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PDF Expert 5 [Official post/ Questions/ Answers]

Readdlemate

Readdlemate

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 26, 2009
385
37
Hi guys,

Given all the activity and discussions here I decided to make a dedicated PDF Expert 5 thread so we all can talk together (you know, we are an open company and always listen to you!).

So, for those who are not aware, we've just released PDF Expert 5! It's a major upgrade for every person who reads/ annotates/ works with PDFs. Please note, PDF Expert can also open any other file (video, music, pics, text, etc).

PDF Expert 5 was improved in many ways:

I. Clean, flat and razor sharp design.
We carefully applied iOS 7 design philosophy to PDF Expert 5. The application fits the new iPad perfectly! It looks great, feels remarkably polished, with even minor details taken care of.

photo-2-1024x768.png


II. Powerful file manager.
PDF Expert 5 works with PDF files that are stored on the iPad. We've added Drag & Drop, Favorites, Color Tags, SMB and much more.

III. Completely new PDF Viewer
Full screen annotations, smart zoom, adjustable editing panel, reading mode, snapping and guides - are the main new features here.

IV. Audiobook Mode (Text To Speech)

V. Review Mode
And one more thing. PDF Expert 5 introduces a new, revolutionary feature with no competition even among desktop PDF viewers, including Adobe Reader. Please meet Review Mode! This is the biggest innovation in PDF annotation since highlights and text markups.
Many of you are familiar with reviewing documents in MS Word, when you edit someone else’s text and your changes are shown next to the original text. It’s an amazing tool to work on an article with your editor, or on an agreement with your partner, or on homework with team members.

photo-4-1024x768.png


PDF Expert 5 is available on the App Store as a new app for $9.99. It supports iOS 6 and iOS 7 and runs on the iPad 2, iPad Mini and any retina iPad.

For all people who purchased PDF Expert before: PDF Expert 4.7.2 is a great product you bought. It can annotate documents, fill-in forms and do many other things with your PDF files. It is fully compatible with iOS 7 and we will maintain it for the next year.

PDF Expert 5 is an optional upgrade and I think that the new powerful features, iOS 7 design and one year of our hard work makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Thank you and enjoy PDF Expert 5!

Please, do share your thoughts and constructive feedback.
For all those who complain that they have to pay $9.99: We've spent 10 hard months creating this app. Reinvesting heavily is the only way to create great software, and you know, we do our best in that! Previous version of PDF Expert was supported for 2.5 years for free. PDF Expert 5 will be upgraded and improved by our team all the time, you can be sure in that!

Watch a video here https://vimeo.com/80870187
 
I switched from Goodreader to PDF Expert 5 this week. So far, I like this app!

One issue though: I can't make a WebDav connection (app crashes). In Documents by Readdle the same WebDav connection works perfect. I contacted your support and got some quick replies. I think it is a bug that will be fixed in an upcoming version, can you confirm this?

But apart from this, PDF Expert 5 is a great app.

----------

Suggestion #1 can you include a read-only mode? In the current version you can hide the annotation toolbar, but when browsing through a PDF you can still accidentally select an annotation and move it for example.

Suggestion #2: PDF Expert already has vertical scrolling (one of the reasons I bought this app). It would be even better if you could include continious vertical scrolling.


[update Jan 15, 2014: the latest update fixed the WebDav problem for me]
 
Last edited:
I understand the need to keep your business alive and that this version features many features. However, I still do not know what Readdle plans to do with the iPhone version. I've used both, iPad and iPhone, versions heavily over the last 2 years and have come to like them a lot. Don't misunderstand me, I am not complaining that you released a new app, I am simply waiting to see what you're going to do with the iPhone version.

Frankly, it would have been a great addition if you made PDF Expert 5 a universal app. I would buy it for $10 right away. I do, however, have a feeling that the iPhone version will be another $10 as a sep. app and given that Goodreaders upcoming update for the iPhone and iPad is free, it just doesn't make sense to me to shell out another $20 when I'm getting something similar for free. My 2¢.
 
