Foxit Launches ConnectedPDF
Foxit Software, a provider of PDF solutions, has rolled out ConnectedPDF, a new technology for the creation, sharing, and tracking of PDF documents.
Developed as an extension to the ISO PDF format, ConnectedPDF (cPDF) enables cloud-delivered capabilities, such as document locating and tracking, file update notifications, shared and synchronized reviews, remote file protection, and data collection.
ConnectedPDF is now available in beta through free web utilities at www.connectedpdf.com, and, with Foxit's free PDF Reader 8.0. Advanced features are also available in the company's flagship PDF editor, PhantomPDF 8.0.
According to Karl De Abrew, cPDF evangelist and president of Foxit SDK, the PDF standard was developed before the rise of the connected economy, and is not able to adequately address some of the more challenging and costly problems people face today in dealing with documents. ConnectedPDF, he said, was designed to solve these challenges, and enables an “internet of documents” by embedding identity and intelligence into PDF documents.
A cPDF file is a regular PDF file with a unique identification code embedded. Office documents and legacy PDFs can be converted into ConnectedPDFs using a cPDF-enabled application or service, such as Foxit's applications and web services. The file is then registered in the cPDF cloud, which stores metadata to manage the document, including its ConnectedID, version information, view and change history, reviews, mark-ups, people connected to the document, related files, and location.
Foxit says legacy PDF applications can display cPDFs as ordinary PDFs, although a message will guide users, if that is desired, to a ConnectedAPP for more functionality. The cPDF can also be locked, with rights limited to specific users. Individuals without viewing or editing rights can request them at any time and those rights can be granted or rescinded in real time. In addition, if the document is protected or being tracked, the recipient will get a message that cPDF must be opened by a ConnectedApp. They will receive links to the ConnectedPDF web site, enabling them to download free or advanced software that provides that access.
Foxit has also released the results from a survey of more 500 business executives and knowledge workers. The survey findings are included in a report, Overcoming Document Deluge and Dangers. The study finds that most professionals are frustrated by challenges in working with documents, including the wasted time and wasted money associated with searching for and recreating lost documents; the risks of using the wrong version of documents; security and privacy concerns; and long waits for other people to review, revise, and approve documents. The study finds that three-quarters of respondents see value in being able to track the receipt, readership, and location of PDF documents.
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