PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Able2Extract 8: Conversation with Reena Cruz

Reena Cruz is from Investintech.com, Inc., leading developer of PDF converter solutions for the desktop, server and mobile platforms. She writes for the Investintech blog, where she shares tips about PDF converter technology, productivity in the workplace and software in general.

In this conversation, Reena discusses their Able2Extract product and its PDF to PowerPoint conversion technology.

Geetesh: Tell us about Able2Extract 8 – also can you share some scenarios in which people may want to convert their PDFs to Microsoft Office formats such as PowerPoint, Excel, and Word?

Reena: Anyone who works with digital formats knows that editing and working with PDF content is next to impossible. Our flagship PDF converter, Able2Extract 8, was developed to help you convert those PDF files to other digital formats, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Publisher, as well as non-Microsoft formats such as AutoCAD, HTML, image and open source formats.

Combining built-in PDF viewing technology and an intuitive user-friendly interface, Able2Extract 8 aims to make converting PDF files as easy as possible. The process is simple — open your file, select your content and click to convert. In three steps, you’re left with content you can edit, analyze and reuse.

In contrast, the day to day issues users face with the PDF format are anything but simple. For instance, PowerPoint presentations can be easily shared and exported to PDF. Yet, the presentation content inside them will often need to be edited or reused in some other capacity.

Also, consider how you work with other formats. Performing Excel calculations on PDF data becomes impractical if you need to manually re-enter those details into different spreadsheets.

There are even cases where no digital source file exists. With paper copies of statements and reports being scanned directly into PDF files, how do you work with the information contained in them?

In each case, you struggle to work with that PDF content, copying and pasting, retyping or taking screenshots of PDF pages. Able2Extract 8 reduces the need for makeshift solutions and lets you directly convert PDF text and graphics faithfully into other formats.

Geetesh: How much more improved and refined is Able2Extract compared to other PDF conversion options including the new PDF to Word converter built inside Word 2013?

Reena: Able2Extract’s development was largely due to feedback from our users. As a result, we were able to really hone down Able2Extract’s features and get it to accommodate the ways in which you really need to work with PDF conversions, letting you fine-tune them as needed.

For instance, a big part of Able2Extract is about conversion control, which some PDF conversion options can easily miss out on. If you need to deal with only portions of text or complex data tables, Able2Extract can help get the job done. You can work with your conversions on the paragraph level and convert anywhere from a single line to the entire file. Its custom conversion options will go so far as to let you select the rows and columns for PDF to Excel conversions.

We know that PDF converter users can range anywhere from business professionals to students. Thus, we included conversion options and settings that anyone can take advantage of: batch conversion, AutoCAD settings, image DPI resolution, and Excel and Word output options. As a standalone application, Able2Extract can fit into any workflow.

And this is where Able2Extract 8 can really offer more than Microsoft Word’s PDF to Word built-in converter. Where its conversion function requires that you are in Microsoft Word 2013 to use the feature, Able2Extract doesn’t. It isn’t a plug-in limited to other applications. Able2Extract is specifically designed for PDF conversions alone. Moreover, you aren’t tied down to a specific platform either. This latest version is also cross-platform. You can work on Windows, Mac or Linux.

Listening to users’ needs and suggestions is what really brought our PDF solutions to the point they are at now. Making Able2Extract available and useful for everyone, even on the mobile platform, is what compels us to keep improving the technology. We wanted to bring a different, more elegant PDF solution to the market and Able2Extract 8 is it.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Interviews, PDF, PowerPoint

Remove Bookmarks from Audio Clips in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

After adding a Bookmark to an audio clip, you may want to edit or remove the Bookmark altogether. In PowerPoint you can’t edit a Bookmark — for example, you cannot change the time of your Bookmark from 30 seconds to 28 seconds. To achieve this change, you have to delete the earlier Bookmark, and then add a new Bookmark on the time position that you want.

Learn to remove bookmarks from audio clips in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2010
Tagged as: Music, PowerPoint 2010, Sounds, Tutorials

PowerPoint Concept Slides: Organic Squares

If you have drawn on a flip chart or even a blackboard — or just doodled on the back of a napkin, then you must have drawn a square (or just let us call it a “box”) with just a pencil or a marker? How about achieving that same hand-drawn look on your slides? Yes, you can use PowerPoint’s built-in shapes but you’ll end up with a square that’s so perfect! On the other hand, a hand drawn square will look distinct and different — it’s almost a powerful statement. Squares are just one of the 8 shape types we have included in this Organic Shapes collection – and each 8 of these shape types have 10 variants each – so you end up with 80 hand-drawn shape options!

Buy and download these slides now.

Filed Under: Presentation Bank
Tagged as: Design, Graphics, PowerPoint, Presentation Samples

PowerPoint Concept Slides: Organic Circles

Have you tried to draw a circle with just holding a pencil or marker in your hand? You’ll end up with a circle that may fail you in a geometry test but it still looks human, personal, and different — just like these organic circle shapes. Circles are just one of the 8 shape types we have included in this Organic Shapes collection – and each 8 of these shape types have 10 variants each – so you end up with 80 hand-drawn shape options! These shapes will help break the monotony of text heavy slides, and assist you in explaining difficult concepts better to your audiences. Using these organic shapes also convinces your audiences that you care enough about them to make the slides look appealing and comprehensible. What’s more, these shapes are also so much fun to use!

Buy and download these slides now.

Filed Under: Presentation Bank
Tagged as: Design, Graphics, PowerPoint, Presentation Samples

Indezine News: February 26, 2013

In this issue, we have an interview with Yossi Pinkas who discusses MagPointer, an amazing plug-in that lets you zoom and enhance your slides while presenting – do try playing with their free trial. You can also download our Six Petals circle that lets you create an info-graphic that’s different yet subtle. PowerPoint 2010 users can learn how to fade audio clips, and PowerPoint 2011 for Mac users can get started with indents for bulleted lists.

Read all this and more in Indezine News.

Filed Under: Ezine
Tagged as: Ezine, Indezine, News, PowerPoint