I use quite a few pdf documents. I experimented for several years with the various free/low cost pdf programmes and had some success. I could extract pages, add pages, combine documents, and print documents to pdf. But then I needed to work with plans (in pdf format) and the ability of the full-price Adobe Acrobat Pro to measure up plans became important to me.
I had to get Pro, but I couldn’t come at paying the full price (which was horrendous a few years ago but at least it has come down to just being bl**dy expensive today). So I looked on eBay and found a cheap original which was a couple of versions old; installed it and it worked perfectly. Actually it worked too perfectly because I can’t do without it now. The support for my full Pro version ended a while back and I got a new computer; same story – need a new copy, look on eBay and a genuine non-student earlier version of Pro a couple of years old. Then brought a laptop – had to buy another copy. Ouch. But I am hooked on Pro, and if you use a few pdfs or need to measure up, it is the way to go.
PS - I am using version X, and if the text cannot be copied easily, it has a "recognise text" tool [OCR] for exactly your need.
PPS - It would be jolly bad form to use Advanced PDF Password Recovery (Pro) to crack and remove any password protection.
Last edited by OverRun; 2nd September 2013 at 12:14.