Dysprosium: Messiah's "Codes For Us" PDF Software Package Under Way

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margin, inside the red box.) This is an obsolete content. Some updates can be find at the bottom of this post. Now I have fulfilled part of my promises for a free PDF software suite, without overly bloating it. Under different stress tests I have done , there appears a couple of issues. For example, some rare happening exception would not report them in a relevant dialogue. As the software, in contrast to some other software, keeps the original file untouched, these exceptions have not a damaging edge. But, in principle, they should be reported. Other important issue is when PDF files exceed a size of 0.5 GB. One needs to have enough resources in their computer to handle them. All other applications should be closed. I have tested merging of two 450 MB files with 4GB of RAM and effective CPU speed of 4.5 GHz that takes almost (less than) ten minutes. We could push the software to the limit of PDF standard of total merged file of 3.6 GB (700,000 simple pages). I used both Windows 7, 64bits and the current Windows 8/8.1, 64bits. I had a quad core CPU 2.5GHz clock speed. I put 4GB out of 8GB of physical memory available for Java (this is only used only a couple of minutes when you are using large PDF files; it does not reduce your memory at other times). Hence, if  an exception of "failed map" were thrown by very large files, it is likely due to lack of hardware resources thrown by native operating system, rather than my PDF merging software. We are on the course to be assured on those targets in first release candidate of  "Dysprosium" in this current year. There are buttons in different places disabled for now. Their functions are under construction. Software will always remain free. "Free as we have in freedom and as we have in free beer;" quote from now a lost link on the Internet. We humbly become happy if we understand our work is of some benefit to other people and they are using it in ease. We have this powerful means and the related tools of communication thanks to millions of hours of free works offered by hard-working individuals all around the world.
(Dysprosium is registered to be used as the name for Messiah's "Codes For Us" PDF Software Package.)

Update, May 2016 : Dysprosium (Dolce edition) has been released (please click) based on iText from mid of April 2014 and smoothly on a nightly basis added more features and now I have deprecated many scattered pieces of PDF utilities I already released. There are so many features that I cannot write complete instructions for all of them. From other previous pieces only Signature manager has been remained to be integrated. I sorted out PDF viewer problem somehow satisfactorily.)

(updated : 26/May/2016) I have had over 60,000 downloads from 187 countries. All around the world, only 1 country in South America (French Guiana) and 1 countries in Asia (Democratic North Korea ) have not used Dysprosium Software, yet. The remaing countries not downloaded to this date (less than 10) are from the central Africa and perhaps some very small Island countries.

(Deprecated Paragraph : People contacted me regarding not fulfilling promises in creating an integrated software for different pieces of dysprosium in on single -and perhaps bloated- suite. My friend Grant Hardy is too busy with electronics and doesn't come around. Phoenix  is also has committed himself in different web developments. I have been left alone and I am too old and feeble, but have progressed in some areas. For example, I have created a Complex Polynomial Calculator; download here. I postpone my promises towards end of this year. We had some joy with majority of algorithms in recovering lost owner's passwords. Well, I succeeded in a relatively fast password cracker but won't publish it. People who have lost their password might like to use other things available out there. We fulfilled all my promise at this date 26/May/2016.)

Encryption Tablet

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margin, inside the red box.) Now the encryption tablet (version SB3) is out. You can use it to create a keystore and public private keys with different key algorithms, key sizes and signature algorithms. Also it is possible to create a secrete key from the keystore. Utility can be used to create PFX (PKCS#12) files from the available public-private key pair files. You might use the software for creation  PEM files from the PFX file, or convert the PEM file to a DER file. Other features of the software includes printing the Finger Print of the certificate to a text file (.fp file can be read with a notepad). You can create a request CSR file for getting a certificate and then importing the certificate to the keystore. Another desireable feature is "JAR Signing," using any of the certificates you might have imported or created in the key-store with the known alias and passwords of yours. There are other features, as well, to utilize. At this date (09/March/14) help page is mostly ready, but under development. Please download from here (deprecated).

(09/March/2014: reported issue resolved. Although it is decades we have the poor "DOS" behind, still it shows itself here and there. Yes, it is recommended to install in a folder with no blank character in its name; perhaps, not even in parent path. Its own default unzipped folder is the best.)

(09/March/14: Now a visual help page is available here for converting PFX to PEM and to DER format part of the (deprecated version) software. Please have a look for further assistance.)

(09/March/14: An improved version  uploaded this weekend. All bugs fixed; very stable. Interface as shown below. Visual help click here.)

 

 

 

How to Digitally Sign a PDF Document?

