RepliGo does true .pdf, among others

[CDR]

CliePlanet mentioned a fairly new program that I really have not hear anything about. The program is called RepliGo. It is sort of a document viewer, but the special thing about this program is that you can view .pdf style docs. The only other programs have tried to convert the text of a .pdf to a readable format. This program maintains the page format, including graphics. Additionally, you can print any document in the viewer via IR printing.

Best of all, it has a 14 day free trial period.

The program can be found here:

http://www.cerience.com/products/index.htm

[CDR]

I forgot to mention the one negative that I did notice immediately....It is not hi-res+

[rhart00]

looks promising but no hires+?!? man that sucks.

[OcellNuri]

They are working on a Hires version that should be out very soon. I had tried this product right when it came out, and e-mailed them concerning supporting Hires and OS5. They said they were working on it. I saw it mentioned at clieplanet.com that it is very close to release.

[davef]

Hires(+) support was the number one feature requested from our customers and we're happy to finally have a solution. Hires is supported back to Palm OS 4 devices but we are recommending Palm OS 5 because we take full advantange of the ARM processor to increase viewing and printing performance.

RepliGo 1.1 will be available on March 11, 2003. Screenshots and a fully-functional 14-day trial version can be downloaded at www.cerience.com (http://www.cerience.com).

New Features and Benefits in RepliGo 1.1

Palm OS 5 ARM processor support for accelerated document navigation and viewing.
High-resolution screen support (320x320 and 320x480) provides crisper fonts and more text per screen.
Bluetooth wireless printing and document sending.
High quality color and grayscale printing with compatible HP printers.
Rotated document viewing on Sony CLIÉ™ 320x480 screens for optimized viewing of landscape documents such as Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations.
Faster document rendering on Palm OS 4 devices.
Improved document sorting and memory card support.
Enhanced Palm™ Tungsten™ T 5-way navigator and Sony CLIÉ Jog Dial™ support.

[rhart00]

sounds great. thanks for letting us know. counting down the days.

[euroclie]

The 1.1 (Hires+ enabled) version is now available! :)

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by euroclie
The 1.1 (Hires+ enabled) version is now available! :)

Yes it's HiRes+ and has widescreen viewing. So far I am impressed, tons of goodies. Bluetooth printing and printing to a HP infrared printer.

I think it's worth a look, btw, it's very fast and reads files from the MS too.

Check out the sample files

http://www.cerience.com/samples/

[jpolz]

This program ROCKS!

I was getting so fed up with document/file viewers that only did a half-assed job (at best). This program has set a new standard.

[nlode]

One cool thing when reading PDFs: if you press the curved arrow on the toolbar, RepliGo takes all the columns and put them in sequence, meaning in one column only, so it is easier to read. If you click on the document icon next to it it goes back to the original format.
Great, I converted the Handheld Computing eNews pdf file, and I can read it without having to do side-to-side scrolling.
Great app!

[rldunn]

See the news article on the front page. People with Word XP seem to get unrecoverable errors after installing this, and by unrecoverable, it looks like Word itself continues to have issues, not just a single document getting messed up. Since I have Office XP, I'll wait until they figure this out to try out this product, even though the product itself sounds great.

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by rldunn
See the news article on the front page. People with Word XP seem to get unrecoverable errors after installing this, and by unrecoverable, it looks like Word itself continues to have issues, not just a single document getting messed up. Since I have Office XP, I'll wait until they figure this out to try out this product, even though the product itself sounds great.

Wise decision!

Somehow the normal.dot file gets corrupted on Word XP, caused by a combination of  Norton AV 2002, RepliGo, & Adobe PDF integration. I think everything is pretty much working okay again, minus my PDF integration. As you know the developer is working on it.

[rldunn]

Not good. Please let us know when they fix the problem. I have a similar setup as you, with PDF integration, so I'm glad I read the posts here before trying it out!!

[n2ifp]

I will

[OcellNuri]

Wow... I just found out I'm suffering the same Word XP crash. I had only opened Word once since installing, and hadn't had trouble until I just opened it for a second time. I don't have Norton installed, but I do have the PDF deal going on.

[davef]

Originally posted by OcellNuri
Wow... I just found out I'm suffering the same Word XP crash. I had only opened Word once since installing, and hadn't had trouble until I just opened it for a second time. I don't have Norton installed, but I do have the PDF deal going on.
OcellNuri,

Please see my earlier posts for a fix. Could you tell me if you have any other programs that hook into MS Word (e.g., WordSmith, Acrobat, etc.)?

If you want to really help us out, send your corrupt Normal.dot our way and it will help us diagnose the culprit. I feel we are getting close on this one. You can send your file to support@cerience.com.

