Item: Tungsten Power PDF
Rating: 10
Author: Erik Devereux

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have used Kofax Power PDF as an affordable, multi-function PDF management solution for years. I have found every feature to work excellently including multi-document assembly, form completion with signatures, OCR and document conversion. I use this product every day - it is central to my work productivity. When I had a laptop PC die unexpectedly, among the first apps I reinstalled was Kofax Power PDF. My one piece of advice: archive the executable file to re-install. I had not paid to have future access to the executable so I had to purchase an upgrade when my laptop died.

Pros and Cons

Document assembly
File conversion
OCR
Form completion and signing
Conversion to "flat file" to prevent editing of forms

Some aspects of the user interface can confuse including having menus and sidebars.
Integration with digital signature platforms still requires too much knowledge on the part of the user.
Control over text formatting when using the Typewrite feature remains clunky.

Return on Investment

Cost savings on alternative PDF software.
Efficiencies in managing PDF documents.
Conversion of complex documents to PDF bypasses known bugs with printing those same documents from Microsoft Word.

Ease-of-Use

I have found Power PDF exceedingly easy to use and only occasionally need to access the help resources for complex features like OCR.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader

Power PDF stands up well against these other products except when users have created applications in Adobe Acrobat with features that Power PDF does not support. This happens occasionally with completable forms.

Key Insights

Do you think Tungsten Power PDF delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Tungsten Power PDF's feature set?

Did Tungsten Power PDF live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Tungsten Power PDF go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Tungsten Power PDF again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365

Features

I regularly use complex document assembly, completable forms, minor document editing, and custom signatures.

Likelihood to Recommend

For more all around PDF operations, Kofax Power PDF is terrific. The one place where I've had issues is sharing files with users of Adobe Acrobat or organizations that are using Adobe Acrobat Reader to provide completable forms. It's unfortunate but there are some features in PDF that are implemented in ways that do not work across platforms. I would say about 1 in 20 times I'm forced to use Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete a form in a way that the other party can receive the data.

An excellent and affordable PDF management solution

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Kofax Power PDF