PDF Software question

[Hawkmoon]

The computer I had at a project site had Adobe Acrobat 8 installed on it. Acrobat made it very easy for me to compile multiple PDF documents into a single PDF file, then insert bookmarks for distribution to the entire [my state's] Department of Transportation universe. Then we were moved to a new location, in a construction trailer, with new(er) computers that don't have Acrobat. Instead, they have the new Department of Transportation standard PDF software, Bluebeam Revu. (Except that some only have Bluebeam Vu, which is the brain-dead junior varsity version. Naturally, that's what I got.)

Bluebeam apparently has advantages over Acrobat for some tasks that many D.O.T. project engineers need to perform, but it doesn't do most of the things I need to perform. Plus, it's a resources hog, and it's slooooooooooooow. The State won't install Acrobat for me, because it's no longer supported by the D.O.T. IT department. So I think I'm going to have to install something on my personal notebook and do some sneakernet file transfers to get my monthly reports done. Acrobat is too expensive for me, so I'm looking for affordable alternatives. I've pretty much exhausted the freeware offerings, and none do everything I need. So ...

Today I came across a program called Wondershare PDFelement. https://pdf.wondershare.com/pdfelement/

Has anyone heard of it, or (better yet) used it? If anyone can provide some feedback, I'd appreciate it.

[lee n. field]

acrobat 8 is old.  The current acrobat is a subscription product.  The last time I had someone need a PDF creator, I set them up with Foxit Phantom, and they're happy with that.  Foxit Standard is a bit over $100.

Have never heard of Wondershare.  Or Bluebeam, for that matter.

You can probably find a place online to buy a copy of the older Acrobat.

[Hawkmoon]

acrobat 8 is old.  The current acrobat is a subscription product.

Yes, I know. And I can't afford to subscribe when it's for my work but my employer won't reimburse me for it because as far as they are concerned, the State is setting us up with Bluebeam, and for most of our personnel Bluebeam seems to be better. For me it's a disaster.

And I'm opposed to the subscription model, anyway. I bought Office Pro 2016 rather than subscribe to Office 365, because once it's paid for it's mine for as long as I choose to continue using it.

You can probably find a place online to buy a copy of the older Acrobat.

I just spent 45 minutes looking. Nothing for less than $150, which is more than I'm willing to pay.

[lee n. field]

I'll root around this weekend, and see what I can find.

[cordex]

http://support.bluebeam.com/online-help/revu2017/Content/RevuHelp/01--File/02--Combine/Combine-PDFs--MT.htm

Looks like you can click a checkbox to add bookmarks too.

[Hawkmoon]

http://support.bluebeam.com/online-help/revu2017/Content/RevuHelp/01--File/02--Combine/Combine-PDFs--MT.htm

Looks like you can click a checkbox to add bookmarks too.

Interesting. That may be a newer version that what the State D.O.T. uses, because some of the computers have a separate program, Bluebeam Stapler, for merging multiple files into a single PDF. It works, but it;s clunky and I don't recall an option to create bookmarks.

All of which is academic, since the computer I've been assigned only has Bluebeam Vu, which is the freeware version that doesn't include Stapler.

[zahc]

I use pdftk to cat PDFs. Not sure about bookmarks.

[Hawkmoon]

I use pdftk to cat PDFs. Not sure about bookmarks.

I hadn't heard of that one. I'll check it out. Doesn't look like it allows bookmark creation, though.

Thanks.

[HeroHog]

"PDF Split and Merge" is a good free one but the whole adding links/bookmarks is another issue.

[HeroHog]

http://www.pdfsam.org/download-pdfsam-enhanced/ under $60 and might do what ya want.

http://www.pdfsam.org/pdfsam-enhanced/ specs

I think the basic one will do for ya http://www.pdfsam.org/pdfsam-basic/

[lee n. field]

I'll root around this weekend, and see what I can find.

I've got a copy of full Acrobat version 6, if that'd help.  Given what they say here, probably not.  Came bundled with something, while ago.  I'm a pack rat.

[Hawkmoon]

I've got a copy of full Acrobat version 6, if that'd help.  Given what they say here, probably not.  Came bundled with something, while ago.  I'm a pack rat.

I'm not sure what all that information in the link means, but it does make it sound like it may not be a viable solution.

I'll keep looking. Ideally, I'd like to find a legal copy of Acrobat 10 or Acrobat 11 -- Standard would be okay. Not even remotely interested in Acrobat DC -- don't want to learn a new interface. For now, I'll muddle along with one program for merging files and a separate program for creating bookmarks. It's clunky, but it gets the job done.