Very capable software, rock solid, affordable, easy to use. I would change only 1 thing!
June 30, 2021

Very capable software, rock solid, affordable, easy to use. I would change only 1 thing!

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Power PDF Advanced

Overall Satisfaction with Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance)

In the insurance and financial services industry we work with PDFs extensively. For years we used Adobe Acrobat, but found it expensive to purchase/subscribe, and their various product tiers have been convoluted and confusing over the years due to their pricing structure and their move to a subscription-based model. I don't remember how I first found Nuance...I think maybe I picked up a copy out of curiosity at Staples or Best Buy and decided to give it a try. I have tried other alternatives, as well, but have not personally used any other products which have held up as well as Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance). I initially used it only on my own computer. Though the software has a somewhat different user interface from Acrobat (as any other software would and should), I quickly became comfortable in its environment, and it soon became my go-to for anything PDF-related. After a few months, I decided to roll it out across our entire office, and purchased copies for each team member's computer, as well as my home computer and laptops. The staff has adapted well to the software, as well. Most of our employees use it primarily to generate PDFs from other documents, for scanning to PDF, and of course as a PDF reader. We also frequently use the security options. I handle most of the IT and bookkeeping duties in our firm, and as such, I frequently use the form-generating functions and also often convert PDF to Word, Excel, etc. I scan all of our receipts into Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) for bookkeeping, but I also regularly scan in client documents such as Trusts, Wills, Tax Returns, etc., and these often run into hundreds of pages each. The software has functions to reduce file sizes in such cases, with no perceptible loss in quality or resolution. I literally use Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) every day, and often for many hours a day. It has never let me down.
  • The FormTyper function is excellent and does a great job of building complex forms almost automatically. When needed, it's very easy to tweak or add additional fields. It works just as well as Acrobat, if not better.
  • Convert to Word and Excel both work great. I personally don't have a use for the Powerpoint option, but I have no doubt it is just as seamless.
  • I use the 'From Scanner' option extensively, and it's awesome. Seriously. The 'Scan Settings' option (for adding additional scanners and/or switching between multiple scanners - I use 3 different scanners for different purposes) is not the most intuitive, but once you use it a time or two, you realize it's not difficult at all, and it works well.
  • Reduce and Optimize File functions work great. PDFs with hundreds of pages can be really large file sizes, and these functions do a great job of reducing the file sizes to manageable levels without losing image quality. Very easy to use.
  • The only real complaint I have with Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) has to do with how it initially displays when opening a new file. It defaults to 'Fit width and scroll pages continuously', which is literally NEVER what I want. The other option (which you must manually select each time) is 'Fit the page and show one page at a time'. This also isn't what I want. I would LOVE to see an option to 'Fit the page and scroll pages continuously'. This would show one complete page vertically, and would all a natural scrolling motion, rather than the one-full-page-at-a-time scrolling of the 'Fit the page and show one page at a time' option, which feels very unnatural to me. My current protocol upon opening a new document is to immediately go to the bottom and change the page display to 100%, which gives the most natural look to the document, while also retaining continuous scrolling. I would absolutely love a 1-click button to accomplish this. Currently, it takes me about 7-10 clicks to get there, depending on the size of the original scan. Also, it would be awesome if the software would retain my previous setting as the default, rather than requiring me to manually select my view each and every time I open a new document.
  • Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) is significantly less expensive than Acrobat, yet as far as I can tell, it retains all the functionality. It's rock solid. In 3 years, I don't recall ever having the software glitch or crash, nor behave in unexpected ways.
  • I find Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) to be efficient and user friendly. I've converted the entire staff. While I use it more extensively than the others (due to my job functions), we all use it quite a lot, and they literally have never had any complaints (which is unusual!).
Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) has been easy to implement across our office. The staff took to it quickly and without complaint. It never crashes or glitches, and has been rock solid for us. All of the functions have been readily accessible and easy to use. We lost no functionality when converting from Acrobat to Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance). Everything seems to be there, and it works perfectly for everything we've needed.
We've used Adobe Acrobat Professional (and of course Acrobat Reader) in years past, and it worked fine, but was really expensive to buy, and even more expensive after they switched to the subscription model. Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) has worked as well or better for us. It's intuitive and easy to use, and the cost is much more palatable. We have used Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) extensively for at least 3 years, and I've never once regretted the decision. The feature set is complete, and the package is very reliable.
I've never needed to use their support. It's worked perfectly from day one. On the rare occasions (minutiae related to down & dirty details of tweaking form fields and setting tab order) when I've needed help finding or understanding a function, I easily found the answers on youtube. As I recall, that's the only thing I've ever needed help with.

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

My most-used functions are scanning existing documents and scanning new documents. I frequently use FormTyper and I love it. It works really, really well, and is easy to tweak and insert additional form fields when needed. The export to Word and Excel functions are handy, and though I use them infrequently, they are invaluable when needed. Reordering and rotating or deleting pages are easy and accessible functions. I also occasionally use the combine and/or extract files functions, as well as the Reduce and Optimize file sizes functions, and they all work well and are intuitive to use.
I use it for pretty much everything. I do a LOT of scanning - Trusts, Wills, Tax Returns, Word Docs, Receipts. It works perfectly for all of that. I also create a fair number of fillable forms for our office, and it handles that well, also. I occasionally use Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) to convert PDFs to Word or Excel (mostly Word), and it works great for that too. I honestly haven't found anything PDF-related which Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) doesn't handle as well or better than Acrobat. I was concerned when Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) switched from Nuance to Kofax, but I have noticed no changes in functionality. The color scheme did change (from light purple to more of a royal blue), for the better if you ask me. Personal opinion. I felt the purple color had more of a 'budget' feel to it. The blue feels more professional.