Remarks, like PDF Expert, offers PDF annotation and filling tools, but it’s a much more streamlined tool than that app, with a focus on making it easy to mark up and share documents, as well as create your own notes and notebooks independent of any pre-existing PDFs that can also be marked up and shared with other Remarks users for collaborative work.

Remarks is that rare beast among PDF tools, either on or off the iPad: it features a simple, straightforward interface and everything work very quickly, with speedy response times for turning pages, adding notes, and basically anything else you’d want to do. Tools, including pens, highlighters, preset shapes and text entry, are clearly labeled with simple icons, and there’s no visual clutter or wealth of unnecessary options to distract you from what you actually need to get done.

Sharing may be one of Remarks’ best feature. Using email, you can easily share documents with other Remarks users, including annotated PDFs and notes created in the app itself. But in an upcoming update, Readdle is planning to introduce Dropbox, Box.net and other cloud storage sharing options, too, making it even more convenient for doing collaborative work.

Paired with a Bluetooth keyboard or stylus, Remarks is even more useful. It features effective accidental touch or wrist-detection, meaning you can write naturally with a stylus without worrying about drawing in the wrong place, and regular Mac key shortcuts like Command+C, Command+V and Command+A work with keyboard text input.

Remarks allows flexibility in creating notes and notebooks, allowing you to rearrange pages as you add them or after the fact, but it doesn’t overwhelm with options like other iPad notebook offerings. And since it’s also a full-fledged PDF annotation tool, and one that can be used collaboratively, it’s probably one of the most versatile iPad apps for students, and a fairly inexpensive one at $4.99.

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The update includes some iPad-only goodies that take advantage of the device’s larger screen, as well as some general changes for all versions that replicate and one-up features found in Apple’s own iBooks, making it a much better all-around solution for users who’d rather just have one e-reading app on their devices. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new:

All devices

Kindle Personal Documents Service. Both iPhone and iPad users can now take advantage of Amazon’s Kindle Personal Document Service, which lets users email their own documents to special Send-to-Kindle email addresses assigned to each Amazon Kindle user account. The document will then show up in their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch Kindle app library, and be available for re-download across devices. Note that this does incur a fee, and requires a few initial steps to get set up. You can check out Amazon’s full guide to its Personal Document Service here for more info.

PDF Reader. Kindle apps for iOS now feature a built-in PDF reader that can open files from Mail or Safari, or PDFs transferred directly from a user’s computer via iTunes. The PDF feature also works with documents transferred using the newly-integrated Personal Documents Service mentioned above. This was the main (if not the only) advantage of iBooks over the Kindle app in my opinion, so now that it’s gone I’ll probably just use the Amazon app full-time.

iPad-only

New magazine design. Amazon is clearly trying to stay on top of the competition from Newsstand here, and in fact, its magazines now work with Newsstand. Amazon’s Kindle newspaper and magazine library now extends to the over 400 titles available on the Kindle Fire.

Print replica textbooks. Those still in school will benefit greatly from this feature, which makes thousands of print replica textbooks available on the iPad via the Kindle app. Textbook rentals are also available, and the print replica formatting means that it’ll be even easier for students to follow along in class with page and section numbering while also enjoying the advantages of a digital edition (searching, linked content, etc.)

This is a big, solid update from a company that’s currently nursing its own competitive tablet platform, and I must say I’m pretty impressed. What do you think of the new Kindle apps?

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Using fillable forms

With certain PDF files known as fillable forms, you can enter information and either save or print your changes. You can’t create fillable forms in Preview (you need Adobe Acrobat Pro or Smile’s PDFpenPro to do that), but you can fill out someone else’s PDF form, like any of the forms and publications from the IRS. Simply open the file, click on one of the fillable form fields, and enter your information. Once you’ve filled out the form in full, go to File > Save or File > Save As… to save the info you added or create a filled duplicate of the original form with a different file name.

Making annotations

When reviewing a document, I like to take notes directly in the document. This is particularly useful when interviewing job candidates, for instance. Using Preview, you can highlight, underline and strike through text; add notes and text boxes; and even some draw some limited graphics like lines, boxes, circles and arrows in PDF documents. To access the annotation toolbar in Preview, click on the Annotate button in Preview’s toolbar. In Snow Leopard, the annotation toolbar will appear at the bottom of the window. In Lion, a redesigned annotation toolbar will appear at the top.

