Drawing in a PDF file

[jimbofoxman]

Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on doing a line drawing, labels, etc in a PDF file? Or maybe we can do it in MS Publisher where the document was originally created.

We do estimates that require line drawings and labels. Like outline of house, fence lines, simple dimensions, etc.

Does any one have any thoughts about doing that?

 

[Lifted]

Acrobat, Photoshop, Foxit, and many others I'm sure.

Maybe even some free tools such as Gimp or paint.net? It's worth looking into it.

 

[lxskllr]

Couldn't you do it in MS Paint, or some other easy drawing program, and put that in a pdf?

 

[Lifted]

Couldn't you do it in MS Paint, or some other easy drawing program, and put that in a pdf?

MS Paint doesn't open PDF's as far as I know. I'm pretty sure Gimp can, though I wouldn't call it an easy drawing program.

 

[lxskllr]

MS Paint doesn't open PDF's as far as I know. I'm pretty sure Gimp can, though I wouldn't call it an easy drawing program.

I wasn't sure what the question was. It sounded like an option was to recreate the pdf. In that case, a .jpg could be inserted, and the pdf remade.

If *I* were to do it, I'd use Paint.NET for the graphics, then import that to LibreOffice, do the text, then export as a pdf.

 

[corkyg]

I would it it roughly the same way as ixskllr, but with different authoring software. Basically, create in a draw or paint, then place in a .doc file and save as PDF. Or, . . . I would open the PDF file in my Nitro PDF program and insert images and save.

 

[Lifted]

I don't think that is what the OP is looking to do. It read to me as if he wants to draw lines, make comments, etc, in an existing PDF that was created with Publisher. I don't see how the procedures you're describing helps in that regard. Sure he could take a screen cap of his publisher doc if it's one page, edit it in some app, then save as a pdf again, but what's the point of having a pdf at that point if you're only dealing with an image instead of a "smart" document with true fonts, vector art/images, etc? You might as well save as a jpeg at that point.

 

[corkyg]

I don't know of any program other than Publisher that lets you draw in a PDF file. But, I can draw in a drawing program and insert that drawing into a PDF document.

If the PDF document was created in Publisher, then, yes, Publisher can also edit it, etc.

OK, I just tried it. I opened a PDF file in Publisher, and then using Publisher's tools, I drew a rectangle, put some lines in it, and inserted a couple of canned objects.

So, the answer to Op's "maybe" is yes! Do it in Publisher.

 

[Lifted]

OK, I just tried it. I opened a PDF file in Publisher, and then using Publisher's tools, I drew a rectangle, put some lines in it, and inserted a couple of canned objects.

So, the answer to Op's "maybe" is yes! Do it in Publisher.

I just tried to open a PDF in Publisher 2010, that was created in Publisher 2010, and I got the message "Publisher cannot open the file".

What version of Publisher are you using?

 

[Mojonba]

I suggest using PDF Xchange Viewer. Free and can load pdfs created with anything.

 

[corkyg]

I just tried to open a PDF in Publisher 2010, that was created in Publisher 2010, and I got the message "Publisher cannot open the file".

What version of Publisher are you using?

2003

 

[Steltek]

Major editing of existing PDF files is very difficult due to the complexity of the file structure - PDFs simply aren't designed to or even meant to be edited. You'd be much better off investing your efforts in recreating the original document in a current desktop publishing program and then creating a new PDF file from the new document. When you do it, make sure to retain your new original document for future ease of editing.

If you are a glutton for punishment (and have deep pockets), Enfocus' Pitstop Professional is an Acrobat plug-in which will allow you to do some fairly significant editing of PDF files. Of course, it costs about $700 (on top of the cost of an Adobe Acrobat license, which itself ain't cheap), so it isn't something that most people will want to shell out for. And even then it might not be able to complete the kind of edit you need to do.

 

[marino.DV]

never heard of such a thing and to be honest i don't see the functionality of it

 

[alexruiz]

PDF X-change pro would be my suggestion. But as the others have said, PDF edition is a major pain.