*Editing* PDFs?
James Leone
linuxcpa at netscape.net
Mon Oct 13 22:20:23 PDT 2003
fun at thingy.apana.org.au wrote:
> On 10/13/03 19:03, James Leone wrote:
>
>> The only way I have been able to edit existing PDF's is by installing
>> Adobe Acrobat 5.0 in Linux by using Codeweaver's Cross Over Office,
>> which is available at www.codeweavers.com.
>
> Which is the original problem :-)
I would categorize PDF files in two ways:
A. Indirectly editable with other programs if you have the program and
data file (LyX, Scribus)
B. Unencrypted postscript (PDF provided, no source editor available -
See below)
C. Encrypted postscript <---- Adobe Acrobat in Wine is the only
possibility
>> I have been able to combine PDF's and create PDF's out of anything
>> printable just by using some basic Unix utilities. I can go into
>> detail if someone likes.
>
> Definitely!
Take a look at this post, and its follow up.
http://www.linuxsa.org.au/mailing-list/2002-10/1511.html &
http://www.linuxsa.org.au/mailing-list/2002-10/1519.html
Here is an extreme example, and how much you can do depends upon the
condition of the PDF file. Anyway, here is a grand tour of what can be
done if everything works right.. :-)
Lets just assume that I had a document, written in MS Word emailed to me
and I needed to incorporate that into a PDF file as the first page,
Adobe Acrobat is unavailable, but Acrobat Reader is installed. Assume I
didn't have Open Office.
You can save the PDF file as a postscript file with Acrobat Reader. To
convert the .doc file, open it with MS Word in Cross Over Office, print
it, catch the postscript file before the job finishes, rename it as
whatever2.ps. You can combine the two postscript files into one with the
method I describe in those emails.
Now if you are somewhere else without the .doc file, you can still edit
the postscript file(s). Just name the file whatever.ps, then run
"ps2ascii whatever.ps," it will produce a text version of the PDF file,
called whatever.txt. Edit the text in whatever way you like, use
whatever tool you like to print, capture the .ps file....
James Leone
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