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At work we used to have Adobe Acrobat to open pdf files. Most of the solar system has Adobe Acrobat to open pdfs. But our crack IT dept decided that Foxit Reader is better, and now we all have Foxit instead of Adobe.
Well, it sucks. For my job I need to do a LOT of copying and pasting out of pdf files (like copying stuff from state laws and regulations to add to our policies) and with Foxit, we can't copy & paste like in Adobe. All you can do is "view" a pdf. You can't actually DO anything with it.
So I end up re-typing large paragraphs, or sending myself the files at home, where I can use Adobe to copy and paste sections of a pdf file.
Why do so many IT guys insist on using some program that no one else uses, and reject the most popular programs?
Another example: Most people have Norton Antivirus on their home computers. A relative (also an IT guy) said oh, no, Norton sucks, we need Black Ice. Well, in 3 years, the stinkin' Black Ice has never worked and has caused all sorts of problems on the home computer.
I really think that the most popular programs are most popular for a reason. They are easier to use, and more compatible with other people. When you get some little-known "boutique" application that IT guys go on & on about, it usually stinks to us normal people!
Like Internet Explorer: Everyone knows how to use it and it's compatible with every website out there. But the IT guys I know are all like "dude, you need Modzilla" or "Firefox" or somesuch thing. Please!
We finally got Outlook for our e-mail after years of being forced to use "Groupwise" which IT loved, but which was so incompatible with the rest of the world, and we couldn't get certain e-mails or attachments. Ugh.
anyway, I'm done.....
Last edited by Tracysherm; 08-26-2011 at 02:23 PM..
You have no idea what you're talking about. I'm going to lean into you because I have to deal with people like you all the time. You only think you know what you're dealing with.
Here we go.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
At work we used to have Adobe Acrobat to open pdf files. Most of the solar system has Adobe Acrobat to open pdfs. But our crack IT dept decided that Foxit Reader is better, and now we all have Foxit instead of Adobe.
Firstly, foxit is free. I can guarantee you that's why they switched. Higher-ups love to save money and spend it on their cars and jets. IT usually doesn't have much say in budgets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
Well, it sucks. For my job I need to do a LOT of copying and pasting out of pdf files (like copying stuff from state laws and regulations to add to our policies) and with Foxit, we can't copy & paste like in Adobe. All you can do is "view" a pdf. You can't actually DO anything with it.
I'm sure it does suck. It's a READER, not an EDITOR. If you need an editor, let them know that. You are the one using the program, not us. If you have a problem, you need to let it be known. We don't sit at our desks and fumble with Acrobat and Word and all that all day like you do. You are the one who knows what you need it to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
So I end up re-typing large paragraphs, or sending myself the files at home, where I can use Adobe to copy and paste sections of a pdf file.
Aww, how sad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
Why do so many IT guys insist on using some program that no one else uses, and reject the most popular programs?
Like I said, they were probably dealt that program with a heavy hand by higher ups to tighten costs. Acrobat costs 200-300 per head, so you can probably see how that can add up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
Another example: Most people have Norton Antivirus on their home computers. A relative (also an IT guy) said oh, no, Norton sucks, we need Black Ice. Well, in 3 years, the stinkin' Black Ice has never worked and has caused all sorts of problems on the home computer.
Black Ice is old and antiquated and not used anymore. Whoever told you that is an idiot. Although, norton does suck ass. I won't explain why because at this point in my post you're probably already glazing over it to argue some other point. Plus I know you don't care.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
I really think that the most popular programs are most popular for a reason. They are easier to use, and more compatible with other people. When you get some little-known "boutique" application that IT guys go on & on about, it usually stinks to us normal people!
They're popular for a reason, sure. The reason is that people are sheep. Do you buy a lot of "As Seen On TV" things too?
We know why programs work, what they do and why they suck. Things like Magic Jack, Norton, WeatherBug, MySearch......
Just because you are used to a program doesn't make it good. Firefox and Chrome are far and away better browsers than IE. They're faster, safer, and have cool addons you can play with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
Like Internet Explorer: Everyone knows how to use it and it's compatible with every website out there. But the IT guys I know are all like "dude, you need Modzilla" or "Firefox" or somesuch thing. Please!
BULLSH*T. You're spewing nonsense here and you don't even know it. IE can go rot in hell for all I care... It's NOT compatible with "every website out there" unless it's driven by an overworked programmer (and I can guarantee every time he makes a change he throws his hands up and yells "F*CK YOU IE!! F*CK YOU!!!). As a novice web deveoper, I DESPISE IE. Not only for it's extreme security flaws, but because of it's performance and horrid lack of support for common CSS rules and other things that should be commonplace by now. As a helpdesk tech, I despise it for many, many other reasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
We finally got Outlook for our e-mail after years of being forced to use "Groupwise" which It loved, but which was so incompatible with the rest of the world we couldn't get certain e-mails or attachments. Ugh.
I don't even know what you're complaining about here. You want Outlook because it's compatible but you loved Groupwise so you want it back? What are you trying to say?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
anyway, I'm done.....
I'm not.
