Term Paper Master's 2,629 words

Comparing Adobe Acrobat to alternative document management software

~14 min read 10 sections

Abstract

This is a 17 page paper with 10 sources analyzing the ADOBE program Acrobat X Pro. There is also an 8 slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation that has been sent separately to the customer. This file details the specs of the program and rates the program on various factors. It also compares the program with 150 other programs available in the market. This paper has 10 resources.

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Essay 2,629 words

Software Evaluation Project

Adobe Acrobat is a program created by the Adobe company for word processing and form creation. While there are many open source programs that offer similar features, Adobe Acrobat has become the office standard for creation and editing of documents. This paper will analyze the other available programs and determine whether Adobe Acrobat is really worth its high price.

Summary of the Software Category

My classification is based on affordability. Of the 125 document management software examples listed, 30 are free and 67 are free to try. Only 27 of them require a purchase to use. Payroll Master is one example of a free utility for the Windows platform. In addition, 72 of the results are $50 or less to purchase. For example, Document Manager is a $3 app for mobile devices.

Software

Year

Price

License

Mipsis CRM & Document Management Software

Windows

2006

Free to try

DocPoint - Document Management Software

Windows

2010

$149

Free to try

KnowledgeTree Document Management System 3.7.0.1RC

Windows

2009

Free

Mipsis Document Management Software 7.7

Windows

2010

$295

Free to try

ImageViewer Document Management 2.1.11

Windows

2005

$99

Purchase

Bank Document Management 5.3

Windows

2011

Purchase

Gavel Legal Practice Management Software 2..8.2

Windows

2011

$400

Free to try

Document Organizer Deluxe 3.7

Windows

2011

$75

Free to try

EZNamespaceExtensionsMFC 2011 Build 611921

Windows

2012

$299

Free to try

ActiveQuality ISO 9000 Software 2.7

Windows

2006

$280

Free to try

HomeGed Pro 2010.1

Mac

2010

$60

Free to try

Digital Document Manager 3.7

Windows

2011

$75

Free to try

AbilitySuite Advanced Lifecycle Management Module R3

Windows

2004

$299

Free to try

Document Store Manager 1.9

Windows

2009

$149

Free to try

JumpBox for KnowledgeTree Document Management 1.1.9

Mac

2010

$19

Free to try

JumpBox for KnowledgeTree Document Management 1.1.10

Windows

2010

$49

Free to try

SoftRM Document Man 2.0.0

Windows

2011

$50

Free to try

Access Deluxe 1.2

Windows

2008

Free to try

HomeGed Pro 2010.1

Windows

2010

$60

Free to try

HomeGed Enterprise 2010.1

Mac

2010

$143

Free to try

HomeGed Enterprise 2010.1

Windows

2010

$143

Free to try

Sohodox 7.3.1.7

Windows

2011

$199

Free to try

Krystal DMS - Community Edition 4.0

Windows

2011

Free

Docsvault Small Business 5.1.1416

Windows

2012

$525

Free to try

Kordil EDMS 2.2.12

Windows

2009

Free

Docsvault Professional 4.0.1601

Windows

2011

$150

Free to try

Net-Cabinet Express Edition 1.1

Windows

2011

Free

Scanitto Pro 2.10.20.227

Windows

2011

$25

Free to try eDoc Organizer 3.6.1

Windows

2011

$50

Free to try pdf-Recover Professional 7.0

Mac

2010

$35

Purchase

Simple Doc Organizer Home Edition 3.0.1.20

Windows

2012

$102

Free to try

DocuXplorer 4.03.16.788

Windows

2011

$500

Free to try

Office PDF Server 5.0

Windows

2010

$699

Free

Document Manager

Mobile

2012

Purchase

Benubird PDF 1.4.0.8

Windows

2012

Free

M-Files 5.0

Windows

2008

Free to try

KRYSTAL DMS -- Community Edition 3.0

Windows

2011

Free

Simple Doc Organizer Free Edition 3.0.1.20

Windows

2012

Free

Metamation 1

Windows

2007

$570

Free to try

StampIt for Word 7.0.56

Windows

2010

$20

Free to try

DOCUframe 1.1

Mobile

2011

Free

QPack Free Testing Tool Test Management 5.3.1

Windows

2009

Free

SharePoint for Project Management 1.0

Mobile

2009

Purchase

OK-Inventory: trading business management 2.1.51

Windows

2010

Free

JumpBox for the Alfresco Content Management System 1.5.0

Mac

2010

$50

Purchase

IntrospeQt iCapture Desktop 1.0

Windows

2009

Free to try

Medical Record Management

Windows

2010

Free to try

Electronic Signature Software for Centricity 1.6

Mobile

2011

Purchase

DocumentLite 3.0

Windows

2009

$495

Free to try

BordersHelper 1.5

Windows

2005

$248

Free to try

BlueDoc 1.2.2

Windows

2007

$159

Free to try

M-Files Express 5.0

Windows

2008

Free

Floodlight Manager 2.2

Windows

2010

$11

Free to try

Adobe Acrobat X Pro 10.1.1 is designed for creating PDF files with a high degree of flexibility. In the design stage, users can collaborate online by reviewing documents, adding comments, and modifying the content. Acrobat X Pro-also includes form functionality to get feedback which can be analyzed to evaluate business processes. Media such as video can also be included seamlessly into the PDF documents.

