Tracking links in datasheet PDFs

There's a script that converts postscript to pdf (that really calls ghostscript and is a stock part of that package). ps2pdf. It defaults to the letter size page, but that's adjustable.

There's bunch of other utilities that convert from whatever to postscript. Look for programs that end in "2ps" or "tops". Or the Gimp will convert just about anything if you wave the mouse around enough. (So will the ImageMagick suite, but the versions I've used are buggier than hell and use huge amounts of memory).

Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

Burn them to a CD ROM and only use them in a computer that isn't connected to the internet. I'm in the process of moving my collection of datasheets to CD ROMs myself. I have collected thousands of them, along with hundreds of PDF catalogs.

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Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

I use a fair amount of coilcraft stuff (although not a huge amount), so I'll let them know of my displeasure.

Because I use external layout contractors, I need them to have the same data as I have for device footprints. When (as mentioned) these datasheets don't display at some future date if there is no net connection, what then? These contractors regularly come to my office with a laptop so we can do editing together (some things just have to be done together). They don't nomally get to plug into our intranet (for obvious reasons), so they have no net connection.

So any mfr that starts that silliness will find themselves completely and unceremoniously deleted from my AVL for new designs, and replaced where possible in existing ones.

Cheers

PeteS

I use the ZoneAlarm Pro suite (about $50 includes a year of updates) which permits me very flexible control of both inbound and outbound connections (even an IPChains type expert rules setup) and a nifty OS firewall (which lets me set rules on which programs can open/attach etc to OS processes). Comes with full antivirus and antispyware too.

I'm sure there are others, but I like it.

Cheers

PeteS

The sad thing is that there is a real need for similar technology- data sheets regularly are updated, and a 'smart' document that discreetly (and optionally) notified you (perhaps a silent bar at the top of the page rather than some obnoxious pop-up box that has to be dismissed) if there was a new version or supplemental material such as errata available whenever you opened it.. would be a GOOD thing. Who cares if they use it to track your reading the datasheets, provided you know about it, it doesn't prevent you from using the document as before, and can easily disable it? Many applications automatically (and OPTIONALLY) check for updates when you use them, why not datasheets?

BUT, by trying to sneak this stuff under our radar, they've lost our trust.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

I must agree completely that it is a matter of trust. If, on the datasheet download page (or perhaps next to the symbol) a mfr states they track the datasheet and are completely upfront about all the 'chatter' involved I would have no problem - indeed, I could make an informed decision.

As you note, having lost my trust, they now stand to lose my business. There aren't many (if any at all) electronic equipment manufacturers that can afford to press this sort of thing - most of the industry is pretty cut-throat at the supplier level, and in the vast majority of cases (especially at the original design stage), there are always supplier and parts options.

Cheers

PeteS

On the practical aspects of your insightful comment, an automatic updating **notification** when I open a datasheet would indeed be a boon (although I would not want the original overwritten. If I have issues later, I want to see the datasheet *I designed to*). Certainly, I am on the email update list for every datasheet I have, when the mfr offerrs such a service (TI is particulary good in this regard), but an attention grabber when I merely open the datasheet would be better.

I think I'll run that by some people I know at a couple of midsized vendors.

Cheers

PeteS

I just sent this to coilcraft:

Cheers

PeteS

This was also posted in the new thread that Pete opened:

Hello all,

I'm John Stellberg, Marketing Communications Manager at Coilcraft. Pete and I have been communicating regarding this issue and I explained that we had experimented with Remote Approach in an effort to prevent data on 3 or 4 of our very newest products out of the hands of competitors. Coilcraft isn't fond of being the R&D department for countless Asian coilwinders.

I pulled the plug on our use of Remote Approach because of the security concerns it raised with our customers and the realization that, even if I did find that data had been routed to a competitor, the horse was already out of the barn at that point.

There are perhaps 20 - 30 copies of tagged documents out there, and on Monday we will be notifying recipients and sending replacement copies without the Remote Approach code.

