Portable Document Format (PDF) is a platform-independent standard developed by Adobe System in 1993 for document exchange.
42
votes
16answers
57k views
How to compare the differences between two PDF files?
Do you know a good Windows software to compare PDF files side-by-side and show the modifications between the two?
It would be great if you can post both free and not-free products.
39
votes
9answers
35k views
Combine/merge PDF files in Windows?
Is there a painless way to combine/merge PDF files in Windows? I understand that pdftk will do it on Linux.
38
votes
14answers
2k views
PDF Viewer on Windows
I've tried Foxit and Adobe's reader, but I'm not satisfied with either.
Foxit has update nagging for non-critical junk.
Adobe PDF reader is bloatware.
Are there other options you people like?
30
votes
7answers
26k views
Stop PDFs from displaying inside Google Chrome
When I click on a PDF link in Chrome, it opens automatically inside the browser window. How can I get it to download instead and open with an external viewer?
Update:
I implemented djhowell's ...
29
votes
17answers
2k views
How to print documents to pdf [closed]
I like to print PDFs of my documents. I've been using PDFCreator. Is this a good choice, are there any better solutions?
26
votes
7answers
3k views
Stop Microsoft Word 2010 from smoothing screenshots?
When I insert JPEG screenshots into Microsoft Word, it smoothes them instead of preserving the original pixels from the bitmap. When I then print to PDF (using Acrobat Distiller), depending on my ...
25
votes
2answers
26k views
Export PowerPoint to PDF with each animation on a separate slide
I have a PowerPoint presentation where I extensively use simple animations, only appear/disappear effects triggered by the mouse (not time based), without any smooth transitions.
Is it possible to ...
24
votes
7answers
13k views
19
votes
9answers
32k views
How to convert Word (doc) to PDF in linux?
I have a set of files in .doc format, that need to be converted to .pdf format. I am using Ubuntu linux.
18
votes
10answers
4k views
Free PDF Editor for Windows [closed]
I have some PDF files that I need to change/edit, not view. I'm running on Windows. What is the best package to get this for free (either freeware or opensource, not trial/shareware)?
17
votes
9answers
22k views
Can't copy text from a pdf file
I am using foxit PDF reader to view my text book. I would like to copy the text from the pdf file into a word document but it won't let me. I can select the text fine but the option to copy text is ...
17
votes
6answers
3k views
Convert PDF to Word document? [closed]
Any software/idea how to convert pdf document to word document?
16
votes
6answers
24k views
How to extract text with OCR from a PDF on Linux?
How do I extract text from a PDF that wasn't built with an index? It's all text, but I can't search or select anything. I'm running Kubuntu, and Okular doesn't have this feature.
16
votes
3answers
30k views
Is there any PDF to Mobi converter?
I'm looking for a free converter from Pdf to Mobi, for reading on a Nokia E71; I find more confortable to read on this format, but i'm open to other solutions.
What are the alternatives that I have?
16
votes
2answers
4k views
Make Chrome always open PDFs itself
I'm looking for a way to make Google Chrome always open PDFs with its internal viewer when I click a link, as opposed to downloading it to the default location. It works with most URLs, but some ...
16
votes
5answers
3k views
search PDFs with non-standard character encodings
Some PDF files produce garbage ("mojibake") when you copy text (even though they render OK). This makes it impossible to search them (whatever you search for will not match the garbage).
Does anyone ...
15
votes
3answers
5k views
How to extract image from PDF file
I currently use Foxit's PDF reader, and I recently downloaded an image from the Internet, but it is inside a PDF file. How do I extract this image?
Operating system is Windows 7.
14
votes
7answers
39k views
How to crop permanently in Acrobat?
After cropping anything by using the crop tool in Adobe Acrobat, how do I ensure that the cropped area is fixed and can't be seen even when I increase the crop margin?
For example: how would I crop ...
14
votes
2answers
13k views
Windows 7 x64 Pro not indexing PDF content?
In an attemp to get rid of all the paper clutter that I receive each day, I started scanning and ORCing all my important documents last year. I was using Windows Desktop Search on Vista to index my ...
14
votes
1answer
320 views
How do I reduce a PDF's size and preserve the bookmarks?
I have a ~259 MB PDF. I did pdf2ps and ps2pdf. The final size was 45 MB. I don't see any visible difference in quality in any reader. Although, the bookmarks were lost. I tried using pdftk, but it ...
14
votes
1answer
4k views
Scan-to-PDF software for Linux?
I have a workflow whereby I scan paper documents into searchable PDFs using a Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 document scanner. I am not a great fan of the bundled software, but it's dead simple to use: place a ...
13
votes
3answers
6k views
How can I split a PDF's pages down the middle?
Does anyone know of a good way to split a pdf's pages down the middle into two new pages?
To be clear, I'm not trying to split out already existing pages from a pdf; I am trying to create two new ...
13
votes
5answers
5k views
Ubuntu: Is there a good tabbed PDF viewer?
Is there a good non-bloated PDF viewer for (Ubuntu) Linux that supports tabs?
I don't want to use Acrobat Reader because it is slow and takes much memory, and my computer isn't the fastest. I know ...
12
votes
12answers
61k views
How to save a rotated Adobe PDF file
I received an Adobe PDF scan of a document that displays upside-down.
I rotated it inside Adobe Acrobat and chose Save As to make a new document, however, the rotation is not saved and when I open ...
12
votes
8answers
22k views
How to know which fonts are used in selected part of a PDF document
I'm using Foxit Reader as default PDF viewer. How can I see what type of font is used for a selected part of a PDF document?
(If this can only be done with another software, I'd prefer a freeware as ...