Why on Earth did you implement your own useless zoom feature when there are 500 apps out there that have already proven time and time again that a standard zoom box is the best way to go? Seems like you're so scared of implementing a wheel that you made it square just to stand out.
 
I have about 30 hefty Medical E-Books mostly in PDF format. Would this App be good as a file manager and reader for them? I haven't tested any other apps yet but what I'm looking for is something that organizes well and functions as an efficient reader. What kind of performance can I expect when switching between large files, searching, scrolling or annotating. I want something quick and snappy with minimal lag.

Also it's probably slim but any CHM support?
 
1. Why is the Accounts section permanently fixed to the sidebar? This information is easily accessed under Network. I shouldn't have to see "Login to Google Drive" and "Login to Box" if I choose not to use such accounts.

2. What happened to the Show/Hide Tabs option? While relocating the tabs from the bottom to the top was a much needed improvement, removing the option entirely seemed unnecessary.

3. Why isn't PDF Expert a universal application? The Documents application is universal.

4. The pinch-to-zoom functionality seems awkward. Why did you choose not to use a zoom box? The zoom box present in your recently retired Remarks application had a much better implementation in my opinion.

5. Good job on implementing Favorites into the sidebar. However, the toggle between Recents and Favorites seems strange. If the redundant Accounts section was removed, both Favorites and Recents would fit in the sidebar without the need for a toggle.
 
Readdlemate said:
Hi guys,

Given all the activity and discussions here I decided to make a dedicated PDF Expert 5 thread so we all can talk together (you know, we are an open company and always listen to you!).

So, for those who are not aware, we've just released PDF Expert 5! It's a major upgrade for every person who reads/ annotates/ works with PDFs. Please note, PDF Expert can also open any other file (video, music, pics, text, etc).

PDF Expert 5 was improved in many ways:

I. Clean, flat and razor sharp design.
We carefully applied iOS 7 design philosophy to PDF Expert 5. The application fits the new iPad perfectly! It looks great, feels remarkably polished, with even minor details taken care of.

Image

II. Powerful file manager.
PDF Expert 5 works with PDF files that are stored on the iPad. We've added Drag & Drop, Favorites, Color Tags, SMB and much more.

III. Completely new PDF Viewer
Full screen annotations, smart zoom, adjustable editing panel, reading mode, snapping and guides - are the main new features here.

IV. Audiobook Mode (Text To Speech)

V. Review Mode
And one more thing. PDF Expert 5 introduces a new, revolutionary feature with no competition even among desktop PDF viewers, including Adobe Reader. Please meet Review Mode! This is the biggest innovation in PDF annotation since highlights and text markups.
Many of you are familiar with reviewing documents in MS Word, when you edit someone else’s text and your changes are shown next to the original text. It’s an amazing tool to work on an article with your editor, or on an agreement with your partner, or on homework with team members.

Image

PDF Expert 5 is available on the App Store as a new app for $9.99. It supports iOS 6 and iOS 7 and runs on the iPad 2, iPad Mini and any retina iPad.

For all people who purchased PDF Expert before: PDF Expert 4.7.2 is a great product you bought. It can annotate documents, fill-in forms and do many other things with your PDF files. It is fully compatible with iOS 7 and we will maintain it for the next year.

PDF Expert 5 is an optional upgrade and I think that the new powerful features, iOS 7 design and one year of our hard work makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Thank you and enjoy PDF Expert 5!

Please, do share your thoughts and constructive feedback.
For all those who complain that they have to pay $9.99: We've spent 10 hard months creating this app. Reinvesting heavily is the only way to create great software, and you know, we do our best in that! Previous version of PDF Expert was supported for 2.5 years for free. PDF Expert 5 will be upgraded and improved by our team all the time, you can be sure in that!

Watch a video here https://vimeo.com/80870187
Click to expand...

