one is available to look after your home or you do not have anyone staying behind, ensure that you lock your home securely and turn on all alarms before you leave for your destination. There are various apps available that allow you to monitor your home while away. If you can’t travel with a pet, ensure your pet will be properly looked after too.  So, how can PDFelement help you get the most out of your travel experience? You’ll be able to make use of the following features:    Scanning and OCR features – make copies and scans of important documents such as passports and use OCR to edit the content in these scans if required  Annotation and collaboration tools – send the itinerary to your friends and travel partners so everyone can edit or add comments!  Form Filling Tools – fill out travel forms or documentation quickly and easily  Digital Signatures – sign important application or documents easily with PDFelement’s digital signature functionality  Conversion to other file formats – If you have an Excel spreadsheet for budgeting, accommodation planning etc., you can easily convert it to PDF. OR if you would rather plan out your trip in Excel you can convert a PDF to Excel or other Microsoft Office file formats as well.  PDF Viewing - lastly, you can read an e-book while relaxing on vacation - what better way to get away from the daily grind!  
Don’t miss out on your last chance to have a blast this summer! Install PDFelement, and start planning your trip!  Have any other tips on how to create the ultimate travel checklist? Or just travel tips in general? Let us know in the comments!               
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Productivity Tools: Create more time for yourself!

These life-changing digital productivity platforms will help you enjoy a lot more “me” time! 
  For many of us, time seems to run at the speed of light as we try to fit everything into our busy schedule. In a span of 24 hours we have so many tasks to complete, whether it’s our full-time work duties, social outings to meet with friends, or family responsibilities like picking up our kids from school. But, what can we do to create more time for ourselves? 
  Thankfully, there are many productivity tools out there that help us do just that – including PDFelement. We just have to put the effort into researching which ones work best! 
  Lucky for you, we’ve compiled the following list to help you discover which productivity tools might be worth checking out: 
  1.      ProofHub 
  This productivity tool is available for both your PC and your mobile phone. ProofHub is an ideal management tool as it helps you plan, organize and deliver projects on time. Moreover, thousands of companies and project management teams are using ProofHub globally. Some of its characteristics are: 
  Task management  Collaboration and Discussion  Notes/Timer  Gantt Charts  OneDrive/GoogleDrive  Outlook/Dropbox  iCal  Third-party integration    2.      HootSuite
  This tool is perfect for managing all your social media accounts in one place. You can schedule posts, allocate assignments on social media, organize Twitter, measure performance across all social media platforms and other such activities. With HootSuite, you do not need to switch between multiple windows that clutter your desktop. You can conveniently manage everything in one place! 
  3.      Buffer 
  This is another productivity tool that is beneficial for social media managers. Buffer is especially useful as it aids in sharing articles via the World Wide Web. You don’t even have to deal with the hassle of sending these online articles from different social media accounts. With Buffer, you can connect your social media accounts and customize the information that you want to share. You can even queue an article to be shared at a time you specify. 
  4.      Productive for iOS 
  This handy tool allows you to track and monitor your entire day. It supports vibrant colors in its user interface and a "cool" design that art enthusiasts will love. From walking your dog, to remembering to take your medication, to scheduling some time to relax, you can monitor it all with Productive. 
  5.      Trello 
  Trello is another productivity tool that aids you in organizing and managing your work or projects. Also, this tool can be used by both individuals and businesses to make a to-do list and schedule your day. With Trello, it is all simple navigation as you drop "cards" into lists and Trello automatically organizes your work for you. 
  6.      Toggl 
  This tool is handy and simple to use. It can be used for easily tracking time. All you have to do is download Toggl, click the Toggl button, and the timer will start. This allows you to manage your time and complete tasks efficiently. 
  7.      IFTTT 
  If This Then That is a tool that allows you to connect and upload photos and information to your social media accounts. Also, it allows multiple apps to work together, such as Instagram and Google Cloud. This app can even send you reminder e-mails. For example, you can tell the app to send you an e-mail if it is going to rain tomorrow. 
  8.      LastPass 
  This productivity tool keeps passwords secure in a secure location, and audits them, thus making them more secure. With LastPass, you need not worry about remembering your password as this tool will do it for you. No more writing passwords on post-it notes that are in clear view of your coworkers! 
  9.      Evernote 
  This tool is a favorite for many as it allows you to store your documents, notes, presentations and more, all in one convenient location. 
  10.  Instant 3.0 
  Using this tool, you can track how much time you spend on various activities throughout the day, thus allowing you to allocate and manage your time more efficiently in the future, and figure out what time wasters to avoid. 
   Of course, any of these tools can be used alongside PDFelement to enhance your productivity even further! From making quick and convenient notes on your PDF docs, to easily converting PDF to other formats, you’ll save so much time and energy when you use PDFelement or any of the above tools! 
  What did you think of our list? Do you have other favorites that you’d like to add? If so, let us know in the comments below! 
 
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5 Ways PDFs can Help you Meet the Needs of Your Clients

