JohnInKansas,

To tell you the truth, I don't remember all the details of the trouble I had trying to complete a task that I thought would and should have been simple after buiying the full-featured Acrobat. One persitent problem was that each "subdocument" I was trying to merge into a combined PDF would be reduced in size and automatically centered within a "frame" with a visible outline (2 pt rule). I eventually solved the problem with a complicated workaround provided by a helpful fellow user.

I use a program called "Help and Manual" to write software instructions that can then be output to a number of formats, including PDF (for a printable "Manual') as well as Classic Winhelp, HTML Help, and other "online" (really, "onscreen") help formats. It's not a complete PDF-generating solution, because output is always formatted in a preset "manual" style, with title page, table of contents, footers with page numbers, etc.

This PDF generating function is included in the software package, which is much less expensive than Acrobat! Also less expensive than RoboHelp and other competing products. For anyone who's interested, this package is availble online at:

www.ec-software.com

(Sorry -- despite collecting a paycheck as a "technical" writer, I haven't figured out how to insert a hyperlink in these messages -- at least, not to sites outside mudcat.org.)

Be sure not to omit the hyphen; www.ecsoftware.com is an entirely different site. For the record, I'm not a salesman or employee, just a satisfied user.

Tom Henehan