Mar 28 2007
Grokking PDF files for free
Here at work I'm occasionally asked to make unreasonably difficult changes to PDF documents for which we don't have access to the original editiable versions. For example, "Richard-san, here's the updated version of page 23 from the 150 page CEA brochure. Please relpace it."
How the heck do I do that? I'll tell you how. PDFTK. It's a freeware command line tool that'll let you, for example, split a document into pages 1-22 and 24-end, then make a new document consisting of pages 1-22, the new page 23 and pages 24-end.
If you want to convert a document to PDF I recommend the freeware Cute PDF Writer. It works like a print driver and you print to it just like a printer, but instead of it coming out on paper you save it as a PDF file on your hard drive. Install it on every workstation in your office and save the company thousands in Adobe Distiller licensing fees. (Just don't expect anyone to thank you…)
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Does the new Office '07 have any PDF editing features yet? Or did they get rid of the 'save as PDF' feature right away too? I've heard something about it being ripped out and offered as an add-on or so, due to Adobe's insane prices. I wonder how on earth PDF could've made it as a standard to begin with.. we need an open-source variant people!
Yeh I agree shame that openoffice.org dont include a pdf program, I use adobe acrobat 6.0 but it can be annoying sometimes especially when I cannot amend some text in the document.
I used OpenOffice when I was between jobs about three years ago and it had "save as PDF" in the file menu.
I like that CutePDF will allow you to save to PDF from any program that prints. Adobe Distiller has a few extra features but we've never needed them. If we ever had to encrypt or password protect a PDF I could do it with pdftk.
OSX has print to PDF build in every program, that's nice. But I don't think I can actually edit PDF documents that easily, I need Acrobat for that then.
I was going to say "if you tell me what a PDF is I could look it up in Microsoft Office…" and it was only UNTIL I had read Rich's post Twice and everybody else comments I realised what a PDF is… (I am Queen of Dumbness*Is that a word?? it is according to my spell checker thing for the net…) all lower Dummies bow down before me!!!) I just looked… if it is in some Microsoft 2007 program it is not on Word… it has a lot of different file types… ( I only got it yesterday) (It doesn't include front page… but have Dreamweaver 8 on so its ok)