The following new features have been implemented:

• Opening AI files: Adobe Illustrator documents can now be opened and saved as PDF files. [PPDPDF-803]
• PDF file with Illustrator information: Illustrator file branches are removed when saving PDFs with the PDF Editor. This was implemented in order to avoid collisions between edits from Illustrator and the PDF Editor.
• Change Page Boxes of multiple pages: The ability to set Page Boxes for multiple pages was added. Multiple pages can now be selected in the Thumbnail tab. Using the context menu, the boxes can be set for all selected pages in the document. [PPDPDF-586]
• Remove Page Boxes: Provision of a function for deleting Page Boxes in the "Set Page Boxes" dialog. [PPDPDF-605]
• Page thumbnails tab: The "Rotation" and "Scale Factor" parameters are now displayed. Additionally, a warning is displayed when a page deviates from the first page in the document. [PPDPDF-641]
• Set Media Box of multiple pages to Origin: Additionally, the ability to set the Media Box for multiple pages – the selected pages in the Thumbnails tab – to the origin has been provided.
• Mirror pages: It is now possible to mirror one or more pages in the Thumbnail tab. [PPDPDF-670]
• Insert document: The ability to insert a PDF file into an open document was provided. [PPDPDF-778]
• Keyboard shortcuts for tools: Common keyboard shortcuts have been provided for the tools. [PPDPDF-565]
• Keyboard shortcuts on macOS: Keyboard shortcuts have been provided for the "Convert Selected Text to Paths" and "Convert Text to Paths" commands on macOS. [PPDPDF-672]
• Spot Colors in multi-page documents: The "Edit Document Spot Colors" dialog can now display the Spot Colors from all pages. The page number on which the Spot Color is used is also displayed. Changes to Spot Colors are now applied to all pages of a document. [PPDPDF-676]

The following improvements have been implemented to simplify the handling of the PDF Editor:

• User Interface: The look of the user interface has been simplified, some icons have been updated, and full support for Dark Mode has been implemented.
• Quick access to tools: Now the Hand Tool and the Zoom Tool can be accessed from all available tools via keyboard shortcuts. [PPDPDF-564]
• Tool icons: The icons have been renewed. [PPDPDF-687]
• DeviceN list: The complex "Color" settings area for DeviceN colors has been simplified and is now intuitive to use. [PPDPDF-792]
• Size of dialogs: The size of dialogs is now specified by the program.
• Pagination: Pagination is now only displayed for multi-page documents.
• Rotate pages if Media Box is not in Origin: A warning is now displayed when pages are rotated whose Media Box is not in the Origin. [PPDPDF-661]
• Sorting of default Spot Colors: A user-friendly sorting for default Spot Colors has been implemented. [PPDPDF-748]
• Sorting of Color Spaces: Entries in the Color Space drop-down menu are now sorted in a user-friendly way. [PPDPDF-767]
• Convert Process Colors to Spot Colors: Color definitions of Fill or Stroke in CMYK, RGB, or Lab can be converted to a Spot Color.
• Add Spot Color to Fill or Stroke Colors: Objects can be colored with an existing Spot Color by pressing Spot Colors in the Edit tab.
• Keep Proportions: The Keep Proportions lock has now been moved to the left side of the Edit tab.
• Disconnect from Workflow: It is now possible to disconnect from the Workflow. [PPDPDF-694]
• Expand XObjects: A progress bar has been added for expanding Form XObjects.
• XObject ID: Technical IDs for Form XObjects are now displayed when XObject references are displayed.
• Protected documents: Files that are read-only on macOS can be opened but not edited.

The following bugs were fixed:

• Scale page: The dialog has been adjusted so that values that were already entered are preserved when the reference frame is changed. [PPDPDF-593]
• Remove Spot Color entry: The Spot Color entry has been removed from the Color Spaces list. [PPDPDF-767]
• Duplicate values when creating a Dieline: The entered parameters were duplicated, this error has been fixed. [PPDPDF-489]
• PDF caused crash: An error while reading the document information was fixed. [PPDPDF-800]
• Selecting "Custom Spot Colors" caused a crash on macOS: Selecting the "Custom Spot Colors" entry caused a crash, this entry can now no longer be selected. [PPDPDF-787]
• Incorrect display of Overprint Status: The Overprint Status was displayed differently in the Edit tab and in the Object Inspector. This error has been fixed. [PPDPDF-799]
• Problems when starting: When opening the application after a crash, the PDF Editor had to be started twice, this has now been improved and the application can always be started as usual with one click. [PPDPDF-807]
• Add Dieline on straight lines: It was not possible to create a Dieline on straight paths, this bug has now been fixed.
• Wrong file type when exporting images: If the file extension was not included in the name, images were created with incorrect file types and Color Spaces. File extensions are now correctly and automatically generated.
• Sizes of dialogs: The size of dialogs could be changed by the user, this has been prohibited in the current version.
• Spot Colors with the same name: If a Spot Color is created with a name that already exists in the PDF, a warning is issued and this Spot Color cannot be created. [PPDPDF-815]

