Have you ever had this happen to you? You're working against a deadline to finish a project for a big client. You're just about finished, and the client has just sent you files with the last of the information you need. You go to open the files, but don't have the right program. Now what?
Microsoft Document Imaging, or MDI, is based on a file format called Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) that is designed to store images by page layout. Files that have images and text recognized by optical character recognition (OCR) can be stored using both MDI and TIFF. TIFF files can be opened and edited using many graphics applications, but MDI files cannot be opened or edited with anything other than Office Document Imaging. The problem is that Office Document Imaging is only supported by Microsoft Office 2003 through 2007.
Even if you are running Microsoft Office 2003, opening and editing MDI files may become problematic. On April 8th, 2014, support for Microsoft Office 2003 will be ending. That will mean those products will no longer receive assisted support, online updates for content, updates for software, or updates for security.
And if you have any Microsoft Office editions after 2007 you are also out of luck. These don't support MDI files either.
With all of these difficulties, why would anyone use MDI formatting? The most common types of MDI files are documents that are scanned or documents that need to be printed when no printer is available. Saving these as MDI files ensures that the original formatting is preserved.
So what do you do if you have a MDI file that you need to open? There are two choices. You can either install one of the editions of Office that supports MDI files, or install a program that will allow you to view or convert them. If you can get the file open in a MDI viewer or MDI converter you should be able to get the file into a form you can work with.
Once you have the file open using a MDI2PDF converter, you will be able to save the file as a PDF. PDF files are the de-facto standard data presentation format. After it is converted you will be able to use Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is a free program or even open MDI in Acrobat Reader transparently.
MDI2PDF comes in different editions depending on your needs. All three commercial editions have an easily understood interface for convenient navigation, as well as the ability to read, rotate, zoom, print, and export and save the converted file in a PDF, TIFF, JPEG, or BMP format once you have the MDI2PDF MDI file open. The basic features that the LIGHT edition includes are great for the quick and easy manipulation of MDI files.
The PRO edition adds the ability to convert files with an automated command-line facility. It also has PDF encryption after the MDI file BugySoft MDI2PDF version is open, and the ability to open files directly in Adobe Reader. This edition is great for developers and system administrators.
The MDI2PDF ULTRA edition goes one step further, allowing you to convert files in batches. That means you can create hundreds or even thousands of PDF and JPEG files with just a few clicks of your mouse.
There is even a free trial edition so you can see the power of this program for yourself at no cost. Using the free edition you can read MDI files, save them in JPEG or BMP format, and export the converted files once you have the MDI2PDF MDI file open.
If you find that you are working with a person or company that frequently uses MDI files, having BugySoft's MDI2PDF downloaded will save you a lot of time and effort. You will be able to work with MDI file BugySoft MDI2PDF versions right away. Problems opening MDI files are very common, so you may want to request that the sender use a different format for their files. You will find that having the ability to create, save, or convert files in various formats will be enormously helpful when working with different clients.