Thanks for your patience and I apologize for the inconvenience.

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by OcellNuri
Wow... I just found out I'm suffering the same Word XP crash. I had only opened Word once since installing, and hadn't had trouble until I just opened it for a second time. I don't have Norton installed, but I do have the PDF deal going on.

Surprise-surprise, the same thing happened to me. I lost my PDF integration too. I got fooled the same as you, as the first time out it worked. Word XP works as long as there is no Normal.Dot, as soon as one is created, lookout the next time you open Word XP.

[mdharris]

n2ifp
couple of questions,
1) Would this be a replacement for HandStory?
2) Explain a little more in detail if possible about the issue with Word XP. Is it something that uninstalling the app fixes?

[stronggeek]

I have word xp crashing directly after inst. Going to look for, than try the fix. Do the fix work for you guys?

Thanks,
Stronggeek

[davef]

Originally posted by stronggeek
I have word xp crashing directly after inst. Going to look for, than try the fix. Do the fix work for you guys?

Thanks,
Stronggeek
Can you tell me if you happen to have WordSmith installed or ever had it installed? Our preliminary findings are pointing to a compatibility problem in this area.

Better yet, if you're willing to share your Normal.dot file with us, then please send it to support@cerience.com and that will help us diagnose the problem.

[OcellNuri]

Originally posted by davef

OcellNuri,

Please see my earlier posts for a fix. Could you tell me if you have any other programs that hook into MS Word (e.g., WordSmith, Acrobat, etc.)?

If you want to really help us out, send your corrupt Normal.dot our way and it will help us diagnose the culprit. I feel we are getting close on this one. You can send your file to support@cerience.com.

Thanks for your patience and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Is there a certain directory the normal.dot file is located? I'm having trouble finding it. As soon as I do I will be happy to send it to you.

[davef]

It is typically located in C:\Documents and Settings\Dave\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. Substitute "Dave" with your actual login name. Note that this folder is normally hidden from view, so you may have to enable Windows Explorer to show this file. I have also found that searching for the file will not work if this folder is hidden from view.

I hope this helps and please do send your Normal.dot our way when you find it.

[davef]

Originally posted by OcellNuri


Is there a certain directory the normal.dot file is located? I'm having trouble finding it. As soon as I do I will be happy to send it to you.
OcellNuri,

We received your Normal.dot file. It is consistent with our other cases and we're actively seeking a patch. Thanks for your help.

For others that our experiencing this problem, I am curious if you have WordSmith installed or have ever had it installed. Please let us know so we can be sure we address the problem correctly.

[rldunn]

Since the original people with problems all had Norton and I don't (I use McAfee), I decided to try this out. I ended up with the same problem as the others. Luckily, my system had already made a backup of my Normal.dot file from the 7th, so after I deleleted RepliGo, I copied that backed up file to the right directory, and I was fine again. I also had the WS Word integration installed, so that does seem to be the culprit; not Norton.

[davef]

Originally posted by rldunn
Since the original people with problems all had Norton and I don't (I use McAfee), I decided to try this out. I ended up with the same problem as the others. Luckily, my system had already made a backup of my Normal.dot file from the 7th, so after I deleleted RepliGo, I copied that backed up file to the right directory, and I was fine again. I also had the WS Word integration installed, so that does seem to be the culprit; not Norton.
rldunn,

We think we have found the problem and I'm hoping we can come up with a patch in the next few days. Could you tell me if you have WordSmith on your system or if you have ever had it installed? Our MS Word macro seems to conflict with their macro.

[hansschmucker]

Haha, you see that's what happens if you use microcrap. Get openoffice, guys. It works better and is FREE!!! (While you pay $ 1000+ for a prduct that crashes every 5 minutes and has lousy support ($400 for a BUGFIX??? Yeah, right)

[rldunn]

Dave, that's what the WS in my post was about. Sorry, that's an abbreviation we use for Wordsmith around here.

[stronggeek]

Originally posted by davef

Can you tell me if you happen to have WordSmith installed or ever had it installed? Our preliminary findings are pointing to a compatibility problem in this area.

Better yet, if you're willing to share your Normal.dot file with us, then please send it to support@cerience.com and that will help us diagnose the problem.

Yes Dave, I do have wordsmith installed.

I didn't send you the data because I saw others posted that they had sent the same setup and the same errors to you. I guess it still would have helped. Sorry.

Stronggeek

[davef]

Originally posted by stronggeek


Yes Dave, I do have wordsmith installed.

I didn't send you the data because I saw others posted that they had sent the same setup and the same errors to you. I guess it still would have helped. Sorry.

Stronggeek
Thanks, that's enough information.

