Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS released

Posted By: Ryan Wednesday, May 30, 2001 7:40:17 AM

Adobe had made the Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS available for download, following the successful beta launch last month. The product allows users to view files in the ubiquitous Adobe PDF format. It is capable of displaying both text and images and preserves the rich content of files - styled text, images, and bookmarks - and adapts it for viewing on small screens. Users can also search for a specific word or phrase. It includes a desktop application that converts the PDFs for viewing on the Palm and the Palm OS viewer application that lives on the handheld.

Adobe PDF documents created using Acrobat 5.0 will offer a better reading experience on Palm Powered devices than files created using earlier versions of Acrobat because they are automatically tagged with information on the document structure and organization. This allows for easier and more reliable text re-flow on the smaller device.

"Corporations are experiencing rapid growth in the use of PDAs in the enterprise, both for personal information management and vertical processes, such as sales, service and marketing," said Tim Hickernell, Senior Program Director in the META Group's Web & Collaboration Strategies Service. "Making high-fidelity business documents available on portable platforms is necessary to complement the extension of vertical applications to these platforms, such as sales automation applications and service automation applications."

Business professionals from enterprise corporations, including Cisco Systems, Inc., tested the public beta version of the product and were enthusiastic about its ease of use and the value it added through immediate access to Adobe PDF files from virtually anywhere.

"All of our technical documentation is converted to Adobe PDF using Acrobat, and we're excited that we can now read those same files on Palm Powered handhelds using Acrobat Reader for Palm OS," said Jeff Beard, a technical writer in Cisco's Optical Transport Business Unit, a group that designs and manufacturers key building blocks for optical networks. "The software helps eliminate the need for our field service staff to carry around bulky materials or boot up laptops to download technical documents. Now, staff can instantly view the documents on handhelds in a format that is fully searchable and contains bookmarks for easy navigation."

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same as the beta version

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 8:45:16 AM #
I'm wrong or it's (almost) the same program as the beta version?

Windows conduit only

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 8:53:36 AM #
The download is for Windows users only - no Mac or Linux conduits. They don't even have a "viewer only" option available, so there's no way to get the Palm app without the full 6.3 MB .exe download.

Yech.

RE: Windows conduit only
mikecane @ 5/30/2001 11:01:30 AM #
Yep. See the sad news:

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0105/29.palmreader.shtml



RE: Windows conduit only
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 1:55:38 PM #
Documents To Go does a very good job of converting PDFs into reasonably sized files, Mac or PC. I rarely need more than the basic text and that's what I get.

RE: Windows conduit only
vgz @ 5/30/2001 9:15:47 PM #
While I am quite mad that there is no Mac conduit I can't help but wonder if they are waiting for a Mac OS X version of the Palm Desktop before they release the Mac version. I am not trying to make excuses for them but it makes very little sense to release a conduit for the Mac if it won't work with the Carbon version of the Palm Desktop.

Matt

Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?

alee @ 5/30/2001 9:40:28 AM #
Can anyone confirm if the new reader support keeping PDF files on external memory cards? No way for me to test here at work on a linux workstation.

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
jayhawk88 @ 5/30/2001 11:14:14 AM #
Not very well. The PDF's get transferred over via a special Adobe program: there's no opportunity to choose to install in on the handheld or the card. Once over, you can only see the program in the copy menu, and choosing to copy it only copies the Reader, not the PDF's.

Maybe if you started out with the Reader program on the card, then transferred over the PDA's it'd work, but I doubt it. Looks like Adobe neglected to make their new reader SD card friendly.

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 12:59:20 PM #
The beta worked well with a TRGpro and AutoCF. I left the program in RAM and put the PDF databases on a CF card, and the Reader seemed to find and display them fine. I imagine CLIE users with MSMount would probably have a similar experience.

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2001 7:55:30 AM #
It works with Memeory stick without any the help of any other software. just put ur pdf somewhere under PALM\PROGRAMS\MSFILES
note: u have to convert the pdf using the software first.

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/1/2001 6:09:06 PM #
I tried to install it directly to the memory card on my m505, it installed alright and ran but the installer would not send the pdf files to the expansion card, they just sat there. I had to re-install the program to the main memory and then move it to the expansion card, then all the pdf files would install. I had to move them also to the memory card, then all of them worked. So it will work with the expansion card, you just have to move things around... at least until they fix it.

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/21/2001 3:31:40 PM #
I downloaded and installed the reader in my 760 but it is not working (read: reading or writing to the MS)... Is there anything special that needs to be done besides the installation?

