San Francisco-based Nitro Software has launched Nitro Pro 9.0, a major new update of its award-winning ‘Acrobat alternative’ tool for creating, editing and converting PDFs in Windows.

The headline new feature in version 9, also available in 64-bit form, is integration with Nitro Cloud, . It also shows off a refreshed look in keeping with the recent Microsoft Office 2013 release along with a number of new and enhanced features, including PDF compare and measurement tools.

Nitro Cloud was recently launched as a browser-based service that enables users to share, sign and collaborate on documents without the need for desktop software. Version 9 features integration with the new service, allowing users to sign into their Nitro Cloud accounts through Nitro Pro to more easily share and access cloud-based documents. A dedicated Cloud tab on the Nitro ribbon gives users access to the key tools, including signature requests, share and collaborate options.

Nitro Pro 9 sports a new look and features integration with Nitro’s new cloud-based sharing service.

The new release also debuts an updated look, designed to tie in closely to the new Windows 8/Office 2013 style, and offering users of those applications a gentler learning curve due to the familiarity of Nitro’s interface.

Version 9 also debuts a number of new interesting tools. Users can now compare two versions of a PDF – both visually and by content – and output the differences to a separate document. A new measurement tool makes it possible to precisely measure distance, perimeter and area in bluerpints, drawings, CAD and other design elements in PDF files.

The text-editing tool has also been improved to make it simpler to make changes to individual lines or entire paragraphs without having to switch between editing modes.The spellcheck has also been extended to cover all editable text fields and text-based annotations.

Combining documents from multiple sources into a single PDF has also been improved thanks to new visual document assembly tools. Users can also batch print a selection of PDF files in a specific order.

A new Outlook plug-in gives users access to key Nitro functionality, namely the ability to convert emails, email folders and attachments to PDF documents, from within Outlook itself.

Nitro also claims that Nitro Pro 9 displays documents even faster – by up to 30 per cent – than its predecessor.

Users can road-test a free Basic Nitro Cloud account, which supports up to five new documents per month for converting, signing or collaborating. A Basic Plus account ($7/month, or $60/year) supports unlimited document conversion and five free signatures, while the full Premium package ($21/month, $180/year) throws in unlimited signatures and collaboration.

Nitro Pro 9.0 32-bit and Nitro Pro 9.0 64-bit are both available now as a free, fully functional 14-day trial download for PCs running Windows XP XP3 or later. The full version retails at $139.99 per single-user license.

Best of all, thanks to our friends at Nitro Software, we’ve got 40 free codes (worth a collective $5,599) to give away via Downloadcrew Giveaway. All you need to do is visit the Downloadcrew Giveaway site from 12pm GMT on Thursday (10^th October) and claim your code. You’ve technically got until midday GMT on Saturday (12^th October) to claim your free code, but once all 40 codes are gone, they’re gone, so don’t wait too long!