Managing signatures

A new feature in OS X Lion’s version of Preview is the ability to manage signatures. This is great if you don’t have a scanner or fax machine handy. You can even create and manage a collection of various signatures. Create a new signature in Preview by following these steps:

1. Open a PDF in Preview and click on the Annotations toolbar button.
2. Click on the Signature button on the Annotation toolbar and select “Create Signature from Built-in iSight…”
3. Hold up a signed piece of paper to the camera and align it with the blue line.
4. Click “Accept” to add it to your library of signatures.
5. Add it to your PDF document from the Annotation toolbar the same way you would an arrow, text box or note.

Creating a duplicate

Since you’re technically editing the PDF file when adding annotations, saving a copy of the original as a new file might make sense. But if you’re using Lion, you can simply create a copy of the document by selecting “Duplicate” from Preview’s File menu. This is a lot easier than finding the document in the Finder, creating and renaming the file before opening, or even using the “Save As…” command.  If you have already made changes to the document before you duplicate, you will be presented with an option to revert your changes in the original, and create a duplicate copy that has all of your changes intact.

Any other tips for using Preview with PDF files? Share them in the comments.

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The Visioneer Mobility is a sheet-fed scanner that runs on battery power and recharges via USB. The scans are stored on an SD card, and can be transferred to the iPad using the Camera Connection kit or via a Eye-Fi card and iOS companion application. Each charge scans about 300 pages either in color .jpg or your choice of color or black and white PDF. Business cards, documents and pictures all scan easily. Occasionally, a document would get stuck, but the device has a release lever to prevent damage, a slick feature lacking in most sheet-fed scanners.

The device retails for $199 and includes the scanner, a carrying case, charger, and a 2 GB SD card. Although it only ships with OCR solutions for Windows, third-party Mac software such as PDFpenpro by Smile easily converted the files to an editable format. It’s a bit larger and heavier than the other scanners I reviewed in my earlier post, but that’s understandable given that this also packs a hefty battery.

With a few months of use, I’ve really fallen in love with this scanner, and enjoy how much closer it allows me to come to a truly post-PC mobile computing experience. With more and more people replacing their traditional laptops with Android and iOS devices, as well as ultra-light laptops like the Macbook Air, expect to see the Mobility and other similar devices become even better and more numerous.

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There isn’t a specific timeline for when the update will be released, but when it does arrive, it’ll also shut down the ability to jailbreak iOS devices using the most recent JailbreakMe browser-based method. The jailbreak takes advantage of the same exploit which poses a potential security threat and involves the way in which Safari and Mail manage PDF file downloads.

Apple will likely be quick with an update, considering the nature of the German IT agency’s warning. The organization called the flaw a “critical weakness,” and one which is “sufficient to infect the mobile device with malware without the user’s knowledge.” It affects users running iOS 4.3.3, and possibly older versions as well, according to the German agency.

While users await a software update to patch the hole, the best way to avoid any potential security threats is to avoid downloading PDF files from any untrusted sources, either via email or mobile Safari. As mobile web access becomes more popular, it’s generally a good idea for users to practice the same kind of safe browsing that helps avoid malicious attacks on desktop computers as well, part of which means not downloading content when its origin is at all suspect or hazy.

A similar flaw was discovered in August 2010 that also allowed for web-based jailbreak, and also caught the attention of the German government. Apple took about a week to issue an iOS update to patch the problem at that time, so it’s reasonable to expect a similar timeline for release with a 4.3.4 update.

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I realize you can open a PDF, drag another PDF into the Preview window, and combine in that fashion, but in my experience, there’ve been issues with cross-platform compatibility when using this method. I turned to Automator, and within a few minutes, had a pretty simple and effective way to solve the problem.

1. I decided to create a Service rather than a standalone application or workflow, so it would be accessible from anywhere I may end up in the Finder, at any time.



2. Since PDFs were my focus, I set the service to target them while browsing from the Finder. You can obviously play around with these settings to do different things, depending on your needs.



3. The first action to drag into the editor is the heavy lifter here, and is very clearly named: “Combine PDF Pages.” I’d prefer they append to one another rather than shuffle them together.



