PDF 2 WORD Converter

Message

AlephX · #1 Post by **AlephX** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:30 pm

Hi!

I have found this application which converts complex PDF documents into Word Documents.

I tested the application and worked good, even if the images are not seen by Open Office...

[EDIT] converts also images, visible only under Word

I cannot test the portability... but it seems to have its INI file.

HelloPdf Home Page:
http://www.hellopdf.com/index.php

DL page
http://www.hellopdf.com/download.php

AlephX · #2 Post by **AlephX** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:47 pm

Portability...
It does not write settings in the registry, even if it is not stealth (MRU).
I cannot check if it wrote anything on the system folder, but I don´t think so. The settings are saved in the local folder.

Sorry, at the moment I can not check it better!

I would enjoy opinions!

chezduong · #3 Post by **chezduong** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:22 am

I just installed and converted 2 documents using this software via JauntePE and the two registry keys that it wrote to are the below:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\WinEn]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Cached]

I guess that the second one cannot be avoided, but not sure for the first one.

It also does something to the C:\Windows\Systems folder because JauntePE creates these folders within the application folder, but they are empty.

Finally, the conversion itself could be improved. I converted a Blackbery manual in PDF and nearly none of the text came out...I also converted a complex pdf with graphics, text and difficult layout and it did a pretty good job...not great, not perfect, but a pretty good job.

Yucca · #4 Post by **Yucca** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:24 am

In addition to a couple of registry keys, it writes an ini file to the Windows/system32 folder.

Also, when I tested it on a one-page document containing one image, it did not pick up the image and some of the text had significant white spaces inserted between words for no reason I could understand.

This looks like it has promise, but it is not yet portable and does not really work sufficiently to be used seriously. Its functionality would be a problem even if we could make it really portable.

Yucca

AlephX · #5 Post by **AlephX** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:08 am

@ chezduong

Thank you for testing it. I guess that the registry entries are not settings. The problem is that it is not stealth... and moreover...

@ Yucca

Thanks for testing too!

pdf2word,1.INI is the name of this .ini file. Thank you for finding it. I tried to move it to the app folder, but -worse than evil- the app wanted to connect the home site in order to get a "free code". I dislike this behavior in free applications...

I understand that you find this application not "perfect", but, considering the panorama of the free PDF applications today, I find that this is the only program able to deal with this kind of conversion. I have seen other applications, but, apart from the enormous size and registry-use, they are free versions of commercial apps, which place intentional typos in the results... So I liked this "Not so big" app that makes a relatively good job.

But, also because hidden behaviors, I agree: this app has no place in the collection...

Thx,
AlephX

Cornflower · #6 Post by **Cornflower** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:54 am

I so wanted this one to be portable, because it does do what others don't.

As well as AlephX's and others' comments, I wonder about the nConvertTines in the WinEn registry key. Does something happen after you convert x documents?

I'm keeping it because it does what other freeware doesn't, and in my tests does it well, but I agree, it should not be part of TPFC.