PDR Converter Professional 7 by Nuance also includes the ability to add media such as video and audio into PDF files. The main attraction with this package is its ability to integrate the Microsoft Office programs with PDF creation.

Nitro PDF Professional also integrates with Microsoft office. It includes accurate conversion of PDF files to the Office platform. Security and digital signatures are also supported.

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FoxitPhantomPDF is geared toward creating professional looking documents that can be used for agreements. These can be digitally signed and archived to save time and add flexibility. It is customized in three forms to fit the needs of different sized businesses.

Description of Feature Software Package

Acrobat X Pro-version 10.1.1 is made by Adobe. Adobe is a growing company in the document and multimedia business. One of their most notable decisions was purchasing Macromedia which included the very commonly used Flash platform. This software package is geared towards small and large businesses. It is designed to work well with presentations and forms. The automation features allow multiple steps to be recorded and repeated to save time on repetitive tasks. It requires Windows XP or newer along with 512 MB RAM and 1946 MB of hard drive space. A full license costs $449.

Work Samples

This first work sample shows what can be done with two of the basic editing features. This was created by first adding a purple background. Next, the watermark option allowed for a text entry of the word "Beautiful." Then, the word's opacity was reduced so that it was lighter than typical text, allowing it to look like a standard watermark. This image only took a few minutes to create using the various features available in the side menu.

Text can be deleted and changed using the "Content" option. This option also allows for editing objects, linking web pages, adding bookmarks, and attaching files. This feature has over 100 different fonts and allows for larger or smaller font size for optimal personalization.

This last sample shows what can be done with picture files. The picture was cropped, the date added in the footer and a title added to the header.

Development Challenges

This was not an easy program to learn, but once I learned how to use it, it was fun. The first challenge that I encountered was with uploading the program. Each time I tried uploading the program and then opened another window, the program's installation would stop and had to be resumed.

Next was the issue with discovering that my open source software, Open Office, is not compatible with Adobe Acrobat. I tried multiple times to open files that were saved as .doc, but none were recognized by the program. I finally figured out that the files must be saved as a more basic file type. I changed the file type to .rtf and the files easily converted.

I then discovered how unstable the program can be when it is not functioning properly. While trying to upload a file, the program froze. When I tried to close the program, it continued operating in the background and would not stop until I shut it down using the task manager. At one point, I finally just restarted the computer because the program had activated itself so many times in the background.

Recommended Improvements

A large improvement would be a better user guide on the Adobe website. The website offered three files to assist in creating a PDF and none of those files were applicable when I was having issues opening the files. It would have been much more helpful if Adobe had simply created a list of acceptable file types and placed this either on the first page of the program or the help page of the website.

Adobe Acrobat could also use greater stabilization. Most programs have a means of preventing the program from being opened more than once. This is also the first program I have encountered that did not have an automatic shutdown when the program causes errors. With as expensive as the program actually is, one would think that the programming would have even these basic safeguards in place.

Finally, it would be nice if the program was a little more user friendly. It takes some fiddling around to figure out how to use the background and other features, which can be frustrating to someone who is less technologically inclined. Some sort of tutorial would have been very useful.

Benefits

The program is obviously meant for use in the business setting. It was relatively simple to create sharp-looking documents and images. It is nice that once the document is saved as a PDF file, it cannot be changed at all. The alternatives to this software includes Microsoft Word, which allows for all the same image editing. Word even has a "read only" feature which prevents editing of the document. Adobe Acrobat had more fonts, but Word has more clip art and images to work with. Overall, I cannot conclude that Adobe Acrobat is a better solution, as it is more expensive, but offers similar features as a less expensive program such as Word.

Overall Recommendation and Application Example

As with all Adobe software, Adobe Acrobat seems to be meant for those with a higher software skill level or specific business needs. It is not as user friendly as the Microsoft programs, but does offer greater versatility with regard to creating documents and images.

The best setting for Adobe Acrobat, and one where it is commonly used, is the legal field. In the legal field, documents such as contracts and evidence must be able to open on any type of computer and be ideally incorruptible and unchangeable. Adobe Acrobat also offers great legal features including the ability to place a digital signature on a document and the ability to bate stamp the document.

Future Outlook

I don't think that Adobe Acrobat is likely to grow much more in the next few years. The reason is that there are so many open source programs that can accomplish the same tasks. The only market that I can see Adobe thriving is the professional world where specialized programs such as Adobe Acrobat save businesses time.

497 Words Hidden

Software Evaluation Matrix497 words

The first factor is time for new users to learn basic functions. An appropriate rating in this category would be a 6. The user interface…

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Cite This Paper

PaperDue. (2012). Comparing Adobe Acrobat to alternative document management software. PaperDue. https://www.paperdue.com/essay/software-evaluation-project-adobe-acrobat-55947

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Comparing Adobe Acrobat to alternative document management software

Summary of the Software Category

Free to try

Description of Feature Software Package

Work Samples

Development Challenges

Recommended Improvements

Benefits

Overall Recommendation and Application Example

Future Outlook

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