The Help menu and sending feedback in PDF by Zaweba

Help menus are easy to ignore, but the one in PDF by Zaweba is where you go to learn the app's keys, to tell its makers what you think, and to keep it up to date. It is also a good place to see how the app treats your privacy, because everything in it that talks to the outside world waits for you to say so.

What the menu holds

The Help menu has Keyboard shortcuts, Send feedback, Report a problem, Check for updates, Other Zaweba apps, Licence agreement, Third-party licences and About.

Keyboard shortcuts opens the full list of keys, built from the same list of commands as the menus, so it always matches the app you have. It is the item most people open more than once.

About tells you which version you are running. That is the first thing to check when something doesn't work as an article or a colleague says it should, because features arrive in free updates and an older copy may not have them yet.

Feedback and problem reports

Send feedback is for ideas, requests and comments: a command you wish existed, a setting that confused you, something that works well. Report a problem is for things that have gone wrong, such as a PDF that won't open properly or a command that doesn't behave.

Both work the same way. You write what you want to say, and nothing is sent unless you click Send. The app doesn't quietly report on what you do, which documents you open or how you use it. If you close the window without sending, nothing leaves your PC.

A good problem report says what you did, what you expected and what happened instead. If it is about a particular PDF, say what kind of document it is and where it came from, as that often explains the problem. Don't attach private documents; describe them instead.

Updates

Check for updates looks for a newer version. When an update exists, a banner shows in the app to let you know. Nothing about checking sends your documents anywhere.

PDF by Zaweba is free software and new features arrive as free updates, so it is worth taking them. Each version adds tools and fixes, and the About box tells you where you stand.

Licences and other apps

Licence agreement shows the terms the app is provided under. Third-party licences lists the licences of the outside components the app uses. Neither needs reading every day, but they are there when you or your organisation want to check.

Other Zaweba apps shows the rest of the family, for when a job is better suited to another program. Related to this, the File menu has Open in, which hands the open PDF to another installed Zaweba app.

Why it is set up this way

The menu reflects how the app is made. It works offline, it doesn't need an account, and it doesn't send anything about you or your documents anywhere. Talking to the outside world, whether to send feedback or check for a new version, is something you choose to do, one click at a time.

So when you have a thought about PDF by Zaweba, the Help menu is the place to share it. It reaches the people who build the app, and the next free update may well include it.