Keeping your clients happy is the hallmark of any good business. 
  After all, that’s where your profits come from, so at the end of the day, it’s what keeps your company afloat. To ensure your meeting the needs of your customers, it’s important to have the right tools at your disposal. And one of the most useful tools is the PDF.
  As we all know, the PDF has numerous benefits, which is why it has become a publishing standard for many organizations across the globe. The format ensures quicker document delivery in a cost-effective and versatile way and allows the receiver to easily view, store, print, share, and navigate a document that likely carries vital information.
  Here are five ways in which PDFs help you meet the needs of your most important clients and customers: 
  1. There’s no or little cost involved
  No special program is needed for viewing a PDF. In fact, one can easily download one of the many free PDF readers available, including the free trial version of PDFelement! Despite being free, PDFs are much faster, and the documents are high-quality as well. Due to the format, the documents can be distributed globally without spending a penny, and they can be printed anywhere too., meaning you can send any document, to any customer, at any time!
  2. The format is the same across all platforms 
  PDFs are the same across all devices. You won’t experience missing fonts, or formatting issues like you would in a text document. It is crucial that business agreements and documents look the same for all people viewing them, particularly when application forms, invoices, tender documents, tax returns, and other similar files are involved. PDFs ensures that the files given to the clients can be viewed the same way across multiple platforms without changing the appearance of the document, meaning each customer sees the document the way they were meant to.
  3. It’s perfect for record-keeping and archiving
  It’s easy to make PDFs searchable, which means it’s also easy to navigate them. For instance, if a client receives a lengthy business document, they can use the search function to simply enter a keyword to quickly find the content they’re looking for. You can also magnify the document without negatively affecting the quality, which is useful when there are visual aids like charts and graphs involved. A PDF format is also ideal for archiving and storing documents. It’s a highly compressed document format that lets you effectively manage text, vectors, bitmaps, and more.
  4. It’s easy to email and share
  Since PDFs are compact in size, they can be easily shared and emailed. PDFs reduce the size of the document drastically without affecting the quality of the document. Consequently, PDFs reduce storage and expensive bandwidth issues which means that changing word processor documents, spreadsheets, and graphics to PDFs can significantly reduce the document size, thus contributing to real savings in bandwidth congestion and email server storage. Another plus is that significant time can be saved when retrieving emails from the server. 
  5. And it’s more secure
  Documents like legal contracts and proposals are at high risk of manipulation or falling into the wrong hands which can lead to grave consequences. However, with PDF documents, there is a lower risk of tampering involved since PDFs provide both 40-bit and 128-bit encryption along with password restricted viewing, printing, and copying. Moreover, by using watermarks, users have the ability of digitally emboss the document with their own, unique brand.  As well, they can redact sensitive content that they don’t want just anyone to read, meaning clients can feel secure when doing business with you. 
  Having a strong PDF editor like PDFelement on hand helps you ensure that you are meeting the needs of your customers by providing them with top-notch documentation. 
  Do you have any other examples of how PDFs help serve clients better? Comment below!
   
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The More You Know: Mouse Triggers

The ability to create a form can come in very handy. You can make complicated and lengthy documents – such as contracts or applications – fillable and easy to complete within minutes. You’ve likely played around with the text field properties to see what you can do to make your forms even more awesome and accessible, and you may have come across a drop-down menu full of mouse triggers. Typically, mouse triggers are used to set off specific actions, such as refreshing the form or opening a link online.         Have you ever wondered what mouse triggers actually do? Or why there are six different actions? When I first learned PDFelement, I ignored mouse triggers because I only needed one action to do what I wanted with my form. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I figured that many of you might be confused and seeking answers as well.    After reaching out to a former customer service representative who really knew the ins and outs of the software, and doing a bit of experimentation myself, I’ve come up with a definition for each trigger.         Triggers:  Mouse up: The release after a click. After the mouse’s button goes up, this action will ensue.   Mouse down: The mouse-click. When the mouse’s button is pressed down, this action will ensue.  Mouse enter: This action will ensue when you move the pointer so that it enters the form field.  Mouse exit: When the pointer leaves the form field, this action will ensue.  On focus: This action will ensue when the form field has been clicked on and is being focused on.   On blur: When the form field is out of focus, which happens when another place or button has been clicked, this is the action that will ensue.    Other quick fun facts for form field properties:  The options for formatting List Box properties can be a little tricky too. Here are a few keywords:    Sort items: this will reorder the listed items numerically and alphabetically.  Multiple selection: this will allow users to choose more than one item on the list.  Commit Selected Value Immediately: this will save the value as soon as the user selects it. If this option is not selected, the value is saved only when the user exits the current field or clicks into another form field.          I hope this article gave a thorough explanation of mouse triggers and how they work. Was there anything in this article that surprised you? Drop a comment below, and make sure you let us know what other functions you want to learn more about in the future!    We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. Hope to see you there!   
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5 Ways to Manage a Remote Team Successfully

Remote or virtual teams are becoming more and more common in today’s digital landscape. With the advancement of the Internet, digital entrepreneurship, mobile technology, and telecommunication, various companies and other service providers are letting employees work remotely. This means Managing virtual teams efficiently is the upcoming challenge for many businesses.   After hiring the right remote employees comes the task of managing them. How will you ensure that they grasp their tasks properly? How will you make sure that they are not wasting their time? How will you encourage them to be a better version of themselves and reach their full potential? 
  Handling and managing remote teams successfully require special attention. Here are some important tips that will help you manage remote employees effectively. 
  1. Lead by example  Set an example for your remote employees. Make sure they feel comfortable opening up and sharing their ideas so they can get to know their remote coworkers. Keep in mind that your employee wants to be valued; a positive work environment and personal reinforcement should be your priority. Involve your remote employees in every aspect of the company; share the company’s goals and objectives and keep them updated on what is going on with the company. All this will increase your employees’ morale and professional satisfaction.    2. Provide feedback  Appreciating your remote employees and providing constructive feedback is significant to managing remote teams successfully. Providing your employees with performance feedback on a weekly or monthly basis will give them an insight on their job performance and will also make them understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to improve themselves further. If your remote worker needs improvement in a specific area, first show appreciation for what they are doing right and then help them realize the areas they can improve upon, and give them tips on how to do so.    3. Have regular team meetings  Holding team meetings can be a challenging task as not all your remote workers will be in the same time zone. However, it is doable and highly recommended so everyone stays on the same page. While, face-to-face meetings are most ideal, conducting online team meetings and getting to know each other is also possible. Team meetings are important for managing remote teams as this way everyone gets to know each other, and get a sense of the big picture.    4. Use the right digital tools  Remote or virtual teams need appropriate tools to communicate effectively with one another. There are many digital tools available that can help in this aspect, including PDFelement. By using a PDF editing tool you can easily send and edit any PDF document, including scanned files. There are also many other types of digital tools available as well. You can use instant messaging apps like Slack to address immediate inquiries and concerns. Or video chat apps like Zoom or Skype. Plus, collaboration tools like Google Docs or InVision give remote workers an easy way to work together while being physically miles apart.    5. Set expectations and then trust your team  For a remote/virtual team, it is highly essential to have a set schedule of what is expected from them. These expectations must be given clearly and straightforwardly so the remote team knows what they’re required to do and how they should do it. This adds accountability. Some expectations to set are:  · Submission of work on time  · When to work  · Professional conduct  · How to apply for holidays  · Performance Standard/Review process    Without trust, managing remote teams is impossible. Managers need to clearly assign the task and then step back without interfering or trying to micromanage.  Trusting your employees will let them do their best work.    Know of any other tools like PDFelement that can help manage remote teams? Let us know in the comments!     
 