To anyone who has been inconvenienced or offended by this, I apologize.

Regards,

===============================

John Stellberg Director of Marketing Communications COILCRAFT

+1-847-516-7322 Fax +1-847-639-1469 snipped-for-privacy@coilcraft.com

1102 Silver Lake Road Cary IL 60013

John, please accept our thanks for your change in policy, you made the right decision to cease using Remote Approach, and you were also gracious in your response.

I have just safely signed up for a copy of your 0201CS datasheet.

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 Thanks,
    - Win

Since I cannot find any such option in my V5.0 reader am I right in hoping it doesn't support javascript? If so you've just given me another reason not to upgrade.

Robert

Try it yourself, that doesn't work. I just tried it with Philips Semi's BFT92 datasheet. Instead of writing the desired material to the postscript file, Acrobat writes a zero-length .ps file, plus a .log file with the following message:

This PostScript file was created from an encrypted PDF file. Redistilling encrypted PDF is not permitted. %%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%% %%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

--
 What did work, following your suggestion, was to convert the file
 to .ps form using the xpdf function pdftops in a command window,
 then convert back to Acrobat with distiller.  Now the document is
 unlocked and my full use of it is restored!  I can add comments
 (distributor stock, prices, etc.), extract a single page like the
 package outline, ready for use documenting a CAD file, etc.  In
 short I can do the things Philips should have let me do all along.

 Good stuff!  Very nice, Thanks!

On 9 Dec 2005 03:23:07 -0800, Winfield Hill wrote in Msg.

Hm, I just tried with Opera 8.5/Linux. Got the datasheet no trouble. Xpdf opens it just fine without any net access. I can email you a "clean" postscript version if you want -- heck, I can even convert the PS back to PDF which then is guaranteed to have no internet strings attached any more.

If we're talking about the same document. This is juat a 2-page thing entitled: "Document 320-1, Chip Inductors - 0201 CS Series (0503)". On the first page it lists the charateristic data of all parts in the line, and the second page has Q(f) and L(f) charts and the SMD footprints.

Do you want it?

robert

On 9 Dec 2005 15:37:08 -0800, Winfield Hill wrote in Msg.

Just print the selected pages to Postscript, convert them to EPS if needed, and embed them as EPS figures into your document.

robert

On 10 Dec 2005 13:50:20 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@coilcraft.com wrote in Msg.

Just how was RA supposed to prevent that from happening? But you give the answer yourself:

And you couldn't think of this before? Anyway, a competitor could just have used a strawman's computer to download a two-page datasheet and you wouldn't ever have learnt about it.

robert

On 8 Dec 2005 07:57:16 -0800, Tim Shoppa wrote in Msg.

RA is probably just a fake. They advertise their own "most read documents" as "Not based on downloads but on real document and page interaction."

Heck, I can simply download them using wget (that's not even a browser, so much for "page interaction") and read them all I want with xpdf with my internet physically unplugged (just tried).

robert

On 12 Dec 2005 04:18:32 -0800, Winfield Hill wrote in Msg.

This line alone is idiotic.

Glad to have been of help. As a Unix user one usually isn't exposed to the typical Windows problems such as viruses and spyware. As for the few proprietary file formats that are unopenable with the open-source tools typically available on Unix-like systems -- those ususlly come from suppliers you don't want to deal with anyway.

robert

Why not just install pdfCreator (open source) and "print" directly to a new pdf? In the background, it uses Ghostscript and converts via ps, but it hides all the details, giving you the ease-of-use of pdf printers common on *nix systems.

My other reason for burning them to CDR is for archival purposes. Since I can't afford a DVD burner for the foreseeable future I use one of the CDROM drives salvaged from computers that can't be repaired for disabled Veterans, since I usually have three or four extras on hand. I get a lot of computers without hard drives, and others with bad motherboards so CDROM drives and burners are multiplying like rabbits. ;-)

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Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida