PDF Editing

[-pops-]

It's often said that pdf files cannot be edited.

This isn't true and there are several bits of software available that will enable pdf's to be edited.

One I've been using for the last few weeks is Scansoft's PDF Converter which is a plugin for Word, Outlook, Explorer and IE.

ScanSoft PDF Converter for Microsoft Word instantly converts PDF files into Microsoft Word documents that look just like the original - complete with all formatting and graphics! Information is set free - free to be edited and free to be integrated into your documents. Your organization will reach new levels of productivity by leveraging the power of Microsoft Word to edit and collaborate with PDF files.

Best of all, because it is a plug-in, PDF Converter gives you superior speed and ease of use from within your favorite applications - Word, Outlook, Windows Explorer, and Internet Explorer.

It isn't free and only of value if you use a lot of pdf files (which I do). It's very easy to use and quite accurate.

Get it from http://www.scansoft.com/pdfconverter/

[Emmadw]

It depends ... if the person who created it saved it as a secure pdf - then they are much harder to manipulate - and / or extract the text ...

Does Scansoft one work with secured PDfs? I know that some of the assistive technology software that reads text, which relies on the fact that you can extract text from pdfs that aren't locked, has great difficulty with locked pdfs.

[-pops-]

Secure pdfs? I don't know. I've not come across anything it hasn't been able to read so far except a page where the majority of the print was photos and other illustrations when it recommends scanning and using Omnipage Pro OCR.

My pdf writer is Jaws pdf - not Acrobat - and I'm not sure it will write secure pdfs to enable me to test it.

This software is rather specialised and most certainly not a "must have" for many computer users. I've found it extremely useful and it's very rare that it gets things wrong.