Edit PDF

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by Capp, May 18, 2006.

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  1. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    Hey Guys/Gals,

    Does anybody know a free app that can convert a PDF file into something editable, such as a .Doc or .Rtf?

    PDF --> DOC

    I know how to convert Word to PDF, but can't find anything that doesn't cost $40 to make a PDF editable.

    I appreciate the help :)
     
  2. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

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  3. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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  4. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

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    :oops: oooops......the search continues.
     
  5. eyes-open

    eyes-open Registered Member

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    I can't speak for it - but it appears to be free:-

    Easy PDF to Text Converter

     
  6. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    It is a free download, but when you convert the document, it keeps asking you to go to their website to buy it.

    I would just purchase some software, but I only need to do this kind of thing about once or twice a year and I can't justify that really.

    Anybody else know of one?

    Thanks to everyone who has helped thus far :)
     
  7. SpikeyB

    SpikeyB Registered Member

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    Not sure if this is what you're after but. I use PDF reader and this allows me to highlight the text and copy and paste into a word document. Can't do immages though.
     
  8. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    Tried that as well, but it looses it's formatting too badly.

    Thanks though
     
  9. TheQuest

    TheQuest Registered Member

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  10. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

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    I looked at theirs and they have the same problem as all the other ones I have found.

    You can download a free version that has no limitation, but as soon as you try to save something you edited, it puts an "Evaluation" watermark on it and you have to purchase the full version to remove it.

    This is turning out to be a pain in the arse. I just knew somebody knew a totally freebie out there for editing PDF's :)

    Thanks again
     
  11. TheQuest

    TheQuest Registered Member

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    Hi, Capp

    Sorry Foxit was no help.

    I just tried a Goggle for Free PDF Editing got about 127.000.000 Results, and then I tried "Free PDF Editing" with quotes and got 16 Results, so have a try.

    Take Care,
    TheQuest :cool:
     
  12. DonMartin

    DonMartin Registered Member

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    Type PDF2Word in google and you might find what you are looking for.

    Regards /Don
     
  13. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    Hi Capp,

    Super simple utility .... much like the excellent and equally simple MS PowerToy resizer. Patiently it sit's inside the context menu, ready to convert at your heart's whim, nothing fancy. It came with a tiny installer (nothing to break a sweat over, path box at best), full documentation, and includes a command-line version (in case your looking for something a little over basic) based on the open source project XPDF. Here are the pdftotext.exe option's;

    pdftotext version 3.00
    Copyright 1996-2004 Glyph & Cog, LLC
    Usage: pdftotext [options] <PDF-file> [<text-file>]


    • -f <int> : first page to convert
    • -l <int> : last page to convert
    • -layout : maintain original physical layout
    • -raw : keep strings in content stream order
    • -htmlmeta : generate a simple HTML file, including the meta information
    • -enc <string> : output text encoding name
    • -eol <string> : output end-of-line convention (unix, dos, or mac)
    • -nopgbrk : don't insert page breaks between pages
    • -opw <string> : owner password (for encrypted files)
    • -upw <string> : user password (for encrypted files)
    • -q : don't print any messages or errors
    • -cfg <string> : configuration file to use in place of .xpdfrc
    • -v : print copyright and version info
    • -h : print usage information
    • -help : print usage information
    • --help : print usage information
    • -? : print usage information

    I thought it worked pretty well IMHO if all you wanted was to extract text while still retaining some structure, quick at 28kb's! For your added convenience I've attached (right under the limit too) an unmodified sample output from the context menu version (pdfconv.exe) so you can cross-compare formatting. Find the original Privacy Handbook PDF on this page - http://www.gnupg.org/(en)/documentation/guides.html

    Get the "totally free" program here (don't forget to scan) - http://www.jsware.net/jsware/pdfconv.php3

    Another freebie with a few capabilities of it's own, but one I haven't tested .... PDFBox - Java PDF Library.
    Google, you'll find it.


    GF
     

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