The windows app is not letting select download-to-mS only to handheld memory...

Thanks...

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/17/2002 5:28:49 PM #
me,too

RE: Does it support SD/MMC/external memory?
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/5/2002 2:35:31 PM #
I believe "PowerRUN" makes it possible.

Not Bad At All

superbenk @ 5/30/2001 9:43:52 AM #
Very cool program, but what you gain in nifty features of rich PDF documents you lose in space savings. Sure it's cool to have an easy conduit for carrying PDF everywhere, but if you are looking at big documents it's a real space hog. Not the program, but the documents themselves. Though I have to say for what it packs into those documents (rich text, graphics, etc.) it doesn't do too bad.

Now, it would be really cool if the desktop conduit would also pull PDF's off the handheld to the desktop of a different computer. Even if you lost a little of the quality, it would be cool to just sync an associate the PDF even if they don't have a handheld (say to their laptop or something).

Yea, cool, but...

tipds @ 5/30/2001 11:37:20 AM #
I think it's a really cool tool, but most of the PDF's I want on the Palm can't be converted. I find that annoying. Anyone else had the same problem?

RE: Yea, cool, but...
twizza @ 5/30/2001 2:41:02 PM #
i know that i had a problem viewin the amtrak schedule on my palm. it wouldnt hold the table like format that the pdf had. if the non-beta correts this then i be happy.

Support for high resolution

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 1:33:08 PM #
I wonder if this has support for high resolution and color (for the Clie or the Handera). That would be great. I tried the beta on my Vx before and it was pretty good, although some graphs and charts were hard to read b/c of the low resolution of the Vx's screen...

What's this.

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2001 10:27:15 PM #
Tell me how it works on my palm 505.
RE: What's this.
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2001 2:07:06 AM #
Huh? Why don't you download it and try it! There's a desktop application that converts acrobat files to a palm pdb format. Using the Palm's Acrobat viewer, YOU CAN VIEW ACROBAT FILES.

Loust for all but the simplest PDF files

Michael @ 5/31/2001 9:48:58 AM #
Just like the beta, the desktop tool will choke and die on all but the simplest PDF files. All of the work files I am using were encoded the Acrobat 4.0, and I have yet to get any of them to convert successfully. I was able to get a couple of 1 - 4 page files from the internet converted, but that was it.



RE: Loust for all but the simplest PDF files
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2001 8:03:46 PM #
actually, I converted a 80 page acrobat document with tons of charts and graphs....and it was created w/ v.4
Works fine for me...

[ No Subject ]

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2001 3:43:44 PM #
Down with PDF!!
How did we ever embrace such a dumb way of saving docs. Why not html instead?

No color support!

savage2k @ 5/31/2001 11:20:35 PM #
yeah£¬this tool is cool and also useful. i began to use since the beta version, and i hoped the final release will support color because i changed my 3x to a 3c 3 days ago. but after downloaded the final rease, the non-color display really disappointed me.

so don't hope it will looks better on color devices. :(

CLIÉ memory stick

Joe Braunbeck @ 6/2/2001 11:10:03 AM #
I put all my pdfs on the memory stick of my SONY CLIÉ and it works just fine - I'm delighted!!!

download a file

wolf @ 6/4/2001 4:55:03 AM #
sorry, this actually does not belong here, but, does anyone know whether (and how ?) it is possible to copy file abc.xyz from your pc to your IIIc ?
RE: download a file
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/4/2001 3:32:34 PM #
I don't know if I understand you right, sorry if not. With Documents to Go you can transfer Word, Excell and PDF files to your Palm, the first 2 editable. You can then transfer the edited documents back to your PC, where they still have the original formatting.

SIZE does matter!

Sindhu Kurnia @ 6/4/2001 11:09:36 PM #
I've tried it from it's beta, one of my wish is more improvement on SIZE of converted PDF. What do you think guys!

Tried it

Eureka @ 6/5/2001 8:52:39 PM #
I downloaded quite a big file from the net. Racing rules of sailing. 499k. It takes a long time to switch between pages. Apart from that, it's great! Are there other software that can handle PDF files too?

Stoopid converting crap!

TitaniumBoy @ 6/24/2004 3:03:32 AM #
Trying to convert two PDF files and getting a stoopid error 'Error converting to a tagged PDF'.

How disappointing.. anyone came across this and know what the hell it means??

Rumored of a new Sony NX-series, it takes X-ray pictures of gals!!

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