Amazing Program, Awful Documentation -- but worth the effort to learn
July 12, 2021

Amazing Program, Awful Documentation -- but worth the effort to learn

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)

It is used to create reports that need an overall uniform look that receive input that comes in a wide formats such as Word, WordPerfect, etc. Before Power PDF we would have to cut and paste, put in page numbers, and output and then either scan to distribute by e-mail or copy. We also use Power PDF to extract parts of pdf documents and put them in Word so that we can either edit or easily extract information.
  • Easily assembling documents with uniform look that come from a variety of sources.
  • Extracting information from existing .pdf documents.
  • Editing an existing .pdf document.
  • Scanning and then cropping out signatures for use in other documents such as mail merge letters.
  • Reading long .pdf documents. It lets you change viewing options to what you need and easily move between (or find) the page you want.
  • It takes a lot of trial and error to produce page numbers, other document wide features.
  • Editing within an existing .pdf is clunky.
  • Help, documentation and/or learning how to use features is very primitive. There are features that would probably be very useful if I could ever figure out how to use them.
  • Time savings.
  • Cost savings.
  • Accuracy.
Many aspects of it are easy to use. The feature ribbon across the top is pretty self explanatory. But if you need help figuring out a feature, the help and documentation features are greatly lacking. So, it often takes a significant amount of trial and error to figure out how to use a new feature. And there are some things which might well be helpful that I have yet to figure out. However, once something is mastered, it saves a lot of time. I usually use the program on projects several times a week.
The help info in the program and online info is poor to non-existent. I have mostly had to learn the program by trial and error. The feature ribbon helps to know what's available. But if you need any explanation, you're on your own. The poor documentation is the one reason that would make me hesitate to recommend the program to others. Within my own organization employees that have difficult figuring things out on their own are steered away from Power PDF and any job responsibilities needing Power PDF reassigned.

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

WordPerfect Office, Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
  • My company has an annual report where many different people submit input, usually in Word but sometimes also in Excel. There are also forms, usually in .pdf format, which need to be included. We assemble all these different reports into the annual report and then use the ability to add footers and page numbers to create a report with a uniform look.
  • We get information in a .pdf. Rather than rekeying info, used Power PDF to turn it into a Word document so we can accurately copy the information to paste where we need it. Error rates have dropped significantly since we stopped having to rekey info. And while the process sounds complicated, once you're familiar with it, its not only more accurate but also takes less time.