No discount for existing PDFExpert users? It is too much money for minor upgrades. And how long will you support this new version? Do I have to fork out more money in 6 months or a year? Even if it is 3, aren't you just setting up a subscription service for a mostly buggy software.
 
One quick question, does this app allow you to edit existing text within a PDF file? Or can you only add text?

Thanks
 
That-Guy said:
One quick question, does this app allow you to edit existing text within a PDF file? Or can you only add text?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You can only add text. However, with the new Review mode you can change tekst just like in a word processor and it will look as changed text in the app. But the original text of the PDF is still there and visible when you send the PDF to someone.
 
lexvo said:
You can only add text. However, with the new Review mode you can change tekst just like in a word processor and it will look as changed text in the app. But the original text of the PDF is still there and visible when you send the PDF to someone.
Click to expand...

That's a shame, this is the one feature I really need but not found a product that can do this on the iPad yet :(
 
1. How well does PDFexpert export annotations and highlighted texts? Can it export a neat .txt file without jumbling words together like the recent iAnnotate?

2. Can it interoperate with Mendeley, i.e. is it possible to preserve PDFexpert's annotations in Mendely?

3. Can we get support for syncing with Copy?
 
naomired said:
1. How well does PDFexpert export annotations and highlighted texts? Can it export a neat .txt file without jumbling words together like the recent iAnnotate?
Click to expand...

I recently purchased PDF Expert 5, but got a reimbursement when I discovered the words got jumbled when I exported annotations, just like with iAnnotate. However, I heard back from the developer today and they said they will be able to fix the problem in a future update, which is great news. It didn't specify a time frame, though.
 
So, basically:

*Readdle goes onto a third party forum and starts a thread that proposes to be a question/anseer/info thread, but is really just an ad
*Gets tons of questions
*Marketing guy comes back four days later, posts more ads in another thread, doesn't bother answering questions
*A week later, still nothing

Yes, this sounds like a company I want to support!
 
Cptnodegard said:
So, basically:

*Readdle goes onto a third party forum and starts a thread that proposes to be a question/anseer/info thread, but is really just an ad
*Gets tons of questions
*Marketing guy comes back four days later, posts more ads in another thread, doesn't bother answering questions
*A week later, still nothing

Yes, this sounds like a company I want to support!
Click to expand...

Fill out their contact form here: http://readdle.com/support/

They are actually really helpful, I was replied to twice yesterday on a weekend which I was impressed about :)
 
I agree

mickeydean said:
No discount for existing PDFExpert users? It is too much money for minor upgrades. And how long will you support this new version? Do I have to fork out more money in 6 months or a year? Even if it is 3, aren't you just setting up a subscription service for a mostly buggy software.
Click to expand...

I haven't upgraded for just that reason.
 
Readdlemate said:
Hi guys,

Given all the activity and discussions here I decided to make a dedicated PDF Expert 5 thread so we all can talk together (you know, we are an open company and always listen to you!).

So, for those who are not aware, we've just released PDF Expert 5! It's a major upgrade for every person who reads/ annotates/ works with PDFs. Please note, PDF Expert can also open any other file (video, music, pics, text, etc).

PDF Expert 5 was improved in many ways:

I. Clean, flat and razor sharp design.
We carefully applied iOS 7 design philosophy to PDF Expert 5. The application fits the new iPad perfectly! It looks great, feels remarkably polished, with even minor details taken care of.

Image

II. Powerful file manager.
PDF Expert 5 works with PDF files that are stored on the iPad. We've added Drag & Drop, Favorites, Color Tags, SMB and much more.

III. Completely new PDF Viewer
Full screen annotations, smart zoom, adjustable editing panel, reading mode, snapping and guides - are the main new features here.

IV. Audiobook Mode (Text To Speech)

V. Review Mode
And one more thing. PDF Expert 5 introduces a new, revolutionary feature with no competition even among desktop PDF viewers, including Adobe Reader. Please meet Review Mode! This is the biggest innovation in PDF annotation since highlights and text markups.
Many of you are familiar with reviewing documents in MS Word, when you edit someone else’s text and your changes are shown next to the original text. It’s an amazing tool to work on an article with your editor, or on an agreement with your partner, or on homework with team members.