4. At this point, I thought I was done, but when I would run the Service against a couple of PDF files, I had no idea where the resulting file ended up. For some reason, it wasn’t in the clipboard, but rather, was in some non-accessible directory of OS X. So added the “Move Finder Items” command into the editor, and the result was just what I wanted.



5. Finally, select the files in the Finder, right click, and choose your newly-created Service from the Services submenu. The resulting PDF shows up as some gibberish file name, right on the desktop.

Automator is a flexible tool, and can be made to do so many of the random tasks that we find need for on a daily basis. Hopefully, this simple solution will kickstart the process of creating your own custom workflows, as well.

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To get iTunes ready is simple. All you have to do is open your Applications folder, and make an alias of iTunes by control-clicking its icon and selecting ‘Make Alias’. Now drag your newly-created alias and drop it in [Your Home folder] → Library → PDF Services. What this does is adds iTunes as an option when you select the PDF button in a Print dialog.

At the moment when you click PDF under Print, it’s going to say ‘iTunes alias’, which isn’t very informative. Rename your iTunes alias in the Finder to something along the lines of ‘Send PDF to iTunes’ or ‘Add PDF to iTunes’ and the menu item in the Pront dialog should update next time you open it.

Now whenever you have a document or web page open that you’d like to read in iBooks, all you have to do is go to File → Print, then click the PDF button in the lower left and choose your menu item for iTunes. The document will be saved as a PDF and sent straight into the Books section of your iTunes library.

This method works for any application that can open PDF files, not just iTunes.

While rehearsing the presentation, however, it became apparent that we were going to need to reorder and remove pages from the document. Turns out this is a very easy procedure in Leopard.

Here’s how to edit PDFs using Preview (Preview is built into Leopard):

1. Open your PDF with Preview. (It should default to open with Preview, but if not, right-click on the file and select Open With → Preview)
   
2. You should now have a little drawer on the side of your PDF.
   
   To manipulate the document:
   • Delete a page: Command + Delete
   • Move a page: Click and hold on the page and drag to reorder
   • Add another PDF: Drag the PDF into the sidebar
3. When you’re done, make sure you save the document. File → Save As

A Third-Party (slightly more robust) Solution

Before I discovered this method I was using third-party software called Combine PDFs. Combine PDFs let me remove & reorder pages as well as combine multiple PDFs just like Preview, but it also let me add a simple password to protect my PDF files and apply different filters, including one that reduced the PDF size. Combine PDFs is free for the casual user; a license is only required if you use it regularly. Combine PDFs will allow you to test the functionality with processing up to 1,000 PDF pages, which should be fine for most users.

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In OS X printing to a PDF is a as simple as:

1. File > Print
2. PDF > Save as PDF

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Having done quite a bit of traveling for our move from Pennsylvania to Washington state, I was inundated with advertisements for ways to keep business cards, documents and travel receipts electronically organized. Unfortunately, none of these products worked on the Mac. In my quest to get organized and also to prepare for tax time I searched for an equivalent all-Mac solution and here’s the combination that has worked best for me.

Step One: The Hardware

I debated for quite a while on whether I should buy a new scanner since I already own a decent multi-function device. I suspect that many readers do as well and, while I cannot say that a special scanner is absolutely required, I do need to point out that receipts can be tricksy little items. There are no fixed/standard sizes and you never know when or where you will need to turn them or other paper items into digital documents. With that in mind I sought out an inexpensive, compact, Mac-friendly device with TWAIN support and settled on the Pentax DSmobile 600:

Pentax DSmobile 600 Scanner

While Mac support was a key factor, I wanted something that was highly portable (it comes with a travel bag) and that did not require external power – the Dsmobile 600 is powered solely through USB (cord provided). I deemed TWAIN support critical since I wanted to ensure compatibility with existing software and I hoped that my receipt-organizing solution would support this standard as well. I bookmarked the Pentax (I did not want to spend $115-135USD on it before finding the key element in my quest) and pressed on.

Step Two: The Software

While a specialized software package was not absolutely necessary – one could use a manual solution composed of a well-crafted Numbers spreadsheet, organized directories and decent file naming conventions – the goal was to make this task easy. Since my receipts were already somewhat disorganized, introducing more manual tasks into a new process would doom it from the start.

