Edit Adobe pdf files (Xar)

[pgbery]

I have installed the trial version of Xara X1.
I would now like to edit some Adobe pdf files I downloaded from another source. Can you help!
Many thanks,
Pgbery

[stlewis]

Pgbery

Welcome to Talkgraphics and XaraX.

I'm not sure quite what you mean... If you want to edit a graphic in a pdf file, then, as I understand it, you really need a bitmap editing tool eg Photoshop, as graphics in a pdf are bitmaps - even if they were created in a vector tool eg XaraX.

You can however, paste it in and to help you create a vector version of it.

[MEB]

Welcome pgberry!

Xara X isn´t able to edit pdf files directly. If you want to edit a picture inside a pdf file you will have to extract the image from the pdf with Adobe Acrobat or other similar pdf editor and then edit the exported image in Xara or in a raster application depending on what you want to do.
If what you want is change the pdf contents (text links or whatever) then a pdf editor like the Adobe Acrobat (NOT Adobe Acrobat Reader) or similar will do the job.

Miguel B.

[molucca]

I have used Canvas to read PDF files, and save to a useable vector format. That is, if the PDF contains vector data. I have scanned to PDF, and those files would be bitmap. Corel Draw might be able to read the file. You would have to convert to a format Xara could read. Acrobat will save to other formats, but I have never been successful wiht those. Rich

[gwpriester]

The best program for editing the contents of a PDF file (and Jens if he is around will probably disacree) is one of the newer versions of Illustrator such as Illustrator CS.

PDF has become the standard file type for Illustrator and so it is able to open and edit the files the best.

CorelDRAW and Canvas, the later versions, can also open and edit PDF files but it is not a native language for them.

I have created PDF files from CorelDRAW 11 and then exported the files as PDF and found that the CorelDDRAW PDF is much larger in file size and not as accurate as an Illustrator-created PDF file.

Gary

[jclements]

To add to Gary's comment:

Corels newly released "Designer 12 Technical Sweet" has a PDF filter that can import and maintain PDF layers and pages.