Dear adoc Studio Community, version 5 puts the spotlight on professional PDF export. You can now protect your documents with a password, control your readers’ rights in detail, and assign reliable color profiles. We’ve also sharpened AsciiDoc in several places to make everyday work easier.
The Highlights of Version 5
Version 5 is a focused update. The biggest changes concern PDF export and are aimed at everyone who delivers documents securely and with reliable color. Beyond that, we’ve refined AsciiDoc in a number of places.
Password-Protected PDFs (Pro)
You can now encrypt exported PDFs directly from adoc Studio. To do so, you set two attributes in the document header or in the export’s attribute list.
Use :ads-pdf-owner-password: to set the owner password. As soon as this attribute is set, the document is encrypted. You need the owner password to open the PDF with full rights or to change its permissions later.
Use :ads-pdf-user-password: to set the user password required to open the PDF.
Important: the user password alone has no effect. A PDF is only encrypted if the owner password is also set. Otherwise adoc Studio produces an unencrypted export.
If both passwords are set, either one opens the document. The user password grants limited rights, while the owner password removes those restrictions.
Granular Access Rights (Pro)
For encrypted PDFs, you decide exactly what your readers may do. Five attributes control the permissions, and all of them are active by default. To forbid an action, disable the relevant attribute, for example with :!ads-pdf-allow-printing:.
| Attribute | Controls |
|---|---|
ads-pdf-allow-printing |
Printing at any quality |
ads-pdf-allow-changes |
Changing content and page structure |
ads-pdf-allow-copying |
Extracting text and images, access for screen readers |
ads-pdf-allow-commenting |
Creating, changing, and deleting annotations |
ads-pdf-allow-form-field-entry |
Filling in form fields |
These rights only take effect in combination with an owner password, because permissions can only be enforced in encrypted PDFs.
PDF with Quartz Filter (Pro)
With :ads-pdf-filter: you apply a Quartz filter to PDF exports, for example to assign a CMYK profile. The value is the unlocalized name of the filter.
Filters live in /System/Library/Filters, /Library/Filters, or ~/Library/Filters. You create your own filters with the ColorSync Utility. On iOS, the attribute is ignored.
Finer Control over Tables of Contents
Two new options give you more control over headings and the table of contents.
The section option %notitle hides the title of a section in the document body. It is also useful for adding a TOC entry for a preamble, an anonymous preface, or an imported PDF page.
With :toclevels: 0 you suppress the automatic display of heading levels in the table of contents. This lets you build your TOC exactly the way you want.
adoc Coach Now Searches Attribute Values
adoc Coach guides you through every AsciiDoc command and attribute. As of version 5, its search also finds values inside attributes. That gets you to the right spot in the built-in help even faster.
Line Ranges and Tags for Includes
The include directive pulls content from other files into your document. Version 5 now supports line ranges and tags. This lets you include specific sections of a file instead of its entire content. It is especially handy when including source code where you only want to show a particular excerpt.
Availability
adoc Studio 5 is available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. The new PDF features are part of the Pro Edition. You can download the app directly from the Apple App Store.
Questions, feedback, or ideas? Join us in the forum.
Your adoc Studio Team
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