# "Editing" .pdf files? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330 "2004-01-14T01:37:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/1 "2004-01-14T01:37:06Z")
Alright, I have several scholarship applications in .pdf format, which I love (don’t ask me why). Unfortunately, it has the drawback of me not knowing if it’s possible to fill them out on the computer. My writing is really messy, so I’d prefer to do it typed. Is there any way, with a regular .pdf file? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/2 "2004-01-14T01:49:53Z")
Far as I know, you need to purchase the full version of Acrobat from Adobe to modify Personal Document Formatted stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/3 "2004-01-14T01:58:48Z")
You can check here… [http://pdfzone.com/](http://pdfzone.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/4 "2004-01-14T02:07:18Z")
You can download a free 30-day trial version of Adobe Acrobat at the Adobe Web site. I don’t know how functional it is; you might not be able to save or print. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/5 "2004-01-14T02:16:13Z")
I used to print those things out and fill them in with a typewriter. Good ol’ reliable low-tech. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/6 "2004-01-14T02:17:53Z")
In fact, I own Adobe Professional. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be helpin -.- ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/7 "2004-01-14T02:26:46Z")
I was fairly proficient with Acrobat 5.0, but my office has recently upgraded to 6.0 professional and it’s a little scary. What you need to do is insert text fields into the document. Now, the ordinary text boxes are a mess to work with, so don’t use those. Instead, go to Advanced Editing. The 4th option over is a square box and there should be a pulldown menu. The last item on the menu is Show Form Toolbar. That’s where you want to work from. Use the Text Field Tool to add fields into the document. Use a unique name for each field, unless you want the same info to copy (i.e., there are several places where you need to insert your name). After you finish applying your text fields, switch back to normal text editing mode and you should be able to tab from field to field or just mouse-click into the field and type. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/8 "2004-01-14T02:30:21Z")
Found this with Google [http://www.123-pdf-converter.com/links.htm](http://www.123-pdf-converter.com/links.htm) Can’t vouch for anything there. ---
**Author:** ![Daikona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Daikona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daikona)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/9 "2004-01-14T03:42:18Z")
Some pdf files let you enter text in blanks for printing only, not to be resaved. I think the feature has to be enabled when the pdf is made though. I have a character sheet set up that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sxyzzx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sxyzzx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sxyzzx)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/10 "2004-01-14T04:18:19Z")
It would be easier to use a program like OmniForm, which can analyze PDF forms and automatically create text fields. There doesn’t seem to be a free trial for it, but there is a trial for a similar product called [FormDocs](http://www.formdocs.com/download.htm) (which I’ve never tried). ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/11 "2004-01-14T07:06:14Z")
- - - Ummm… didn’t somebody ask this just in the last few weeks? -Anyway, I have the Acrobat/Distiller 5 and InDesign 2 and they both can create PDF’s but neither will edit them. Adobe Illustrator 10 can open PDF’s and break them into certain parts for editing, but the functionality of the PDF seems to be lost–only the visual pieces seem to be preserved, but you can move them around, copy, delete, etc. Photoshop 7 will not allow editing a PDF at all that I could see, it won’t even open one. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/12 "2004-01-14T15:30:10Z")
> [@Daikona](#): > > Some pdf files let you enter text in blanks for printing only, not to be resaved. I think the feature has to be enabled when the pdf is made though. I have a character sheet set up that way. Exactly. I have Adobe Acrobat 6.0 on my machine here at work, which I’ve used for just this purpose - I distribute a form to employees of the FAA across the country, and I have it set up so they can type the information in text fields using just Acrobat Reader. The one drawback is that it can’t be saved if you’re using Reader, so you’ll probably want to print two copies. The way to test if the PDF has text fields is to position the mouse over the blanks in the form. If it turns into the “I-bar”, you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-pdf-files/224330/13 "2004-01-16T05:09:11Z")
> [@Cillasi](#): > > I was fairly proficient with Acrobat 5.0, but my office has recently upgraded to 6.0 professional and it’s a little scary. > > What you need to do is insert text fields into the document. Now, the ordinary text boxes are a mess to work with, so don’t use those. Instead, go to Advanced Editing. The 4th option over is a square box and there should be a pulldown menu. The last item on the menu is Show Form Toolbar. That’s where you want to work from. > > Use the Text Field Tool to add fields into the document. Use a unique name for each field, unless you want the same info to copy (i.e., there are several places where you need to insert your name). After you finish applying your text fields, switch back to normal text editing mode and you should be able to tab from field to field or just mouse-click into the field and type. This worked. And since I have professional, I saved, and today I figured out how to check the checkboxes as well. Thank you all very much. This could potentially help me get scholarships – my writing is so messy, I could see them thinking I was a slob!