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margin, inside the red box.) Now this basic signature manager is ready in Codes For Us PDF Merging utility, R6 series (here). It is yet far from being complete. You notice that to use it one needs a PFX (PKCS#12) to have ready somewhere either self-signed or CA signed. I have a humble tweak GUI to create that PFX at home using self signature, available in download area. My 'uber-geek' friend Grant Hardy (who is a microwave engineer and has implemented Messiah's Calendar [he sleeps on a Smith's Chart at nights]) has promised to give a hand to meet our promised milestone around the Christmas, for further features to be accompanied (e.g., a password remover is ready now done by him, a password unlocker he is also interested as a matter of algorithm tests, not by using a brute force). With this Signature Manager one cannot put her seal emblem on the digital signature. It is just a standard digital signature of PDF documents as it is defined. The Water-mark utility provided by Codes For Us might meet that demand, if one is interested. But people are interested to have emblem next, or as under-layer to their digital signature, too. Hence, I try to add that feature, later to the manager (04/Jan/11: Now the feature is added)). I hope you enjoy this version for now.
Update 04/January/11: Now notarize PDF with external timestamp, seal emblem under-layer, and few other features are included. Codes For Us PDF Merging utility, 01/March/11, beta_6_7 (here).
Update 05/March/11: Now with a visual help page (here).

How to Make a PFX (PKCS #12) File for Encryption for Free?

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margin, inside the red box.) There are many situations that you use Java to create public and private keys to be exported as PCKS#12 encryption file for certification. (Please also read "How to Digitally Sign a PDF Document?" here.) Perhaps, there are commercial software for this end. An Internet search for this subject shows that doing that in free open software normally is not easy without much tweaking. This package of mine (Download here) is a self sufficient (and tweak-able, for interested people) light package for that. We know that PFX format for certification is the only format that supports export of a private key together with its  certification. This make this format more important than the other formats.  One can create public and private keys using Java Key Tools, but exporting them in form of PFX file format is not an easy job to do, if you like to do it free. I gathered available free tools to do it on Windows 7 (and other Windows down to Win98), without need to install anything else and in a self sufficient way. Regretfully, I have many professionally-hobbyist software on my computer and have not much clue that if some of them is being evoked (should be some Microsoft Visual C++ library, look into the C drive Windows folder and then in the "winsxs" for an x86_microsoft.vc90 something files) in handling my small package. I included a copy of "Redistribution," in case you need, but I believe the interested people already should have those libraries somewhere in their windows. If you received the message as, "Windows cannot do the specified job." Or something like that then you need to install that Redistribution from the "Software" folder available inside my package. The arranged package should be able to work with all the Windows(R) operating systems after Win98. To utilize the command line version of my software, you need to unpack the zipped folder (I use the open source free 7-zip utility as the best to pack and unpack zipped file folders). In the unzipped folder there is a batch file "pfx_util.bat". You can double click on this file and then follow instructions. There is also a help text file for further clarification. Please go here to download and for visual help here (18/November/10) Simple GUI version of the software is available now. You can use either of command line version or GUI "jar" file version (an improved version is on the way) (11/01/11: Now it is out).
Sorry! If you have downloaded before mid-night (00 GMT) 06/April/11, please download again. An important user reported issue fixed.
New! (06/April/11) Simple Encryption Tablet, very stable, very simple to use,  here. For a step-by-step Visual "How to?" here
New! (15/March/11) Command line version improved, here. For a Visual "How to?" here
Please Note! Having Java Key Store is not necessary. These are working independent.

To make a PFX simply use "File Format" tab left panel: get your private and public keys enter a password of your choice for the created PFX and click on the build button.

If you like, you may use Java Key Store to produce public/private key pairs.

How to Watermark and Stamp a PDF File for Free?