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by mdharris
n2ifp
couple of questions,
1) Would this be a replacement for HandStory?
2) Explain a little more in detail if possible about the issue with Word XP. Is it something that uninstalling the app fixes?

Hi There!

No, not quite the same, as it's an all purpose office/doc/pdf/image/map reader, it may have similar features, but goes beyond that, the app is really nice. The problem is with MS Word XP's integration and the corrupting of Word XP's normal.dot template. Please see the link below of sample files to see all what it does in HiRes+. If nothing else, it's a really beautiful PDF reader that Adobe should have for the Palm and doesn't. BTW, it's fast and in full color and keeps it's formatting and graphics appearance too. It's also rotates widescreen.

If you make a backup of normal.dot, then unistall it and restore normal.dot you'll be okay. Not sure of the cause, but if you or anyone installs it, don't install MS Office integration yet. It looks like the one common denominator might be Wordsmith's integration into MS Word XP.

Check this out:  http://www.cerience.com/samples/index.htm 

[mdharris]

Is it possible to do web clips?

[davef]

Originally posted by mdharris
Is it possible to do web clips?
If by "web clips" you mean take snapshots of web pages and transfer them to your handheld, then yes you can. RepliGo directly integrates with IE to accomplish this. If you don't have or use IE, then you can accomplish the same thing by printing your Web page to the RepliGo printer.

[OcellNuri]

What Repligo will not do is go and fetch websites automatically. This is what I mainly think of when I think of "clipping". Handstory will go out and grab a few hundred web pages every night for me... while Repligo will require you to update each page individually. Links will not work.

The advantage Repligo has here is that the format of the website is perfectly intact. It looks just like you printed the site on paper. For sites that are not updated, but may contain a data-table or graphics Repligo is a better application than Handstory (or other clipping software).

[aussie_nx70v]

sorry for the stupid question......

but are all these problems just isolated to the XP versions of Word/Office or is it all versions?

[davef]

Originally posted by aussie_nx70v
sorry for the stupid question......

but are all these problems just isolated to the XP versions of Word/Office or is it all versions?
Not stupid at all. We've just posted more information about this problem and a short-term work around. We will have a permanent patch in a matter of days.

Click here for the information: http://www.cerience.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=39

[NiTeSHiFT]

I like Repligo. It's kind of funky. Although from time to time the flow-mode does insert some information which is in a right column right between the text which is in the left column normally. Hope you understand me ;-)

One thing I'm missing is the fact that doesn't remember its last position in the document. I wanted to use it reading PDF documents on my CLIE NX70V. Well, they normally have about several hundred pages.

Another thing is, that if I try to load a large PDF-Printed document in Repligo from Memorystick it take a HUGE time to load. The file is 1,7 MB converted and takes about 3-4 seconds per percent!! The MS-LED blinks very slowly so it doesn't use all the speed it could. If I copy exactly this file to memory and load it from there it's loaded within about 1 or 2 seconds (for all the 1,7 MB!)

Is this a known bug?

Greetz,
NiTeSHiFT

[davef]

Originally posted by NiTeSHiFT
I like Repligo. It's kind of funky. Although from time to time the flow-mode does insert some information which is in a right column right between the text which is in the left column normally. Hope you understand me ;-)

One thing I'm missing is the fact that doesn't remember its last position in the document. I wanted to use it reading PDF documents on my CLIE NX70V. Well, they normally have about several hundred pages.

Another thing is, that if I try to load a large PDF-Printed document in Repligo from Memorystick it take a HUGE time to load. The file is 1,7 MB converted and takes about 3-4 seconds per percent!! The MS-LED blinks very slowly so it doesn't use all the speed it could. If I copy exactly this file to memory and load it from there it's loaded within about 1 or 2 seconds (for all the 1,7 MB!)

Is this a known bug?

Greetz,
NiTeSHiFT
I'm assuming the intermixing of columns happens with PDF files? Here are a couple of things I can tell you. Most PDF files are not "tagged", which means they don't contain information about the flow of the document. In this case, our conversion software attempts to do the best it can to understand the document and flow it correctly. Pages with columns can be challenging, to say the least. If you have Acrobat (may need at least version 5.x) then you may try tagging it there and then reconverting it. Perhaps the results will be better.

Another point on PDF. If you are browsing with Internet Explorer and converting PDF files from directly within Internet Explorer, then you are not getting the best conversion possible. It is always better to save the PDF file from Internet Explorer, reopen the file in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader and then print it to the RepliGo printer from there. This enables our conversion software to operate in its peak fashion.

Loading documents from memory sticks in the size range you are talking about can occasionally be a little slow. We are not doing anything special at this point in time, just making a copy of the document onto the handheld. We would like to improve this area of the product by working more directly off of the memory stick so the time needed to view the first page is reduced.