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The More You Know: Insert Images

 How can I insert images into my PDF file? What do the “extract”, “replace”, “align”, and “distribute” functions do? PDFelement has many minor features that are meant to support the larger editing and form tools, but are often left unknown and unused. Stay tuned for more of our “The More You Know” series to explore these useful sidekicks!

Have you ever converted a report into a PDF then realize that you forgot to put in a chart on page 8 and an image on page 16? Or maybe your colleague realized that they sent you the wrong image to use and you need to do a minor (but frustrating edit). Instead of reformatting the whole Word document, and then exporting it as PDF all over again, simply open up your new PDF document in PDFelement and insert your images!
Today I will be showing you the nitty-gritty details to our insert image tool. There are a few differences on both our Mac and Windowssoftwares, so I will be showing the process on both.
Mac
      As you can see, I had left a blank space in my document for an image. To begin, simply select the “Edit” tab, and then “Add image”. A window will appear, and you will be able to pick the image you would like to add. Of course, if you are in a situation where you realized that you need an image but didn’t leave quite enough room for one, you can move the blocks of text around in an attractive and clean manner to make space for your picture. You are also able to crop and resize the image you import, so don’t sweat it if the space you have is not a perfect fit at first glance.
After the image has been added, there are multiple options on theright hand side to help ensure that your image fits well into the rest of your document.    You can do basic placement and editing to the image, including flipping, cropping, resizing, and transforming. You are even able to rotate the image precisely by spinning the dial directly beneath the transformation icons. If you’ve selected the wrong image by accident, you can select the image, then click the “replace” icon to choose the image you initially wanted.

Extraction

You can also select an image, and “extract” it to your computer. This is especially useful if you want to save an image from a file that is not yours. This way, you won’t have toscreen shot and crop to keep the images you want from PDF files. You’ll notice that you’re usually unable to directly right click and save the images on PDFs, but in PDF solution software such as PDFelement, the software recognizes the images and will break the document into different editable chunks.    You can also extract all the images that the software can read with the “extract all” function. The preview shows what the software identifies as the image. In this particular instance, that whole page without the text is considered one image otc viagra. You can play around with the OCR. I found that in this page’s particular case, the images were accurately separated before OCR and made for perfect extraction    After you select “extract all”, the images will be saved into a folder. Once you click in, you will find that the images have been separated into the pages they were extracted from.
Windows
     The process is more or less the same on Windows, it’s just that the layout looks different. Here, the “replace” icon is the one on the far right (looks like a picture). To rotate an object precisely, you can grab the green dot (shown on the highest placed image) and rotate as you desire.
There is no option to “extract” images on the Windows software. Instead, there are two other options: align and distribute.
  Align
    This is useful when there are multiple images or blocks of text you want to line up. The first image shows the multiple objects I am trying to align. After you select everything (control), you can align in multiple different directions. The second image is “align left”, and as you can see, it’ll align everything to the edge that was on the most left. Similarly, to “align top”, everything will line up with the edge that was the highest. You can also utilize the “center” options to align individual or multiple objects to the center of the page horizontally, vertically, or both.   Distribute    Distribution only works with 3 or more objects. You will notice that the icon will only become usable when over 3 objects have been selected. This option is useful if you want to make sure that the items are equally spaced out horizontally or vertically; the object in the middle will move right/left or up/down to make sure that it is in the center of the other two objects.
  Check out our video on inserting images on Windows! 

There you have it! You are now a pro at inserting images into your document to make things look nice, as well as extracting images for future use. Share or like this blog post if you found it useful! Drop us a note below if there are specific tools you would like tutorials of.
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3 PDF Security Features that Will Keep Your Data Safe

Following up on our redaction tutorial published a couple of weeks ago, we're outlining the three top security features you can use with PDFelement that will keep your company data safe and sound!   For many companies, the PDF format provides the perfect opportunity to sort and store their many important and confidential documents (including policy documents, end-user agreements, clients' data, and more). 
  Aside from the fact that this ensures smart organization of businesses, it also provides them the opportunity to distribute essential information to authorized channels in a standard format that cannot be altered. 
  With many documents being confidential, you surely wouldn’t want them to be accessed from unauthorized sources. You want to ensure you protect your company’s data by exercising licensing controls and restrictions on important PDF files through some reliable PDF security tools that contain a host of built-in security features. Tools like PDFelement, and many others not only stop unauthorized sharing and distribution but also control what information can be accessed in PDF files. These pdf security tools can do a lot to help keep your data safe, but you need to be able to know how to use them to get the full effect. So, below are three ways to keep your customer's data safe with pdf security tools: 
  Redact confidential information 
If you need to send out a document that includes portions of sensitive information pertaining to your company or customer, the redaction tool can come in very handy. Using the redaction tool, you can redact or black out certain key areas of information that should not be visible to all audiences. When viewed by unauthorized users, the info will be hidden by a black or otherwise colored bar and the information will not be visible. Luckily, redacting information is extremely easy with PDFelement. You simply highlight the text you want to redact, go to the “Protect” tab, and then click on “Mark for Redaction.” 
  Encrypt files with passwords to prevent editing and sharing 
Protecting your pdf file with a password is also an option. You can set passwords for opening the document, as well as passwords for editing and revising it. In PDFelement, all you need to do is head over to the “Protect” tab and click on “Password” From there, you can set an “Open” or “Permissions” password, and select whether they are allowed to print or make changes to the PDF document. 
  Use dynamic watermarks 
The screenshot is another way unauthorized users can store access to your customers' data. A good pdf security tool has a screen mask feature that can ensure that no third-party screen grabbers make a screenshot of your pdf files. Dynamic watermarks with individual user identification can also be used to prevent unauthorized persons from taking a photograph and uploading the contents of your pdf files. In PDFelement, you can easily insert  a watermarks by going to the “Edit” tab and clicking on “Watermark. “From there, you can choose to create a new watermark, update an existing watermark, or remove a watermark.  As you can see, these security tools are not difficult to use, and they can make a big difference when it comes to protecting your sensitive PDF files.
  Got any other tips for protecting PDFs? Share with us below! 
     
