PDFCreator
Encyclopedia
PDFCreator is an application for converting documents into Portable Document Format
(PDF) format on Microsoft Windows
operating systems. It works by creating a virtual printer
that prints to PDF files, and thereby allows practically any application to create PDF files by choosing to print from within the application and then printing to the PDFCreator printer. It contains optional closed source adware
that is installed by default.
and released to the public at no charge. It works with 64-bit and 32-bit Windows versions including Windows 7, internally using mostly 32-bit code. The actual PDF generation is handled by Ghostscript
, which is already included in the setup package.
Besides being installed as a virtual printer, PDFCreator can be associated with .ps files to manually convert PostScript
to PDF format.
PDFCreator can convert to the following file formats: PDF (including PDF/A
(1b) and PDF/X
(X-3:2002, X-3:2003 and X-4), PNG, JPEG
, BMP, PCX
, TIFF
, PS
, EPS
, TXT
, PSD
, PCL
, RAW
. It also allows to digitally sign PDF documents.
Since version 0.8.1 RC9 (2005) PDFCreator supports access to its functionality via an ActiveX
/COM
interface; this allows programs written in other languages, like C#, Delphi, Visual Basic
, .NET
, VBA
, Perl
, Python
, Ruby
, WinBatch
, Windows Scripting Host
(JScript
, VBScript
), to utilise and control PDFCreator programatically.
The installation package includes a closed-source browser toolbar that is considered by many users to be malicious software
(see below). Although technically an optional component, the opt-out procedure is a multi-step process which is considered by many to be intentionally confusing. In addition to the spyware activity described below, the toolbar allows one-click creation PDFs from the current webpage and includes a search tool.
PDFCreator allows the user to disable printing, copying of text or images and modifying the original document. The user can also choose between two types of passwords, user and owner, to restrict PDF files in several ways. The former is required to open the PDF file, while the latter is necessary in order to change permissions and password. Encryption
can be either 40 bits, compatible with Adobe Acrobat
3.0 or 4.0, or 128 bits for Acrobat 5.0 or higher.
Starting with version 0.9.6, there is full support for Windows Vista
and version 0.9.7 provides support for Windows 7.
toolbar. The end-user-license agreement for Pdfforge Toolbar by Spigot, Inc. (versions prior to 0.9.7 have a different, optional toolbar called "PDFCreator Toolbar"), states that the software will:
SourceForge, who hosts the downloads for PDFForge and many other projects, has received criticism for failing to adequately respond to complaints about the confusing toolbar installation process. In June 2009, SourceForge marked the report as Invalid. In May 2011, a user filed another complaint with SourceForge, this time because the toolbar is proprietary software
, which SourceForge does not allow developers to host. SourceForge replied, "This is under internal investigation by our staff." , SourceForge has not updated the complainer on the investigation, and PDFCreator still installs the toolbar unless the user declines it.
PDFForge, which created PDFCreator, responded with an FAQ regarding the toolbar that states:
In August 2008 InfoWorld
magazine recognized PDFCreator with an Open Source Software Award from the field of more than 50 available open source or free PDF creation applications.
Both of these awards predate the inclusion of the contested spyware.
Comparable applications
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
(PDF) format on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems. It works by creating a virtual printer
Virtual printer
A virtual printer is a piece of computer software whose user interface and API resemble that of a printer driver, but which is not connected with a physical computer printer....
that prints to PDF files, and thereby allows practically any application to create PDF files by choosing to print from within the application and then printing to the PDFCreator printer. It contains optional closed source adware
Adware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...
that is installed by default.
Implementation
The application is written in Microsoft Visual BasicVisual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
and released to the public at no charge. It works with 64-bit and 32-bit Windows versions including Windows 7, internally using mostly 32-bit code. The actual PDF generation is handled by Ghostscript
Ghostscript
Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...
, which is already included in the setup package.
Besides being installed as a virtual printer, PDFCreator can be associated with .ps files to manually convert PostScript
PostScript
PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
to PDF format.
PDFCreator can convert to the following file formats: PDF (including PDF/A
PDF/A
PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents.PDF/A differs from PDF by omitting features ill-suited to long-term archiving, such as font linking...
(1b) and PDF/X
PDF/X
PDF/X is an umbrella term for several ISO standards that define a subset of the PDF standard. The purpose of PDF/X is to facilitate graphics exchange, and it therefore has a series of printing related requirements which do not apply to standard PDF files. For example, in PDF/X-1a all fonts need to...
(X-3:2002, X-3:2003 and X-4), PNG, JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
, BMP, PCX
PCX
PCX is an image file format developed by the now-defunct ZSoft Corporation of Marietta, Georgia. It was the native file format for PC Paintbrush and became one of the first widely accepted DOS imaging standards, although it has since been succeeded by more sophisticated image formats, such as GIF,...
