How to Change a PDF File
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. This was created back in 1993 by Adobe Systems as a file format for document exchange. A PDF file contains a full description of a 2-D document, which would include vector graphics, font types, texts, and images. It has been popularized for its convenience in the sense that it is independent from any application, hardware, and Operating System. As such, however, it also poses problems when it comes to editing or changing a file saved in PDF.
Materials Needed:- Computer
- Internet connection
- Adobe Acrobat Professional
- Adobe Acrobat 7
- or other third-party software
Step 1
To view a PDF file, download Adobe Acrobat Reader or other portable readers from the Internet. It is available for free. Adobe Acrobat Reader is able to let you view and print the PDF files. It is different, however, if you want to edit your file. To be able to type on a PDF file, you will need to create it with Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional or something more recent, to create a document whose form fields are editable. This application costs around US$200.
Step 2
If typing on the PDF file is simply not enough and you would like to actually convert it to a document readable by Microsoft Office applications, you still need to purchase Adobe software or other third-party applications. If you will be doing this a lot, for example as part of your job or a project, purchasing software may be the best solution.
Step 3
If you have already purchased Adobe Acrobat Professional or Adobe Acrobat 7, file conversion can be done in a few steps. Open the file using the software. On the upper left of the menu bar, click on 'File' and proceed to selecting 'Save as'. This will bring you to the Save window. Once on that window, choose the option to let you 'Save as type'. You will be presented with several options; most of these text options should be available to your system. Choose the one you prefer most. Type in the name you would like to give to the Word or text file and then click on 'Save'. The converted file, unless otherwise specified, is usually saved in the My Documents folder. If you would like to change the location where the converted file will be saved, make use of the option to 'Save in' and enter the new destination for the file.