Please find a detailed description concerning all changes in the menu points New Features as well as Improvements.

The following new features in the handling of files from Adobe Illustrator have been implemented:

By right-click within the Thumbnails tab it's possible to access advanced functions.

The following two functions can only be applied to multi-page documents:

• Set Page Boxes [2]: Select the desired pages in the Thumbnails tab and thereby set the desired Page Box to the selected pages.
• Set MediaBox to Origin [3]: Select the desired pages in the Thumbnails tab and thereby reset the MediaBox for the selected pages to Origin.

Figure 2: The context menu in the Thumbnails tab

To ensure an efficient way of working keyboard shortcuts are essential. For common tools, the following shortcuts are available from this version:

• Selection Tool: V (macOS and Windows)
• Direct Selection Tool: A (macOS and Windows)
• Crop Tool: C (macOS and Windows)
• Eyedropper Tool: P (macOS and Windows)
• Hand Tool: G (macOS and Windows)
• Zoom Tool: Z (macOS and Windows)

Until the current version, changes to Spot Colors in the Edit Spot Colors dialog were always performed for the current page only. To create a workable solution for multi-page PDF files the following new features have been implemented:

In the Set Page Boxes dialog the option to Delete a Page Box is available. Furthermore, the changes will be overtaken on all pages which are selected in the Thumbnails tab.

Figure 6: The dialog Set Page Box wth the possibility to delete a Page Box

Complex files with different Spot Colors can quickly become confusing. Therefore, Spot Colors are sorted in the selection menu as follows:

• Document Spot Colors [11] – these are Spot Colors that are located on the current page or in the document. Whether all Spot Colors of the document or only the Spot Color of the single page are displayed, depends on the option Show Spot Colors of all Pages in the Preferences (Figure 5).
• Standard Spot Colors [12] – these are the default Process Colors CMYK as well as the specific Spot Color Definitions None and All.
• System-wide Spot Colors [13] – these are the Spot Colors which can be established in Preferences in System Spot Colors

Figure 7: Selection menu for Spot Colors

If you want to convert a color to a Spot Color proceed as follows:

1. Select the desired object with the Selection Tool.
2. Switch to the Edit tab
3. Click on Further Commands [15] and select the command Convert to Spot Color.

Figure 8: The settings area Color in the Edit tab

4. The Edit Spot Colors dialog opens, in which the Color Space and the Color Values for the alternative color space are already selected.
5. In Spot Color [16] enter the desired name for the Spot Color .

Figure 9: The dialog Edit Spot Colors when creating a Spot Color

The Hand and Zoom Tools are often used for navigating and therefore need to be accessed frequently. To make these tools as easily accessible as possible, the following shortcuts have been made available:

• Hand Tool: Space bar (macOS and Windows)
• Zoom Tool zoom in:  Space bar + cmd (macOS) bzw. Space bar + Ctrl  (Windows)
• Zoom Tool zoom out: Space bar + cmd + Option (macOS) or. Space bar + Ctrl + Alt  (Windows)

Until now it wasn't possible to disconnect the Workflow disconnected manually. In the current version 1.6.9, this feature was implemented and is available via the Disconnect button [17].

Figure 10: The Workflow tab with the Disconnect button

With version 1.16.9, great emphasis was given to the modernization of the user interface and to better user guidance. The following points should thus be mentioned as innovations:

• Tool icons [18]: The tool icons now equate to the icons in the Workflow.
• Size of dialogs [19]: The size of dialogs is now fixed and can no longer be changed manually by the user.
• Page navigation: The page navigation for jumping to the next or previous page is now only displayed for multi-page documents to free up space for single-page documents.
• Apply Changes immediately: If the Apply Changes immediately option is enabled in the Edit tab, all confirmation checkboxes are hidden.

Figure 11: The modern User Interface from the PDF Editor