Re: PDF File Alteration

[Adam Williams <awilliam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>PDF files are mostly plain text and can be modified with any text editor.

Yes,  but I think these PDF files where generated by a M$ product, as
the code looks like taillings from a coal mine,  so I can't intuit
anything about the background.

>I have a copy of the official Adobe PDF reference manual at work, and I
>can bring to the next meeting if you want to take a look at it.

That would be great.

>I'd look up the answer for you, but I'm in Wisconsin now and the manual 
>is at my work.  (and I won't be back until Tuesday)

Finally,  something you can't do remotely with a Linux box.  (Maybe if
we got one of those robotic arms from Radio Shack...)

Is this document available on-line anywhere?  A cursory look didn't turn
it up.

>>I have some PDF files of what apparently were PowerPoint (a registered trademark
>>of the Microsoft corporation) presentations.  I can convert each of these pages
>> to a PBM with "pdftopbm" (output OK, but not great),  and I can also open them
>>in GIMP (something I discovered by accidently openning the PDF instead of the
>>PBM, and they look great).  What I need to do is plaster several PDF files,
>>images, text documents, etc... into one file that users can request be printed
>>on a B/W laser via a web form, whatever... (probably will turn it all back into
>>a PDF or Postscript file).  My dillema is that these PDFs look great on the
>>screen but print terrible as they are white letters on a pale blue graphic
>>background.  I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way (command?) to remove the
>>background from a PDF?  I don't even know if PDFs store the background seperate
>>from the text, etc.... so maybe I'm grasping at straws.  If so, just whack me.
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Ximian GNOME, Evolution, LTSP, and RedHat Linux + LVM & XFS
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