"Server-side PDF"

By Leah Lothringer
PDF Store Support Team
Issue 15 for 2006

In recent years, PDF development has focussed on how the format interacts over the Internet with a Web server. Server-side operations typically consist of processing data and storing information that can be accessed by a group of clients irrespective of where they are located. In issue #12 of PDF Perspectives, I highlighted the role of the Web in the rapid uptake of PDF technology. Server-side solutions provide a single, centrally administered installation that can be used by anyone on the network – complementing the essential advantages of PDF.

Businesses can benefit from providing their entire organization with a straightforward server-side PDF solution that includes straightforward, automated and unlimited (at times) high-speed conversion of documents to PDF, merging, splitting, conversion of PDF to text and much more.

There is little that you cannot do with Absolute PDF Server, a centralized, serverside PDF enterprise solution. A complete PDF management tool, Absolute PDF Server can do all of the aforementioned for an unlimited number of users, performs an unlimited number of conversions, support watched folders and can also do OCR (Optical Character Recognition).

For developers PDFlib is a popular server application that gives you the ability to generate PDFs using a variety of different methods (API’s, watched folders etc). The PDFlib range of solutions are available in a variety of programming languages and on a number of different platforms.

Similarly, activePDF Toolkit is a scalable COM object that can be used to create and manipulate PDF forms. Tasks are performed dynamically and resultant PDF documents can be distributed to enterprise users, mailed out, etc. For practical information about server-side PDF forms, have a read of Karl De Abrew’s Web Hosting PDFs article at Planet PDF.

The Server-side PDF category at PDF Store features a cross-section of products that span the gamut of server-side PDF functionality.