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5 Reasons Why Your Resume Should Be in PDF Format

Give yourself a competitive edge over other applicants with a great looking resume that appears the same, no matter what device you’re viewing it on.    As most of us are aware, when you’re trying to land your dream job, you need a resume that will make you stand out above the crowd. One of the best ways to do this is by sending out your resume in PDF format. By using PDF, you can make your job application pop by ensuring the formatting looks flawless across the board.    After all, your resume is the very first glimpse your future employer will have of you. When the interviewer is impressed with your resume, they are more likely to remember you and associate something good with your name. Skills and experience aside, your first impression will make or break you, and a great looking resume will facilitate that first interaction.    Below are just a few of the benefits you can get from sending out your resume in PDF format.    1. First impressions are important: Retain formatting So it always looks professional    You spend a lot of time working on your resume to ensure that it turns out just right. And a big part of this is ensuring that the format looks professional and visually appealing. Especially for certain industries. Perhaps the job involves design, or analytics, in which case it can be a good idea to show off your graphics skills. You may even want to include infographics that can show your information visually in a way that is well organized and easier to read. This shows employers that you are familiar with multimedia design and can give you an edge over other applicants.    2. Anyone Can Easily Review It    PDF is one of the most widely used formats within the business world. It’s likely the hiring manager is extremely familiar with the format, and has used it to create and review many other types of documents. In fact, recruiters often package your resume and other details into one PDF package to send to clients. Plus, PDFs can be opened by many different types of programs, including web browsers and PDF readers. This makes it just as easy for the hiring manager to deal with as Microsoft Word, if not even more so.    3. You can still make edits if you need to with the right tools    A lot of people create their resumes in Microsoft Word because they want to be able to easily edit it throughout every step of the process. It’s often the view that once a document has been converted to PDF, it’s next to impossible to make edits to it after that. But this isn’t the case. There are many PDF editors on the market like PDFelement that let you easily make simple edits to your PDF file – and often for free! For instance, PDFelement has a free trial that lets you edit PDFs exactly like you would a Word doc – edit text, change font, change formatting, etc. – you can do it all.    4. Ensure your Resume Can’t Be Edited by Others    Designing your own resume from scratch can be a very time consuming process. Especially when you are applying for multiple jobs. You want to make sure that once you have it just right, no one else can make changes to it. This can be easily accomplished using a PDF editor like PDFelement, which lets you set password restrictions so that only those who know the password can edit or print the document. This ensures that no one tampers with your information, and that you are presented in the best light possible.    5. Convert your PDF Resume to Other Formats if Required    Sometimes, a recruiter or hiring manager may ask for your resume in a particular format. Using a PDF reader or editor, you can easily convert your PDF resume to other Office file formats in just the click of a button. From there, it’s ready to be sent on its way, so that the hiring manager receives it quickly and easily, and in the format they desire!    As you can see, with the right PDF editing tool, it’s easy to create your resume in PDF format so that you make the right impression from the get go. Let your potential new colleagues see the best version of you – consider sending out that next resume in PDF format!    Do you agree that PDF is the best resume format? Leave a comment below! 
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How Going Paperless Boosts Employee Morale

Going green can save money, the environment, and ultimately employee productivity. An average tree produces roughly 16 reams of paper, or 8,000 sheets. That’s almost as much as the average office worker will consume annually. Depending on the size of your business and number of office-based employees, your company could be consuming hundreds, if not thousands, of trees each year. According to Record Nationals, the US alone uses nearly 68 million trees each year to sustain it’s growing paper consumption. In fact, Americans account for one-third of paper usage, despite holding only 5% of the world's population. This is a serious environmental and financial concern. Going paperless can be extremely beneficial to any large or small business. First of all, there are cost savings. Paper costs money, and printer ink costs more. As your business grows, you will have to manage larger volumes of documentation. Converting your files over to digital will not only cut supply costs, but also save the storage space required to file a large amount of paperwork. It is easier, and significantly cheaper, to manage and store digital files on a secure, reliable server. The money saved from going paperless can be reinvested into the company and into a better working environment for your employees. Another major benefit to going paperless is that it causes a boost in productivity. Digitizing your documents makes information more accessible and easier to find. When employees are less busy sifting through drawers of paperwork they can spend more time doing more valuable work. The efficiency gained by going paperless can be a great morale booster. After all, no one enjoys trudging through paperwork. Performing administrative tasks with PDFs and digital formats makes things easier and allows your business to function more smoothly. Recruiting the next generation of talent means looking to the future, and the future of business is digital. When employees have access to resources online, it gives them the flexibility to be more mobile. There are many benefits to working remotely. A paperless office gives employees the option to work from home or on the go. Employees who are given the option to do some of their work away from the office report a better work-life balance. The resulting reduction in commute times, sleep deprivation, and stress levels creates happier and healthier employees who are able to perform better at work. When employees are less weighed down with tedious, paper-pushing tasks, they can spend more time doing fulfilling work, such as brainstorming and creative tasks that help them come up with innovative ideas. Countless studies show that increased employee morale leads to greater production and ultimately a more competitive business. When people believe their work is meaningful, they are automatically motivated to complete more tasks. Creating a work environment that is sustainable, efficient, and modern is important to worker satisfaction, and going paperless is a fantastic way to do that. At the end of the day, it’s the employees that make the company. Giving them the tools they need to work more efficiently and be a part of a sustainable, modern work environment will boost morale, cut costs, and lead to better productivity. Learn how PDFelement can help you go paperless and enrich your business! Whether you want to digitally edit PDF files, convert scanned files to PDF, or fill out and sign forms electronically, PDFelement has all the tools you need to take the paper out of paperwork.
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The More You Know: Batch Processes on Mac

