PDFTiger's Best Use Is for Batch Conversions

PDFTiger ($30, free 30-use demo) converts documents and images to PDF, and also outputs them to a variety of formats: Word, HTML, images, text, and even Flash as an .swf slideshow. Converting to the last format is one of the program's selling points.

You can do most of what PDFTiger does with free alternatives. Free programs such as BioPDF PDF Writer handle conversion to PDF of just about any type of document that can be printed (although PDFTiger is the only program that I'm aware of that will output them to Flash). Hellopdf.com's Free PDF to Word Converter handles PDF to Word conversion, and any word processor that handles the ubiquitous Microsoft Word format lets you export as text or images, though there's obviously an extra step or two involved. Which brings us to PDFTiger's other strength: automation.

PDFTiger's straightforward interface, direct output to a variety of formats, and ability to output batches of files could save you a lot of time. There's one major gotcha where file support is concerned: You must have Microsoft Office installed before the main PDFTiger program converts the types of files Office generates (including Office 2007 XML). If you don't have Office, the printer driver PDFTiger installs--like BioPDF and others--will output any type of file to PDF, though not in batches.

If you need Flash output or batch operations, PDFTiger can be useful--as long as you have the required Microsoft Office programs installed. If not, the free programs I've mentioned will probably serve you just as well.

Note: This demo version applies watermarks to your files and works on a total of 30 files.

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