As a Web Designer, one of the biggest problems I run into is gathering content (text & pictures) from clients. Business owners may not have any idea of what they want their website to do (they just know they need one because everyone else has one). Or maybe they’re just too busy and can’t find the time to add yet another task to their to-do-list.
Many times I write the content myself. I’ve asked a couple of clients to let me record our meetings. You’d be surprised how much great content they have in their heads when you ask “what’s so great about your product?” So, you can imagine how thrilled I am when a client actually sends me some “meat” to add to their site.
I just received a large brochure from a client. I assumed it was a brochure because the file name said “brochure.” But the extension was .pub. What the heck is a dot pub? I did a quick Google search and found out that a .pub is a Microsoft Publisher file. Great, I don’t have that program on my computer.
What are my options? Well, I can buy this stupid program that I’ll never use. But that’s dumb. Or, I can tell the client that I can’t use this file and he needs to send it in some other form. But that’s totally embarrassing. And I’m thrilled to get content in any form, I just wish I could figure out how to convert the dang file.
I found a website called PDF Converter. You can upload your random, weirdo document and they will convert it to a PDF, then email it to you (you’ll have to unzip it though). They can convert 117 different kinds of documents into a PDF. It’s also a free service. Okay, what’s the catch? Do they add viruses to the file? Will I get all kinds of spam after I submit my email address? Will they steal the content from the file I upload?
Skeptical, I read the privacy policy which stated they will not do any of that bad stuff to me. As far as their profits, they offer a membership service that is similar to shareware donations. They also get some of their money from their Google ads. I read more and found that this program is just one of many from the main software company (Baltsoft).
Okay, after deciding the website was legit, I decided to use the service and upload my .pub file. There was an option to attach the file to the email, which I chose to do. It took about three minutes to arrive in my inbox. I scanned the attachment for viruses (you can never be too careful) and unzipped the file. I couldn’t believe it! It worked like a charm!
Did I mention that you upload your file online and they do the work for you? Which means, you don’t need to install any software on your computer! Genius! If you need to do some crazy-converting, go to freepdfconvert.com. Tell them Large Marj sent you. (pee-wee herman anyone?)