Do you have a lot of PDFs that you need to perform the same action on repeatedly? Chances are, you’d benefit from using our batch processing function! Batch processes let you select multiple files and perform the same action on all of them in one go. This saves a lot of time and clicking.    However, while reviewing our forum, I’ve noticed a bit of confusion when it comes to using our batch process feature.      The answer is Yes. Yes, you can.   I’m aware that within every batch process, there are many nitty gritty little things that aren’t exactly intuitive. So, with this blog post, I’ll thoroughly explain each type of process. If you’re still unsure after reading this post, or if you think of other questions, always feel free to comment below!    To use the batch process feature, you’ll need to take the following steps:    Steps  1. Select the files you want to convert. They must be in PDF format already. Otherwise you won’t be able to select or open them in the program.  2. Select your preferences from the right-hand side  3. Pick a convenient location on your computer to save all the files  4. Begin batch processing    However, the options available for each action are varied!    Convert    This is a good tool to use when you have a lot of PDFs that you want to convert into the same format separately.    Within this tool, you can choose:  Filetype: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Image, ePub, Text, Pages, HTML, RTF  Languages  OCR Range: you can pick the range of pages you would like to perform OCR on     Data Extraction  A doctor’s office or law firm (or any business with clients for that matter) that collects forms, contracts, or invoices would find data extraction extremely useful for gathering all the information you need into one convenient location.    I will release a separate post on data extraction in the near future, but it’s important to note that the end document after performing data extraction will be an excel sheet where each row contains information from a different form.    Within this tool, you can choose to:    Extract data from PDF form fields   If your PDF form has form fields, the software will be able to easily grab the data from each field    Extract data from scanned PDF  If your form was scanned and does not have electronic form fields, you can manually mark up the areas to be extracted.  Of course, for this to work, you need to make sure that all the forms have the same layout.    OCR  If you have multiple documents that you need to perform OCR on, I would just load it all up and then go take a coffee break. The OCR process can take a few minutes!    Within this tool, you can choose:    Language  How much you want to compress the file: 72 dpi, 150 dpi, 300 dpi, 600 dpi  OCR Setting:  Editable – The text on the PDF will be replaced with real text that can be edited  Searchable – The words on the PDF will be searchable but you won’t be able to edit them.    Bates Numbering  This is a great tool for anyone working in the legal industry, since you have a lot of documents that need to be labelled with Bates Numbering.    With this feature, you can choose:    Source   A Bates numbering setting that you have saved previously  Which alignment you would like the header to be in (Left, Right, Center)  Option to add the Date or Bates numbering  Text: select font, size, color    Appearance  Date format  Option to shrink the document to avoid overwriting its text and graphics  Option to keep the position and size of header/footer text constant when printing on different page sizes.    Position  Finetune the margins    Watermark  With this process, you have the option of removing or adding watermarks in bulk to the documents that you would like to protect. Removing is straightforward – you just select the files with watermarks that you want to remove and select the location where you want the files to be saved to.    Adding a watermark has additional choices:    Source  Option to select a pre-saved watermark  Option to create text to use as watermark or upload image or PDF from your computer.    Appearance  Option to rotate the watermark  Adjust opacity  Size in relation to page   Location  Option to keep the position and size of header/footer text constant when printing on different page sizes  Position  The page is split into 9 grids and you can select which section the watermark will appear on  Finetune the position of the watermark on the page  Select the pages that you would like the watermark to appear on: range, even, or odd pages    Encryption  You can use this feature to protect your files and give full access to a select audience. This is good when you are emailing important forms or contracts. This way, only the sender and the receiver have access to sensitive or confidential information.    Encryption selection:    Document Open  Dictate whether readers need a password to open your documents. If yes, set your desired password.    Permissions  If you choose to restrict aspects of editing and printing of the document, you can set a password so that only certain people with access to the password can print or edit the document.  You can restrict the ability to:   Print in high resolution  Insert, delete, and rotate pages  Fill forms  Sign forms  Review forms  Page extraction    Encryption Level Options  You can select your encryption level: 128-bit RC4, 128-bit AES, 256-bit AES    Tips: The Windows version of the batch processing feature is more or less the same. There are some additional features here and there; feel free to click around and explore!  While you can upload an unlimited number of files to the screen, a user pointed out that there seems to be a 500-file limit to what can be processed. So, we did a few tests and found this to be the case. Just something to be aware of!    Still confused? Have more questions? We always want to hear from you – feel free to comment below or head on over to our Forums to post a thread or find out more!   
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What GDPR Means to HR Teams

