novaPDF 11.9 Build 532

novaPDF is a PDF creator for Windows, developed by Softland, that installs as a virtual printer. Any application with a Print command can send its output to novaPDF instead of a physical printer. novaPDF saves the result as a PDF file. It is commercial software sold in Lite, Standard and Professional editions, with a 30-day trial available before purchase.

Three ways to start a conversion

The printer driver is the most general route. Choosing novaPDF in a program’s Print dialog turns whatever that program can print into a PDF. The driver only sees the printed image of the page, so it converts hyperlinks that are visible as text but cannot recover links hidden behind other words.

The Microsoft Office add-ins fill that gap. novaPDF adds its own tab to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio and Outlook. Converting from that tab keeps hidden hyperlinks, cross-references and existing bookmarks. It can also turn heading styles into PDF bookmarks at chosen levels. Document properties such as author and title carry over as well.

The Start page handles files without opening them in their own applications. One tab converts a single document with default settings; the other works through a list of files.

Batch conversion and merging

The multiple-documents tab builds a list from individual files, every file in a folder, or a folder path. novaPDF reads that folder path when printing starts, so it still picks up files added to the folder later. Supported inputs include Word, Excel and CSV, PowerPoint, Visio, HTML, RTF, XML and TXT, along with SVG, DWG/DXF and EMZ drawings. You can reorder or remove items, or uncheck them to skip them. You can also save the whole list with its job settings as a CSV file and reopen it later.

When the job runs, novaPDF either merges everything into one PDF in list order or writes a separate PDF for each file. Outside batch jobs, merging also works at print time: you can insert a new document into or append it to an existing PDF. This merging is available in every edition.

Printing profiles and shared printers

novaPDF stores its settings in printing profiles, so different jobs can use different output settings. Private profiles stay on the local computer. Public profiles are created on a server, pushed to client machines, and can prevent users from switching to their own private profiles.

You can also expose a single installed driver as several virtual printers, each with its own name, defaults and permissions. On a network, novaPDF can run on a print server and be shared with other computers, including Remote Desktop and Terminal Server sessions. Each computer that prints to it needs its own license. License assignment by NetBIOS or DNS name is handled centrally. The Printer Monitor shows jobs as they print and keeps logs for administrators.

What goes into the PDF

Every edition of novaPDF can produce PDF/A files in the 1, 2 and 3 conformance levels for long-term archiving. It can also produce linearized “fast web view” files. A browser can display these page by page while the rest downloads. You can embed fonts in full or as subsets of the characters actually used. You can also control which fonts to include. Text that begins with web, mail, FTP or file prefixes becomes clickable, and headings detected in the document can become bookmarks with their own font, size and color.

Layout options cover custom paper sizes, orientation, resolution from 72 to 2400 dpi, and N-up printing of up to 16 pages on a sheet. You can write metadata, including XMP and copyright notices, into the file. After saving, novaPDF can open the PDF in the default viewer or launch another application.

Watermarks, overlays and security

Watermarks stamp text or images onto all pages or selected ones, with control over rotation, opacity and color. Templates cover marks such as Confidential, Draft, date and time or page numbering. Watermarks require the Standard or Professional edition.

The Professional edition adds overlays, which place the content of another PDF in front of or behind each page. This puts plain text onto a letterhead or invoice form. Professional also encrypts PDFs with AES or RC4, sets passwords, and restricts viewing, printing, copying, editing or annotating. Digital signatures apply a certificate to the file. PDF readers then show whether the document has changed since signing.

Sending and tagging output

novaPDF Professional can deliver the finished file automatically. It sends PDFs by email through the default mail client, Outlook or an SMTP server. Email options include presets for common providers and optional password-protected zip attachments. It can also upload PDFs to FTP and SFTP servers saved as presets. User tags are tag and value pairs inside the source document. novaPDF reads them during conversion and uses them as macros, or as markers for removing pages or text with specific formatting.

Which novaPDF edition encrypts and signs