I agree with your comment about remembering the last position in a document. We can actually do this right now but only for the last document you open. Check the "Open last document at start up" checkbox in the Options > Preferences screen to enable this feature. This will not only open the last document, but it will take you to the last place you were viewing in that document.

Hope this helps…

[NiTeSHiFT]

Originally posted by davef

I'm assuming the intermixing of columns happens with PDF files? Here are a couple of things I can tell you. Most PDF files are not "tagged", which means they don't contain information about the flow of the document. In this case, our conversion software attempts to do the best it can to understand the document and flow it correctly. Pages with columns can be challenging, to say the least. If you have Acrobat (may need at least version 5.x) then you may try tagging it there and then reconverting it. Perhaps the results will be better.

Loading documents from memory sticks in the size range you are talking about can occasionally be a little slow. We are not doing anything special at this point in time, just making a copy of the document onto the handheld. We would like to improve this area of the product by working more directly off of the memory stick so the time needed to view the first page is reduced.

I agree with your comment about remembering the last position in a document. We can actually do this right now but only for the last document you open. Check the "Open last document at start up" checkbox in the Options > Preferences screen to enable this feature. This will not only open the last document, but it will take you to the last place you were viewing in that document.

Hope this helps…

Hi,

ok, i didn't use the option to open the last document at startup because i usually want to open the document list. so now i have to use that feature, but that insures, that i don't want to open any other document while i'm reading a large pdf like an ebook. that furthermore means, that if i read a book over a timespan of a week, i can not switch to another document without remembering or writing down the last page i was on the ebook, right?

about the problem with large documents:
if i copy the document from ms to ram it takes about 5-10 seconds. if i open it from memorystick from repligo, it takes about 10 seconds to load about 5 percent of the document?

and another question:
how do i re-tag a document in acrobat. i use it and have version 5.1 but didn't find any option in tagging a document. i can save it for pda's but that doesn't help.

and no, it doesn't happen only with pdfs that the columns don't work well. have the same problem with printouts from lotus notes for example.

thanks for this great support :-)

[davef]

Originally posted by NiTeSHiFT


Hi,

ok, i didn't use the option to open the last document at startup because i usually want to open the document list. so now i have to use that feature, but that insures, that i don't want to open any other document while i'm reading a large pdf like an ebook. that furthermore means, that if i read a book over a timespan of a week, i can not switch to another document without remembering or writing down the last page i was on the ebook, right?

about the problem with large documents:
if i copy the document from ms to ram it takes about 5-10 seconds. if i open it from memorystick from repligo, it takes about 10 seconds to load about 5 percent of the document?

and another question:
how do i re-tag a document in acrobat. i use it and have version 5.1 but didn't find any option in tagging a document. i can save it for pda's but that doesn't help.

and no, it doesn't happen only with pdfs that the columns don't work well. have the same problem with printouts from lotus notes for example.

thanks for this great support :-)
In response to your first paragraph, you are correct in your assessment. Only the view of the last document is remembered.

The memory stick speed is currently something we don’t have control over. We have noticed that the speed is slow during the initial copy, but then accelerates. If fact, this is why we put in 1% increments for the progress screen for the first 10% of the document load and then jump by 5% after that. Once we start working more directly with the stick, we should be able to speed up load times.

Please forward your Lotus Notes problem on to support. If you have sample Notes files and/or PDB or RGO files, that would help.

I believe tagging in Acrobat can be achieved by downloading their Make Accessible Plug-in at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1161

You might want to read Adobe’s blurb about “Complex Regions” at that link to understand the limitations. To use this feature in Acrobat, I believe you select Document > Make Accessible.

[eichin]

Hmm, when someone said "true pdf reader", I thought they meant it. This is just another windows-only conduit thing; a nice one, from the screen shots, but uninteresting to (1) mac users (2) linux users (3) people like me who want to download pdfs directly to the clie (via netfront, in particular) and view them there. Oh well...

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by eichin
Hmm, when someone said "true pdf reader", I thought they meant it. This is just another windows-only conduit thing; a nice one, from the screen shots, but uninteresting to (1) mac users (2) linux users (3) people like me who want to download pdfs directly to the clie (via netfront, in particular) and view them there. Oh well...

Maybe not, but it sure blows away anything else I have for PDF's :)!

[n2ifp]

Updated version is now out that fixes the MS Word issue. I have installed it and it works just fine now.

RepliGo v1.1.1

http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=6CF85FD7-4E6C-42C1-BFAA727274BFB67F&prodID=46832

[lightninja]

So is this program good to go now? (no more bugs?)

[rldunn]

I haven't see any bugs with v1.1.1, using it since it came out.