For some reason many users (like you) think that all the problems you have are because of us. The only reason we exist is to help you. When you have a problem, be nice to us, because we didn't create it from you. We come to help and when you bite our heads off because we don't snap to your every command, realize that the other 500 people in our queue are also waiting on help.
Your issue is important to your IT personnel. Let them do their jobs without being a complete ****** to them. They didn't create the problem, you probably did.
Wait, how did you quote me as saying something I never said?
Originally Posted by TracySam I don't even know what you're complaining about here. You want Outlook because it's compatible but you loved Groupwise so you want it back? What are you trying to say?
That wasn't me who typed that!
I hated Groupwise. I like outlook because it's compatible with the things people send me that I need to work with. I clearly typed that IT loved Groupwise, not me.
I don't know what size company you work at but typically (especially in a larger company) the IT people to you know, see and love so much have nothing to do with what programs are chosen. The higher ups go into a meeting and if IT/CIO is represented there at all they present a bunch of prices and options. Typically, the lower cost option is going to be chosen. For instance, people bring their PC to me and ask why they no longer have Project and sometimes look at me like I had something to do with not wanting to pay for a license.
As far as Foxit being free, it probably isn't for corporate use. Most freeware and programs aren't supposed to be deployed on a large scale without paying for a license. Not saying companies don't.
Anyway, my two cents is to communicate your problems to your leadership. Maybe they can buy you what you need seperately.
You just proved my whole point. IT guys and regular people are on a whole different planet.
Sometimes the choice in a program at work is cost-driven. But most of the time, at least in my company, it's just the IT dept deciding some program is cooler that the program that "sheep" use. Anythin they decide gets rubber stamped. And I've been asking politely for adobe for like 6 months now.
I don't know the stinkin' difference between a "reader" and another pdf program. I don't have to know that. People like me just tell our IT dept the kinds of things we need to do (like not only read a pdf but copy & paste from it) and they give us this, saying it's excactly the same as Adobe but better. Well if they are both pdf readers, and they are both the same, why does one do something that the other doesn't? why would they replace a pdf "editor" with a pdf "reader" and pat us on the head and say don't worry, it's the same?
Sure, I'm a sheep when it comes to computer stuff. It's just tools to me, not my life's work. In a world of computer sheep, you need to also be a sheep to interact or get anything practical done. If you're a computer elitist, that's great for all of you, enjoy it, but most of us just want to get things done.
And a lot of these examples I run into are not cost-driven company decisions, it's advice I get in my personal life from IT-types. Yes, the Black Ice thing was a few years ago, but it was 3 years of hell. This relative is still trying to get us to download some cool program that he finds because it's so much better than what the rest of the world uses. He and those like him are also always big on trying to get people to use some program they obtained illegally. Whatever, I guess I'll go baaaa-ck to work.
Let me ask you this, Tracy...what do you do for a living?
Thanks for the correction.
Yes I got Outlook finally; I was complaining about the years I had to put up with Groupwise. Finally the exec mgmt listened to the complaints from me and others like me.
I work in behavioral health. I was a clinical social worker/ therapist for years, and now I am a behavioral health compliance officer. Does that matter?
I don't know what size company you work at but typically (especially in a larger company) the IT people to you know, see and love so much have nothing to do with what programs are chosen. The higher ups go into a meeting and if IT/CIO is represented there at all they present a bunch of prices and options. Typically, the lower cost option is going to be chosen. For instance, people bring their PC to me and ask why they no longer have Project and sometimes look at me like I had something to do with not wanting to pay for a license.
As far as Foxit being free, it probably isn't for corporate use. Most freeware and programs aren't supposed to be deployed on a large scale without paying for a license. Not saying companies don't.
Anyway, my two cents is to communicate your problems to your leadership. Maybe they can buy you what you need seperately.
Good luck and God Bless.
We are a large non-profit. Our CIO is in charge of IT and they make all the decisions about what to buy. The exec mgmt and Board just rubber-stamp unless something sounds outlandish. We have like 4 IT people, including the CIO, and they are the people I do see every day.
I'm sure Foxit wasn't free to a big company with 700+ employees.
You just proved my whole point. IT guys and regular people are on a whole different planet.
This is the kind of attitude that fosters bad relationships between the client (you) and the service provider (IT). They're trying to do the best they can by your company the same are you are (I assume). Sometimes your expectations and their service don't match up. But, having a hostile attitude about it doesn't help either one of you accomplish your goals.
I don't know anything about your IT department, perhaps your assessment is spot on. I do know, though, that meeting negativity with negatvity is never the solution.
You may want to look into this a bit more. Unless the document has a layer of security that prevents it, you should be able to copy and paste from a .pdf document using Foxit. I'm fairly confident I could when I used Foxit. I use what I consider a better program called PDF-XChange Viewer.
This Wikipedia article says you can copy and paste with Foxit:
"Foxit PDF Editor allows the user to modify any page contents within any PDF document. The user can select, insert, change, remove, rotate, copy and paste texts, images, graphics and shadings. The user can insert, import, delete pages or design page layout."
Or perhaps the version of Foxit you use does not allow this??? That seems a bit unlikely. I suspect the the .pdf file you are trying to copy from has a security restriction that prevents this.
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