At PDFelement, we believe data security is of the utmost importance. With the recent introduction of GDPR regulations, certain departments are finding the right tools and methods for familiarizing themselves with data security. In today’s post, we’ll discuss what GDPR means to HR professionals, and how PDFelement can help. 
  One primary challenge that HR departments face is the issue of keeping sensitive personal information completely secure and confidential. This need for data security is what has lead to the introduction of a law like GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation. 
  The Idea behind GDPR 
  Legislation has failed to keep up with the tremendous speed at which big data and technology has advanced, specifically when it comes to gathering, storing, and protecting data. Therefore, GDPR has been designed for enhancing data protection as well as the right to privacy for EU citizens, thus giving them more control over personal data and the way it is used. 
  Meaning of GDPR for HR 
  GDPR is a summarization of those legal requirements that need to be met by a company handling the personal data of EU citizens, including the personal data of employees. Companies that fail to fulfill these regulations and are found misusing the personal information will have to pay some very hefty fines. 
  HR teams require consent 
Consent is an important part of the foundation of the new legislation, and GDPR explicitly states that companies can make use of the personal data only for the purpose it was given for. So, for HR teams, employees must opt-in to allow the employer to use personal data and they should be informed, in detail, how their data will be used. This can be done as an option the candidate checks off on a PDF form and digitally signs using a program like PDFelement, to make their consent explicit and legally binding. 
  This means HR teams must be transparent regarding the data being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected, and the way it will be used. One simple way to clarify this is by handing out a privacy statement that all employees sign. Again, using programs like PDFelement, you can easily create and share privacy statements in PDF format. After that, as part of the HR team, you can only use the data for the given purpose outlined in the statement. If you want to make use of the data for a different purpose, then you need to get written permission separately. 
  Data rights for employees 
  GDPR also extends the rights of those individuals whose data is being used or processed. Such individuals are referred to as data subjects, and the extension of rights has enhanced their entitlement to have their data corrected. In fact, they also have the right to restrict or object to data processing although such rights are commonly not raised in an employment context. 
  Right to be forgotten 
GDPR also states that employees have the right to be forgotten and they can withdraw their content which means that HR teams must think about what withdrawal of consent means for the system. For instance, are their procedures put in place for deleting employee data? Or, how can you ensure that you are getting rid of every last trace of information stored in your system? Is your entire team completely aware of the importance of complying with GDPR? All these things must be taken into consideration when devising your data-driven HR strategy. 
  Conclusion 
  Data privacy is becoming an increasingly important issue, and failure to comply with the GDPR requirements will only lead to trouble which is why it is important to ensure that HR teams fully understand GDPR. 
  What PDFelement Can Do 
  PDFelement has many features available that help in the process of protecting sensitive and confidential information of employees and candidates. Permission restrictions, redaction tools, watermarks, and digital signatures ensure that the data you are collecting or sharing is fully protected against any sort of unauthorized breach. 
  What are your thoughts on GDPR for HR teams? Let us know in the comments! 
 
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4 Benefits to Working Remotely

Who hasn’t fantasized about breaking free from the confines of the office from time to time? The freedom and the flexibility of working remotely from wherever you’d like is certainly an appealing idea to many, especially when it comes to the younger generations.
 Luckily, with today’s growing trend of virtual offices and remote workplaces, even if it’s only on an occasional basis, many companies are now open to the option of telecommuting and letting their employees work from home, and away from the traditional office setting to allow for more flexibility in schedules or improve productivity.
This is especially beneficial for someone who does creative work. Sitting in an office isn’t always the most inspiring environment for coming up with brilliant ideas, and as someone who works in the creative field of marketing myself,  I can vouch for this fact. Getting inspired by the world around you is usually the best way to come up with great ideas, and it’s often hard to do that while sitting at a desk.
With the rise in popularity of working remotely, the important question that still remains is whether virtual offices are actually effective. And a lot of data points to yes.
Here are just a few of the benefits:

Environmental benefits
An article from Chron notes that virtual work benefits the environment because fewer people are traveling in cars, busesand trains, which lowers the amount of vehicle emissions and decreases fuel usage.
As a commuter myself, there’s no question that eliminating a daily commute from my schedule would hugely benefit my working life, both for the amount of time itsaves, and for the fact that it would greatly lessen my carbon footprint. With global warming being such an important issue, cutting down fuel emissions by working remotely is a benefit for everyone.
  Productivity
Hours aren’t wasted commuting, so more time can be devoted to getting work done, without the added distractions from coworkers as well. According to this survey by TinyPulse, respondents working remotely are happier, feel more valued, and are overwhelmingly more productive. In fact, when respondents were asked the question “Do you believe you get more work done when working remotely?” 91% of them answered yes.

“About 66% of the respondents to a  FlexJobs’ survey said that they are more productive when they are not in the office. Why is that? Well, 76% said there are fewer distractions overall, and 70% wanted to avoid the stresses of commuting. Other reasons for toiling off-site were to avoid office politics (69%), be in a quieter environment (62%), wear more comfortable clothes (54%), have less frequent meetings (46%), or personalize their office environments (51%).”

Better work-life balance
Virtual offices provide more flexibility and the ability to create your own hours, allowing you to spend more time with family and friends. This is especially important for millennials, who place a higher importance on work-life balance than earlier generations, likely because it gives them more time to care for young children or aging baby boomer parents.  The benefits of work-life balance for employees also include reducing stress, improving personal well-being, improvinglong term health and eliminating the need to take many sick days, offering autonomy and personal employee growth, and increasing focus. But there are also benefits for employers too. On top of employees being more productive, there is less turn-over, and an improved company reputation.

However the different parties don’t necessarily agree on what constitutes as enough of when it comes to work-life balance. “A 2015 Workplace Study revealed that 67% of employers feel that their workers have a work-life balance, while 45% of employees disagree.” There are many things employers could do to fix this statistic, such as offering the ability to take unpaid leave, having senior managers model work-life balance in their own schedules, or setting clear boundaries by not re sponding to work emails during their time off.
Employee retention
Since virtual offices provide more schedule flexibility and the comfort of being able to work independently, it only makes sense that this results in higher employee retention. According to The Balance, telecommuting and flextime appeals to younger, more technically savvy generation of workers. So if your company hopes to attract and recruit this demographic, then an employee benefit package that allows for flexible schedules and remote work options would be a plus.

This virtual office arrangement won’t necessarily work for every type of job, or every type of employee. But with the growing number of remote workers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs that are starting to pop up in today’s workforce, it makes sense that this arrangement should be seriously considered by employers.
And along with employers evolving, business software products need to evolve to support this too. PDF editing software is no exception, as employees working remotely need full mobile support while working with PDFs on the go. Fortunately, mobility is an area where PDFelement has you covered! Read, edit, convert and sign PDF files professionally while working remotely from any desktop, laptop, or iOS/Android device with our mobile app.
By using PDFelement, you can experience the environmental benefits, higher productivity, and greater work life balance that comes with working from home.
Enjoy the ability to:

• Read PDFs Remotely
Got a notification during your grocery shopping about a second draft that requires urgent attention? No worries, quickly scan the PDF on your mobile device!