12
votes
2answers
5k views
adobe acrobat reader - how to save your place?
I'm trying to read an ebook in adobe acrobat reader and I want to save the position I'm at between computer reboots / closing reader.
How can I save the page I'm at, or even better auto save?
Is ...
12
votes
3answers
5k views
Stitch multiple PDF's together
I am looking to stitch together multiple PDF's together into one file. Is there a program/way (open source prefered) that can do this for me with little hassle? If you share a program please give ...
12
votes
8answers
17k views
How can I convert scanned images as PDF to a searchable PDF file?
I have a PDF of a scanned book.
I'm looking for a free software that will perform OCR and then provide an option to save it as a PDF or document again.
Is there one?
12
votes
1answer
1k views
Generate a PDF from a CHM
I have seen many questions about PDF printers around, and I am already using a PDF printer (Bullzip PDF printer).
But I can't use a PDF printer to print entire CHM files to PDF. I am using the ...
11
votes
9answers
34k views
Batch-convert Word-documents to PDF's (free)
Is there free a way to batch-convert many Word-docs - and just have them saved as [originalfilename].pdf?
11
votes
6answers
5k views
Free program / tool to convert multiple images into a single PDF
I'm looking for a free Windows program that will take images and convert them into one PDF file.
I want to scan a handwritten letter, so it would be nice to have it divided into pages.
...
11
votes
1answer
3k views
Acrobat Reader & saving last page I read?
I like to read eBooks, but I tend to have a hard time keeping track on which page I am in which file. Is there a bookmark function or something similar that I'm not aware of?
11
votes
1answer
8k views
Repair corrupt PDF
Does anyone have any recommendation or procedures for repairing a corrupt PDF? When I open the file I get "There was an error opening this document. the file is damaged and cannot be repaired." ...
11
votes
6answers
24k views
How can I sign a PDF document quickly and cheaply?
I need to sign a PDF document.
However, Acrobat reader does not let me sign documents.
I just need to sign the document, not edit it.
Do I need to buy the full Acrobat software?
Or is there a ...
10
votes
23answers
3k views
Converting .doc files to .pdf
Anybody aware of a piece of software which could do MS Office .doc to .pdf conversion for me?
I already tried OpenOffice but it appeared to be rather slow and resource-hungry for large documents.
10
votes
12answers
33k views
How do I save an image PDF file as an image?
I have a PDF that contains a scan image of a document. I want to save the contents of this PDF as an image so that I can then run it through an OCR program that only accepts .jpg, .png, and .gif type ...
10
votes
6answers
52k views
How to remove security from a PDF file?
I am trying to fill out some docs, but the provided PDFs are "SECURED", meaning I can't use FoxIt's typewriter tools.
Is there any way to remove the security?
10
votes
1answer
10k views
Two-page view in full screen for Adobe Acrobat
Since i'm using a wide screen, i want to view two page in full screen while reading PDF. I can view two page in Reading Mode or normal view. however, whenever i switch to full screen mode, acrobat ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Removing the password from a PDF file
I have a couple of ebooks as PDFs with passwords, however my ebook reader (sony prs600) doesn't seem to support PDFs with passwords. What is the easiest of removing the password from a PDF (I know ...
10
votes
9answers
54k views
Adjust PDF Contrast with Adobe Reader/Acrobat?
We get PDF's from our professor to read for homework but they're often scanned documents, is there a way to adjust the contrast of the text to make it easier to read?
Edit: I've got Photoshop but is ...
10
votes
8answers
15k views
Looking for simple windows scan (multiple pages) to one pdf application?
I would like to find some simple scan software for a windows machine that can scan to pdf, but I would like it to do batch or multiple pages into one big pdf. I saw a couple questions on scan to pdf ...
10
votes
4answers
24k views
How to open pdf in Chrome's integrated viewer without downloading it
So I was really excited about the new integrated pdf viewer in chrome.
However when I click on a pdf file link, chrome offers to download it instead of opening it inside its viewer.
How do i get it ...
9
votes
3answers
683 views
Print from a page that doesn't allow any commands?
I have opened a webpage that has an article of very much interest to me. When I use Ctrl+P or right click, it says, "The page forbids you to use any additional commands."
So now how do I print such a ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Are .docx or .pdf files potentially dangerous?
Just a general question of computer security - if I download a .pdf or .docx from an untrusted source, can it seriously harm my machine/give a malicious user access to my information? Or is it ...
9
votes
3answers
6k views
Convert a PDF to greyscale on the command line in FLOSS?
I have a colour PDF file, and I'm going to print it out and then photocopy it in black and white. I'd like to know what it's like in B&W before photocopying it. Is it possible to 'greyscale' a PDF ...
9
votes
4answers
9k views
Convert PDF 2 sides per page to 1 side per page
How can I convert a PDF with 2 sides per page to 1 side per page?
9
votes
5answers
4k views
Linux-based tool to chop PDFs into multiple pages
I've got a bunch of PDF files that have been produced two "real" pages to a single PDF page; I'd like to chop these in half and put each half on a separate page. Essentially, I need something ...
9
votes
5answers
25k views
How to convert .PDF to .eps (on Windows)
I am looking for a free software program to allow me to convert a PDF file into an EPS file.
The converter should retain the image quality as much as possible.
I was able to do this with GSView, but ...
9
votes
3answers
3k views
Command line PDF reader
Is there a command line program for linux that will let me read the text of PDFs? I'll willing to live with a lack of pictures.
9
votes
7answers
6k views
Download or print an entire website as PDF
I'm trying to make an offline version of a website and I'm looking for a tool that would do the task automatically for the whole web site (circa 1000 pages of HTML + images).
Is there anything like ...
