Edit PDF in OO-Draw

[Patton Echols]

On 03/12/2011 12:18 AM, John D Lamb wrote:
> On Fri, 2011-03-11 at 09:39 -0800, Patton Echols wrote:
>> I have a PDF that is intended to be printed out, blanks filled in and
>> mailed in.  I would like to modify the document to add fillable fields.
>> With a new odf document in Writer, I am able to do this.
> There are several things you could try.
>
> 1. You could use pdf2ps followed by ps2eps to convert the pdf file to an
> eps file readable by Writer. This will work but the quality may not be
> good.

Thanks for the idea.  For those following along:  Using these tools with 
default settings results in an EPS file -- basically an image --  that 
stacks a multi page pdf all into one page.  Bummer.  Also it can be done 
in one step by pdftops  ( "to" not "2") with the following:
$ pdftops -f 1 -l 1 -eps infile.pdf outfile.eps

I'm not sure the effort helps since it ends up opening in Draw (even if 
I start in Writer).  Since writer can do that with the PDF, I'm not sure 
what I gain.

> 2. You could use gimp to convert the pdf file to a png image, which
> Writer can read. You’ll need a resolution of at least 300 pixels/inch
> (600 is better). Insert the png file in Writer, set its wrap to in
> background and set to original size. Main drawback of this method is the
> size of the file.

I considered this if I needed to keep the exact image of the file.  Like 
if the form had pictures, unique fonts, etc.  I think that would be a 
great idea.

> 3. You could just read the original PDF in Draw and add form controls
> over the top. I don’t know if this works for your purpose.

Right, the original question was how to do that.  I cannot figure out 
how to put in a text input box

> 4. You could recreate the whole document the way you want it in Writer.
> This may be the quickest way.
>

That is what I resorted to.  I used evince to open the document and 
select the text, copied and pasted into Writer and went from there.

Thanks for all who chimed in.