After an exhaustive search trough Google, Version Tracker, MacUpdate and many forums (including our fine forum) I settled on a $39.95 program called ReceiptWallet, developed by Scott Gruby.

The most basic description of ReceiptWallet is that it is a document organizer & repository similar to Papers in that it can store almost anything you throw at it. This makes it great for user manuals or other items you just do not wish to transcribe. While it can store everything, the true power of ReceiptWallet lies in the ability to import, interpret, itemize, report on and export financial data associated with receipts. After playing around with the demo version, I was confident enough in the software to warrant the purchase of the Pentax (it turns out that the model I chose is also one recommended by the developer – always a good thing) and a license for ReceiptWallet and started organizing my paper mess.

Working With Receipts & Documents

When you first start the program you create a new “library” that is either used for organizing documents or receipts. Each library type presents unique fields with which to categorize entries. Receipts have an associated merchant, amount, method of payment and potentially itemized entries whereas documents have titles, categories, URLs and other taxonomy elements. Fields are completely customizable in any library you create, but I suspect most users will settle on the defaults provided by the author.

ReceiptWallet Main Window

My main goal was to manage receipts so I began with a receipt library and started scanning any merchant slip I could scrounge. The software does an admirable job when attempting to discern the date and amount of the purchase. It is no easy task since every receipt is different and the condition that some where in was far from optimal. After taking a guess, the program allows you to make corrections, itemize any detail you wish to capture and tag the entry with a note. Again, you can add more fields to accommodate any level of detail required (e.g. department number, employee number, etc) and all this captured data is available via built-in reports and can be exported in a formate that most spreadsheet and financial programs can read.

Adding a receipt

Not Limited To Scanning

Organizing paper receipts was my primary goal but it turn out that that task is only part of the story. Much of what I/we purchase today is either delivered electronically or at least has a receipt which is delivered on-screen or e-mail. While OS X provides a handy “Save PDF to Web Receipts Folder” option in the Print dialog, ReceiptWallet lets you take this one step further and lets you create Droplets for each library as well as ReceiptWallet itself. Rather than hunt around in e-mail or use Spotlight to find old receipts or even license keys you can put those documents/elements right into an organized database with full searching & reporting capabilities, all by just “printing” them! The software would be worth it for just that feature alone. Imagine having all those Amazon, Apple Store, eBay & PayPal records immediately accessible or never having to submit a replacement request for a lost license key. Remember, though, that the software is not limited to receipts. You can save any HTML page or any document from any program as PDF and store it directly in an organized document library within ReceiptWallet.

Integrating It Into Your Personal Workflow & Mindset

ReceiptWallet doesn’t come with a magic wand that will turn you into an well-organized life form. You will need to find the best way to integrate it into your daily/weekly workflow. That’s easy for electronic documents and receipts but requires a bit of discipline at first when dealing with those bits of paper you quickly tuck away into bags or pockets each week. I suggest using a physical drop box where you place any receipt from any purchase during the week and then designate some small period of time during the week to process the data from the past seven days. That way you have a focused task for brief period time that is long enough to mentally allocate without considering it a distraction (which would probably be the case if you performed the task daily).

The title of this post includes the word “budget” and ReceiptWallet can be a powerful tool when it comes to helping develop and stay on a budget (which is one of the best ways to get started managing your finances). If you are diligent in scanning, importing & itemizing your expenditures, then you will know just how much you are spending on, say, groceries in general or even specific items and use that to change behavior (if necessary). You’ll know and have a record of anything that you can deduct from your health spending account (if you have one). You’ll even get a good picture of what you spend each week on eating out (this can be a real eye opener). You can use all this data to develop a baseline of what you think you should be spending and then use it to keep yourself honest. I guarantee you’ll save enough in one year to pay for the cost of the scanner and software if you use it to create and stick to a budget.

One final feature that I’ll mention (there are more facets to the software than I’ve touched on) is that the IRS (for those in the US) will also accept scanned receipts as evidence during audits, and ReceiptWallet makes it simple to keep solid backups of all your key data in the event the government comes-a-knockin’ at your door.

If you’ve been using ReceiptWallet for a while or have come across another solution for organizing your receipt and document mess, please drop a note in the comments if only to help the next pilgrim in search of the best means to getting his/her life in order.

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