• Edit PDFs Remotely
You can edit text creatively and professionally – all from the comfort of your own couch, with no mouse needed. Improve the look and feel by changing font style and colors easily without losing formatting.

• Collaborate Remotely
Perform markups and edits by using tools to highlight, underline, or strikethrough text. This could be done over breakfast or on the bus! You can even use a freehand drawing tool or sticky notes.

• Take Snapshots of PDFs Remotely
Snap a photo with your mobile device, and easily convert it into a professional looking PDF document that can be shared with your colleagues or clients in seconds.

• Export PDFs Remotely
Convert PDFs individually or in batches to other file formats like Microsoft® Word, Excel®, Power Point®, HTML, Image and more.

• Sign Forms Remotely
Add text into fillable text fields, insert a picture of your hand written signature, or draw a pixel-perfect signature on the touch screen. With the use of mobile document editing apps, professionals on the go can have all the tools they need to get their work done outside of the office, no matter what kind of worker they are.

• Seamlessly Switch Between Devices on iOS
Create and edit a PDF file on your desktop, and then easily switch to viewing and editing it on your mobile device once you are out of the office!   Already working remotely? Let us know your thoughts on working with PDFs on the go below! Enhance your telecommuting experience with PDFelement. Download our desktop and mobile apps (Android and iOS) today.      By Emily Byrne, Content Marketing Specialist at PDFelement  
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Automate Your Invoices with PDF Tools

Ensure you have the most efficient processing software to eliminate errors and save your business time and money.    So your business is growing – that’s great! But as your business grows, you need a more streamlined and cost-efficient process for managing your accounting needs. Having an automated invoice processing system is essential to businesses that manage a large amount of transactions. Invoice automation saves time, energy, and labor costs. This creates better cash flow management and allows your business to function smoothly.    Without reliable software to collect, process, and track your invoices, you are more likely to encounter errors in financial statements and cash reconciliation. These inaccuracies eat up time and money that could otherwise be reinvested elsewhere in your business! So, investing in invoice automation is definitely worth the savings in excess accounting costs.    Taking into account the time and resources required to process an average invoice — which may vary based on your company’s operations and business model — it can cost up to $20 or more per invoice. Automation processing takes the human factor out, reducing the labor costs for data entry, but it leaves open the possibility of computer error. This means faster data processing but the potential for flawed reports, or fees and penalties from audits. Well-engineered software can reduce the potential for error with more intuitive processing technology. Better technology means less oversight in your accounts payable department. When you move to an automated processing model, you need software that you can trust to do the job right. That means accurate data extraction, and coding written to manage that data effectively with little margin for error. Investing in quality automation software can save your company huge money over the long term.    But before you use an invoice automation software, you need to make sure your files are ready to go. The trick is converting your paperwork to digital. Going paperless is environmentally friendly, and extremely beneficial to business in terms of cost savings and efficiency. It’s important to be able to easily convert paper invoices and receipts for times when a paper copy is all you have access to.    There are some excellent PDF tools out there that help you with this process. PDFelement, for instance, lets you effortlessly convert your files to PDF, scan receipts and documents, and extract accurate data. PDFelement software is simple and easy to use. It is formatted specifically for businesses both large and small. Good PDF conversion software gives you the ability to move all of your documents and date to an online platform. This can improve the automation process by giving your company the ability to work with both digital and paper copies of invoices and receipts when convenient. In addition to scanning receipts and extracting data, PDFelement is also equipped with user-friendly editing tools. This can be a great tool for communicating between departments or with clients, building reports and collecting data, and compressing data from hundreds of invoices into usable data.    Once you’ve gone digital, you can establish an automated entry system that will keep your accounts payable department running smoothly and efficiently. There are many invoicing automation software programs on the market that can assist you in doing this. Improve your invoice processing system with smarter routing, data extraction, and centralized billing. In business, every penny counts. Go digital today using tools like PDFelement to help you streamline your business and save you money.    Have any other suggestions for automating the invoicing process? Let us know in the comments below!   
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The Top 3 Ways Technology Assists Learning

Continuing on with the Back to School  theme (PS: there’s still time to get your discount), we’ve got another blog post for those eager returning students! Today we discuss how technology increases your ability to learn. 
  With technological advancements, the field of education has undergone an evolution. Technology and education now go hand-in-hand as, and technology brings greater access to educational tools than was ever available before. 
  With this technological shift, many people have wondered, does technology actually help people learn? Or does it serve as more of a distraction that takes away the need for personalization and social skills? The truth is, there’s a reason why technology is being used so heavily in the classroom these days to assist with learning, and in our minds, the benefits of technology outweigh the cons when it comes to education. 
  Here are just a few of the ways technology tools can help people learn: 
  1. Higher quality learning material that’s easily accessible    Teachers can now present a much fuller spectrum of information to their students, thanks to many tools and informational material found online. They can also use presentation tools to aid them in creating more visually appealing and interactive presentations for their students. 
  Teachers can also learn the topics more easily themselves before they present it in class, and prepare for any questions that students might have for them. '
2.  It’s easier for students to voice their opinions    With more technological tools now available, students can now participate, without necessarily having to speak up in class. Students feel more comfortable contributing to classroom discussions through things like online chat tools and discussion forums. This is especially helpful for more reserved students who might have opinions or questions, but don’t want to bring them up in front of an entire classroom full of people. 
  Plus, instead of submitting paper assignments, classwork can be e-mailed to the instructor. Students can contact their teacher and discuss any problems that they might have at any time. 
  3. Allows for interactive learning sessions 
  Multiple tools are currently available to help enhance learning and make the process more interactive for both teachers and students. These include: 
  Online collaboration tools: Students can share and edit documents through a common platform. This saves time and allows for the collaborative generation of ideas.  Presentation software: PowerPoint and other similar presentation tools can be used both by the instructor and students to present topics using high-definition pictures and videos, animations, GIFs, and more. Visually aids help make the presentation more interesting and the information more memorable.  Tablets: These can be connected to a PC, cloud, or projector to display and share information with exciting visual aids as well.  Course management tools: These digital tools allow teachers to organize class-related data including grading systems, syllabus, document sharing, etc. One such example is Canvas, though there are many others.  Smartphones: A class group may be created on any chatting platform which allows for sharing of information quickly and easily.  Lecture capture tools: This allows you to record lectures and then upload them online, making information readily available for a wider audience.    As you can see, technology can make the learning process a lot easier and more accessible for both students and teachers. It can also cut down on classroom costs and time wasted. Even parents can log on to the school website and check their child’s progress. With everything from online development workshops to even tools like PDFelement where students can easily collaborate, fill forms, or convert files, you can learn so much and get so much done, often with just the click of a button. 
  All in all, technology can facilitate learning more easily than ever before. Though some people feel it has some detractions. such as hindering interpersonal skills, there are still clear benefits that can’t be ignored. 
  What are your thoughts on the role of technology in education? Let us know in the comments!
 
