PDFpen 6.0.1
Following the recent release of version 6.0 of its two PDF-manipulation programs (see “PDFpen 6.0 Adds Word Export,” 19 March 2013), Smile has updated PDFpen and PDFpenPro to version 6.0.1 with several essential fixes. The new release enables you to export Microsoft Word documents when running Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and Preview and Quick Look will no longer be able to display a password-protected PDF saved by PDFpenPro. The update also fixes issues with importing and using Library items, ensures that PDF portfolios and LaTeX-generated PDFs can be opened, resolves a potential hang when
right-clicking in the sidebar, enables use of the Populate Scripts menu in Lion, and fixes links to PDFpenPro-specific help topics. Note that as of this writing, both PDFpen and PDFpenPro have yet to be updated to version 6.0.1 in the Mac App Store. Upgrades from a previous version of PDFpen or PDFpenPro cost $30 via Smile, but are free to those who purchased on or after 15 October 2012. If you want to upgrade to PDFpenPro from a previous version of PDFpen, the price is $40. ($59.95/$99.95 new with a 20-percent discount for TidBITS members,
free update from version 6.0, 49.6/50.3 MB)
This whole idea of having to be on the net to convert a document to Word™—is that for some reason other than copy-protection? Some people work in places or countries without constant WiFi. So this function is useless in those situations. It is increasingly irksome that software companies, including Apple, assume that we all sit in WiFi environments all day, with infinite bandwidth. NOT SO! What do they think this is—South Korea?
It's not a matter of copy protection at all - the simple fact is that the conversion service they use exists as an online service. Although there is no question that it can be annoying to need Internet access for the feature, having the service be online enables the programmers to tweak it constantly to improve the conversions without having to push new software to everyone or have some people be using older versions that don't work as well.
I got the iStore version 6 and installed without any problem. Seeing this story induced me to try and find a way to update it directly with SmileonMyMac website. No dice. Unless I am mistaken, if you get this product (maybe all) from iStore, you will only get Apple-approved updates, at whatever pace they allow that to happen. If so, strikes me as an area for attention by Apple, developers and users. In the meantime, users beware?
That's absolutely true, and is why we try to note when upgrades are not available via the Mac App Store. Frankly, I always recommend buying directly from developers whenever possible, though the iCloud connectivity issue makes that a little fuzzier - it's not just a decision about where to make the purchase of otherwise identical software when iCloud is involved.