Image

PDF Expert 5 is available on the App Store as a new app for $9.99. It supports iOS 6 and iOS 7 and runs on the iPad 2, iPad Mini and any retina iPad.

For all people who purchased PDF Expert before: PDF Expert 4.7.2 is a great product you bought. It can annotate documents, fill-in forms and do many other things with your PDF files. It is fully compatible with iOS 7 and we will maintain it for the next year.

PDF Expert 5 is an optional upgrade and I think that the new powerful features, iOS 7 design and one year of our hard work makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Thank you and enjoy PDF Expert 5!

Please, do share your thoughts and constructive feedback.
For all those who complain that they have to pay $9.99: We've spent 10 hard months creating this app. Reinvesting heavily is the only way to create great software, and you know, we do our best in that! Previous version of PDF Expert was supported for 2.5 years for free. PDF Expert 5 will be upgraded and improved by our team all the time, you can be sure in that!

Watch a video here https://vimeo.com/80870187
Click to expand...


I will never update. I own pdf-expert4 for iPad and iPhone.
Version 4 never worked without crashing on ios7.
Now you want me to pay you again for a working app. It isn't even universal yet. You must be kidding. Bye. There are lots of alternatives. And cheaper too.

I think you 've made a serious miscalculation.

----------

----------

Denys Zhadanov

Readdle Marketing guy
 
I agree, current PDF expert owners should of gotten some type of discount. For example release a standalone PDF expert 5 for the rest of the world but in PDF expert 4 offer a paid upgrade which would be free for current members prior to PDF expert 5 release date.

Just saying, you'll keep current owners for being loyal and attract new ones.
 
Cptnodegard said:
So, basically:

*Readdle goes onto a third party forum and starts a thread that proposes to be a question/anseer/info thread, but is really just an ad
*Gets tons of questions
*Marketing guy comes back four days later, posts more ads in another thread, doesn't bother answering questions
*A week later, still nothing

Yes, this sounds like a company I want to support!
Click to expand...

This person knows what they are talking about.

staccato83 said:
1. Why is the Accounts section permanently fixed to the sidebar? This information is easily accessed under Network. I shouldn't have to see "Login to Google Drive" and "Login to Box" if I choose not to use such accounts.

2. What happened to the Show/Hide Tabs option? While relocating the tabs from the bottom to the top was a much needed improvement, removing the option entirely seemed unnecessary.

3. Why isn't PDF Expert a universal application? The Documents application is universal.

4. The pinch-to-zoom functionality seems awkward. Why did you choose not to use a zoom box? The zoom box present in your recently retired Remarks application had a much better implementation in my opinion.

5. Good job on implementing Favorites into the sidebar. However, the toggle between Recents and Favorites seems strange. If the redundant Accounts section was removed, both Favorites and Recents would fit in the sidebar without the need for a toggle.
Click to expand...

Here, I'll quote myself in hopes of receiving any answers. I also suggest everyone that purchased the app rate it on the app store and voice any displeasure via twitter.
 
Looks like GoodReader pushed a FREE update with iOS 7 compatibility. Their product has always been superior and I definitely won't be upgrading to PDF Expert 5 when you're charging me $10 for an update that should be free. I expected better from Readdle.
 
Last edited:
ihakim said:
Looks like GoodReader pushed a FREE update with iOS 7 compatibility. Their product has always been superior and I definitely won't be upgrading to PDF Expert 5 when you're charging me $10 for an update that should be free. I expected better from Readdle.
Click to expand...

Goodreader 4.0 is scheduled to be free as well.
 
GoodReader iOS7 update still has the nasty non iOS7 icon.

It's really petty but would be enough for me not to use the app, would look awful on my home screen.
 
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