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margine, inside the red box.) Now this first version of software for watermarking, stamping pdf files with text and image is ready. User can change font size of the text and decides for the font and style. They also can  decide for the position and the angle that text appears on the page. Some PDF creators such as the scanners create PDF's which are completely opaque. In such PDF's watermarks go under the PDF box becomes hidden and unseen. In such cases my software allows users to put the watermark on the top of the pdf over the box. If the watermark obscures part of the texts then you can reduce the opacity of the watermark to become transparent enough to make the underlying text visible for reading. Then looks as if it is under the text. You can reduce opacity to zero to create a hidden watermark later can be recognized by you. If you use a hidden watermark "web URL" on your PDF, at its position a link becomes created that shows itself with the small "clicking" hand.cursor. In this way you can make your document active. User can change direction of the stamp or the watermark text between 90 degrees clockwise (-90) and 90 degrees counter-clockwise (+90), perhaps to be used for the landscape pages. The position where you put the watermartk is selected visually on the "measurement board" by a "double-click" on the "Get Mouse" button. Measurement board shows relative places of your document. Precise coordinates in terms of the size of the page of your document are shown in the X and Y text boxes at the bottom of the GUI. If you "double-click" on the cross hair point, those coordinates will be registered for the watermarked document. Then press on the OK button to have your stamped document. The resulting document comes with a filename that does not exist in the directory hence, your original remains as before untouched.
You can select to use an image for the watermarking. If you decide to put the image as the over layer on your pdf document there is an option in this software such that you can change its opacity to make it transparent and to be able to see contents underneath of the page. You also can choose to blow up your image in terms of the percentage, by adjusting knob. Enjoy!
Please go here
18/March/11: Now with a Visual Help page here.
Update, November 2014 : Dysprosium (Dolce edition) has been released based on iText from mid of April 2014 and smoothly on a nightly basis added more features and now I have deprecated many scattered pieces of PDF utilities I already released. There are so many features that I cannot write complete instructions for all of them. From other previous pieces only Signature manager has been remained to be integrated. I sorted out PDF viewer problem somehow satisfactorily.)

PDF's Bookmarks, Outlines and Table of Contents

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margin, inside the red box.) The merge software is like a clip or staple that people use in offices to attach separate pages with different dimensions and content. The software does not change them or enhance them in any way as it should not and is not intended, except that you decide for it. One kind-hearted user's asked me if the bookmarks emerge as they were before the manipulation. The answer is affirmative. Please, have a look at this video, consolidating three files one of them a tome of one thousand page attached to two other book. As one of the books has not originally bookmarks in its PDF creation by the author, it remains without a bookmark in the merged volume of total 1600 pages.  
How one can create an outline of a book after having an "engraved frozen" PDF depends on the author. One example is when you have a volume of your old diaries scanned into the PDF and you like to create an outline for it to make it more lively for navigation. You like to click on the "Christmas of 1989" and go to that page immediately without having to search many random pages. In the road map for developing this package, I have that target to hopefully implement but for a while later (4/Jan/11: from version beta_6_4 implemented ). That also can create a table of contents (12/Feb/11: from version beta_6_5 implemented) as a by-product. (11/March/11: Visual Help is now available.)

How to merge PDF files for free?

(For the latest PDF files Merger Software please have a look at the top of the left margine, inside the red box.) Google has advised me to write a blog with this title to help search engine crawlers find this place for relevant software. Since if I do not put that question directly on the title then search engines are not able to recognize that. I wrote this software as a demo and for my personal usage many years ago, perhaps 2003 or 2004. I had not any idea that it could be of some assistance to public. Recently, my daughter, mentioned me that it could be useful making it available for public. When I put it here, swiftly few hundred downloads reported to my blog stat in Google Analytic. Having noticed the interest, I started to test the software with the stress tests of a user not the way that I could use it personally and I noticed many bugs in it. Immediately I removed the bugs and deprecated the alpha version. Then I received few further issues and on a nightly basis newer versions uploaded to Messiah's Site. A help and issue page also was established. I noticed that for a full utilization of the software I needed to have a PDF file splitter and a software to inject a PDF file into a certain page of another PDF file. Some of the users kindly have advised me for creating some other PDF software. I am a retired teacher and a retired System Analyst. But to fulfil that demand I am busy to do that task. I have two gadgets at hand right now that prevents my full-time endeavour on the PDF software. One is related to control systems theory which I have written in java language at the moment but I like to rewrite it in assembly code to be readily usable for embedded systems and the other is an educational gadget. All will come free on public domain. So obeying the advice to help the crawlers to come here I have a humble answer for "How to combine PDF files, how to join PDF files, how to split PDF files and how to insert one PDF file inside another PDF file."

Update, May 2016 : Dysprosium (Dolce edition) has been released (please click) based on iText from mid of April 2014 and smoothly on a nightly basis added more features and now I have deprecated many scattered pieces of PDF utilities I already released. There are so many features that I cannot write complete instructions for all of them. From other previous pieces only Signature manager has been remained to be integrated. I sorted out PDF viewer problem somehow satisfactorily.)

(updated : 26/May/2016) I have had over 60,000 downloads from 187 countries. All around the world, only 1 country in South America (French Guiana) and 1 countries in Asia (Democratic North Korea ) have not used Dysprosium Software, yet. The remaing countries not downloaded to this date (less than 10) are from the central Africa and perhaps some very small Island countries.