Ask A Geek

Q: Can we convert PDF files to rtf and/or txt? If so how do I do it?

Q: I am currently using a PDF format for online educational courses. The students simply download the course and fill it in and then email it to me for grading. I must now require some of my online courses to be timed. What would be the easiest approach to online course timing? Is there a way to add a timing feature to my PDFs or will this task require a whole new software program or approach?

Q: How do I change pictures in an editable PDF and still keep it editable once saved?

Q: I scanned 165 pages of text as JPG and cannot edit these. What can I do to get them into a format like Word or PDF that I can edit easily?

Q: Is there still a fix for Adobe Acrobat 9.1 crashing when DEP is enabled? I have several PDF’s that work fine but when I try and use the email function adobe crashes. Vista pops up it’s usual “DEP has closed this program” box. I am unable to disable DEP for acrobat.exe (it says “This program must run with DEP enabled, you cannot turn off DEP for this program”).

Q: How to highlight certain portion of the PDF like the links, end notes etc?

Q: How do I scan a form and save it as a PDF file so I can attach it to an email and send it? I am trying to send membership applications thru email and I am lost.

Q: I am using web-based software for my company and they have created personalized forms and documents that I need. Most of these are created PDF or word documents. I don’t have any problems opening or using the PDF, but after I’ve opened the word documents, there is no toolbar with options to print, etc. The web company says it’s probably a browser issue, which they can’t address. I use Internet Explorer (IE) and I’m not very computer savvy, so any help would be appreciated.

A: The first thing you can do is try CTRL + P. This will bring up the print dialog box in your web browser and will allow you to print anything that is showing in the web browser.

The other thing you can do, in Internet Explorer, is to go to the upper-right corner and single left-clicking on the tools button. Then put a checkmark next to the Menu Bar option. This will get the Menu to appear that has the print button on it so you can print from there.

Q: How do I open coupons sent to me via email that are encoded in PDF format?

A: You will need a free program called Adobe Reader to open PDF files. Once you have Adobe Reader installed opening the PDF document will be easy.

If you have not already saved the file to your computer from your email then you will want to do that now. Once the file is on your computer you will be able to just double click on the file and it will open in your new Adobe Reader program. From here you will be able to easily print your coupon or any other type of document you might have.

Q: I am designing a monthly newsletter. I have two clients. I need them to be able to logon, access their pdf file and update. I have a domain set up and a hosting company. I have dreamweaver, indesign and photoshop. I’m beginning to get confused on just the overall steps needed to get this accomplished. I have 20+ years software but web design is new to me. Would like to be able to find someone to help me design and understand these steps. Any help would be appreciated. Especially just the overall steps.