, TIFF
Tagged Image File Format
TIFF is a file format for storing images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems...
, PS
Tagged Image File Format
TIFF is a file format for storing images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems...
, EPS
Encapsulated PostScript
Encapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with additional restrictions which is intended to be usable as a graphics file format...
, TXT
Text file
A text file is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text. A text file exists within a computer file system...
, PSD
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, PCL
Printer Command Language
Printer Command Language, more commonly referred to as PCL, is a page description language developed by Hewlett-Packard as a printer protocol and has become a de facto industry standard. Originally developed for early inkjet printers in 1984, PCL has been released in varying levels for thermal,...
, RAW
RAW image format
A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor...
. It also allows to digitally sign PDF documents.
Since version 0.8.1 RC9 (2005) PDFCreator supports access to its functionality via an ActiveX
ActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
/COM
Component Object Model
Component Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
interface; this allows programs written in other languages, like C#, Delphi, Visual Basic
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
, .NET
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
, VBA
Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
, Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
, Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
, Ruby
Ruby (programming language)
Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, general-purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features. Ruby originated in Japan during the mid-1990s and was first developed and designed by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto...
, WinBatch
Winbatch
Winbatch is a Microsoft Windows scripting language developed by Wilson WindowWare. Its environment includes an interpreter and a code editor along with a dialog designer and optional compiler to create self-contained executables....
, Windows Scripting Host
Windows Script Host
The Microsoft Windows Script Host is an automation technology for Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides scripting capabilities comparable to batch files, but with a greater range of supported features...
(JScript
JScript
JScript is a scripting language based on the ECMAScript standard that is used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer.JScript is implemented as a Windows Script engine. This means that it can be "plugged in" to any application that supports Windows Script, such as Internet Explorer, Active Server Pages,...
, VBScript
VBScript
VBScript is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It is designed as a “lightweight” language with a fast interpreter for use in a wide variety of Microsoft environments...
), to utilise and control PDFCreator programatically.
The installation package includes a closed-source browser toolbar that is considered by many users to be malicious software
Malware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
(see below). Although technically an optional component, the opt-out procedure is a multi-step process which is considered by many to be intentionally confusing. In addition to the spyware activity described below, the toolbar allows one-click creation PDFs from the current webpage and includes a search tool.
PDFCreator allows the user to disable printing, copying of text or images and modifying the original document. The user can also choose between two types of passwords, user and owner, to restrict PDF files in several ways. The former is required to open the PDF file, while the latter is necessary in order to change permissions and password. Encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
can be either 40 bits, compatible with Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...
3.0 or 4.0, or 128 bits for Acrobat 5.0 or higher.
Starting with version 0.9.6, there is full support for Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and version 0.9.7 provides support for Windows 7.
Adware toolbar controversy
Starting with version 0.9.7 (February 2009), PDFCreator has included an adwareAdware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...
toolbar. The end-user-license agreement for Pdfforge Toolbar by Spigot, Inc. (versions prior to 0.9.7 have a different, optional toolbar called "PDFCreator Toolbar"), states that the software will:
SourceForge, who hosts the downloads for PDFForge and many other projects, has received criticism for failing to adequately respond to complaints about the confusing toolbar installation process. In June 2009, SourceForge marked the report as Invalid. In May 2011, a user filed another complaint with SourceForge, this time because the toolbar is proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
, which SourceForge does not allow developers to host. SourceForge replied, "This is under internal investigation by our staff." , SourceForge has not updated the complainer on the investigation, and PDFCreator still installs the toolbar unless the user declines it.
PDFForge, which created PDFCreator, responded with an FAQ regarding the toolbar that states:
Awards
The now defunct OpenCD project chose PDFCreator as the best-of-breed free software package for creating PDF files in Windows.In August 2008 InfoWorld
InfoWorld
InfoWorld is an information technology online media and events business operating under the umbrella of InfoWorld Media Group, a division of IDG...
magazine recognized PDFCreator with an Open Source Software Award from the field of more than 50 available open source or free PDF creation applications.
Both of these awards predate the inclusion of the contested spyware.
See also
- RedMonRedMon (software)RedMon, Redirection Port Monitor, redirects a special printer port to a program on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is commonly used with Ghostscript to generate PostScript and Portable Document Format files from any application....
+ GhostscriptGhostscriptGhostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...
is an alternative way of producing PS/PDF files through a virtual printer. - List of PDF software
Comparable applications
- CUPS, printing system for UNIX-likeUnix-likeA Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating systems which includes similar functionality - doPDFDoPDFdoPDF is a freeware Portable Document Format printer developed by Softland, that allows any program that can print to create a PDF file. The resolution of the created PDF files can be set manually, or done automatically.-Features:...