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Learn, Work, and Travel: How to Live Life on Your Own Terms

Discover the benefits of building your career from the comfort of your laptop!
 
These days, everything is online. From shopping, to school, to the office. The internet has advanced to a point where we can do almost anything from a small electronic device that fits in the palm of our hands. With the world at our fingertips - literally - the possibilities of what we can accomplish online are limitless.
 
Being connected from anywhere in the world gives us the freedom to travel while we work. Only a few short decades ago, it would have been impossible to make a living from a computer, or study for a degree without ever stepping foot on a university campus. But these days, anyone can access an education from any location. The online economy is booming with job opportunities, and many people feel that they are more productive working remotely. Many individuals choose to work for themselves by freelancing, and can make a generous income if they're willing to put the work in. But how do they do it?
 
Education
You don’t need to look very far to discover the wide range of online learning opportunities that will give you the skills you need to work for yourself. Even sites like YouTube have entire educational channels dedicated to helping people learn a certain skill. Many self-educated people have used the internet to achieve the same level of education and training as a college graduate, minus the pricey tuition expenses. Freelancers and employers alike are beginning to see the value of online education. There are several reputable websites that offer affordable and even free courses. Of course, it’s good to be cautious of where your online education is coming from. It's always a good idea to research the program or course to ensure that it's reliable and will be recognized by employers.

Distance learning is increasingly popular among university students with busy schedules. These days, most students have to work part-time in order to pay for their studies. If the concept of going back to school for a degree seems daunting, you should look into universities that offer distance courses that can be completed online during your free time, giving you a more flexible schedule. Imagine completing a degree from your laptop while backpacking across Southeast Asia - it's not just a pipe dream anymore!

Work
You can forget about being tied down to an office job. The internet has opened the door to a massive freelancing job market with many lucrative opportunities. Getting into freelancing can be challenging at first, but if you're willing to put the proper research and networking into it, you can establish your reputation as a professional freelancer in no time. The only drawback to freelancing is the lack of a pension and benefits, which some people may find difficult because it offers less stability. But it allows entrepreneurs to work on their own terms and be their own boss, so if freedom is your number one concern, freelancing is a good gig. Want the benefits of working online, but with the security of full-time employment? Thankfully, there are now many companies that happily let employees work remotely, and do business online. The savings in office space and supplies alone can save a company thousands, if not millions, in the long run. Many studies also suggest that employees are happier and more productive when given the freedom to work online or remotely.

According to a report by the New York Times, nearly 43 percent of employees do at least some of their work remotely. The study found that “employees who spend three to four days off-site report feeling most engaged at work.” Not only does working online benefit employees, but also businesses. Plus, with the latest document management and collaboration tech tools, anyone can perform their work duties easily from any location. Discover how you can benefit from working and learning online with handy programs like PDFelement. From taking notes in a PDF doc while studying, to filling out business forms electronically, or even creating a travel itinerary from scratch, you'll have all the tools you need to live life on your terms.  Enjoy the freedom to travel more, spend more time with your friends and family, and learning about topics that actually interest you. The possibilities are endless with PDFelement.
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The More You Know: Backgrounds

Looking for ways to make your PDF document a little more eye-catching? Adding a background is one option! Many of us get bored from staring at a bland white document on a daily basis. It’s nice to be able to add a little more personality to your document, especially if it is for a brochure, presentation, or anything else that is supposed to be visually appealing to its audience.    In today’s tutorial, I’ll show you how to create or edit backgrounds in your PDF files. This is useful for a variety of reasons, including the ability to create reports with the same background image, color, or logo on every/multiple pages. Instead of adding a background to each page manually, you can do it all at once or in a few quick batches if you have different ranges in the same document.    Steps:  1. First, go to the “Edit “tab. Once you click on it, you will have the ability to add, update, or remove backgrounds by selecting “Background.”        2. You can select whether to add a color, image or PDF as your background.       3. If you want to change the color, click on the eyedropper tool.      You’ll see a cross appear on the last color swatch to the right. Click it to open up the custom palette.      4. After selecting “Add”, your files will look something like this:        The colors will only show through the areas that don’t have any content covering it up. You can also add images or PDF files from your computer as the background image.    5. Adjust the opacity, size, and angle of rotation under “Appearance.”    You can also adjust the overall positioning of the background image, as well as the range of pages that this background will appear on.        6. Once you click “Add”, you can always go back and change or update your background. All you need to do is simply go back to Edit > Background > Update. You can also save the settings of the background for next time.          7. If you are unhappy with the background, or are working on a file that already has a background and was created in a different program (such as Adobe Acrobat for instance), you can remove the background.        Other Useful Tips:  Perhaps you have added a background but found that it’s not showing on certain pages.        This may be because there are other layers on top of the background that already exist in the document and are preventing it from being seen. To see if this is the case, select the top layer, and drag it aside or delete it to reveal the color below.        There you have it! This is how you work with backgrounds in PDFelement. The interface shown in this post was that of the Mac product, but the procedure is very similar for Windows. Any questions or tutorial requests? Comment below!    We also have an online forum where you can get your PDFelement questions answered. See you there!   
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