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| Making PDF easy, with magic. |
With my freelance editing and writing work, I’d usually need to convert Microsoft Word files to PDFs and vice versa. Usually, I’d just do a quick Google search for a PDF converter, and use the first websites that come up.
However, this time, I had a 10-Mb 96-page PDF that I needed to edit. Thus, I decided that I needed to convert it to an MS Word document. As I always forget to bookmark my usual PDF converter haunts, I again looked around for one, and found my few favorites. However, this time, I encountered two common problems.
The first was that it took forever for the file to be uploaded to a server, so after 15 minutes I would just let it go. The second was that the site DID convert the PDF for me, but I was allowed to download limited pages of my converted file (one allowed me 2 out of the 96). To get the rest of them, I had to register and pay a fee. “No thanks”, said I, but considered it as a last option if I couldn’t find anything better.
And then I stumbled onto Smallpdf.com.
Their promises for “best quality PDF” and “convert a PDF in seconds” are common to see in other sites, but what really grabbed my attention was the the header “Magically convert PDFs to editable Word files”. With focus on the “Magically“. I thought it was cute, then uploaded my file and waited for the result. (I suppose I must add here that I had more than a few converters open in different tabs.)
After a few minutes, I got my file, downloaded it, and waited for the catch to come around. However, none came along, and I saw that my file was done (magically) perfect: the images and text were complete, very little formatting was changed, and the document essentially looked like the original.
I was sold.
I looked into their other products, and saw that I could also do a number of other things on the site, like unlock a PDF, convert a PPT to PDF and vice versa, merge and split a PDF… A number of PDF converter tools all in one convenient location. I then realized that their tagline was “We make PDF easy”. In my case, I definitely think they delivered.
Although I usually don’t bookmark or favorite PDF converter sites, I will be leaving this one on my bookmarks bar. It’s really easy to use, and I love how the interface is really simple. They definitely hit it when they said that this is “the first PDF software you will actually like”.
Try it for yourself, and see how it compares to the other available alternatives out there. I was certainly satisfied with their services, and I hope you will be, too.
But what about you? Have you heard of Smallpdf.com before? Do you have any other PDF converters that you use and recommend to others? Let me know in the comments. Cheers!
Note: All photos here are from the Smallpdf website.