And I am not referring to that blue screen of surprise that earlier versions of Windows are famous for.
Increasing numbers of people are shopping online. Usually, at the end of the shopping process, after you have entered your credit card information, you get a web page that confirms your purchase and includes any additional information to track or use the purchase e.g. order number, software registration code.
Common sense tells you that you should print out the web page and save it “just in case”.
Trouble is, you either end up with yet-another sheet of paper to misplace or you are at the airport with no access to a printer.
Here’s where Apple continues to pleasantly surprise.
OS X has always had the ability to print to PDF files (unlike Windows). This means that you don’t need to fork out mucho $$$$ for a copy of Adobe Acrobat to generate PDF files. All you need to do is to print the document and then select the option to route the output to a PDF file.
With Leopard, Apple has gone one step further by automating the creation of the PDF file and where to place it. See the screenshot below.
If you just made an online purchase, all you need to do is to print out that last order confirmation page, click on the PDF button and select the “Print PDF to Web Receipts Folder” option. The confirmation web page is automatically converted to a PDF file, and saved to that folder, which is found in your Documents folder.
The screenshot below is of my online registration for the Santa Cruz Wharf-to-Wharf race. The PDF file is saved as “SignMeUp.com – Payment – Wharf to Wharf Race 2008″. How is that for a totally meaningful file name?
Rather than spending years coming up with a whiz-bang Windows Vista equivalent, Apple concentrated on features that actually makes sense to the average user. That is why as I continue to use my MacBook Pro full-time (work, school etc), I continue to be amazed at all the new stuff that I can do.
When Windows tries to be smart, it feels paternalistic: that it knows better than you and you spend time arguing with it.
OS X, on the other hand, makes you feel smart because you can now do all this new stuff!
