A good tool for editing pdf and/or converting .doc to pdf

[Zireael]

I'm making a little fan project... The problem is, when I added pictures to the Word file, it started hanging up randomly.
So I need answers to 2 questions:
1) how to convert .doc (I'm using Word 2003) to .pdf with minimum hassle
2) what program can I use to edit this .pdf with minimum hassle

Thanks in advance,
Zireael

[DaddyHoggy]

In answer to part 1) - I use Open Office - it can read Word .doc format and can save as a .pdf (although it can't edit it once it is saved as a .pdf), which means I have no answer to part 2 - other than doing as much as you can in Open Office and only saving/exporting as a .pdf when you have to.

[Zireael]

I don't have Open Office, unfortunately...

[Cody]

Open Office is available as a free download.

[Zireael]

1) My net likes going crazy in the middle of a download
2) I'm used to my Word, thank you

[Disembodied]

Looking on Google brings up loads of .doc-to-.pdf converters. I've no idea how good any of them might be, though!

Editing a PDF is usually – in my experience anyway – a tactic of desperate last resort, and accompanied by weeping and/or screaming ... My advice would be to do all your editing on Word, and when you're done, convert it to PDF via whatever works best. If you need to make further edits, dump the PDF, make the changes to the Word file, and make a new PDF from that.

[DaddyHoggy]

So, anything we suggest has to already be available on your machine because of your crazy downloads and you're happy to stick with your current version of Word even though it crashes when you try to do want you want with it and it can't natively save .pdfs?

OK, good luck with that one then!

Try searching on the 'net for "pdf printers" - they basically create a new virtual printer on your machine which you can print to - that "print" is a pdf file. Of course given you can't actually create the document in Word and you still can't edit it afterwards, I'm not sure if that actually helps (and you will of course need to download aforementioned pdf printer)

[Zireael]

Big downloads are an issue (that's why no Open Office). Small ones (up to 10 mb) - usually are ok, since my net does not have time to get stuck . I've found a pdf printer, but I still need something to edit pdf.

Re: doc-to-pdf - I've tried to use one, and whoo, bad luck. So no, thank you very much.

[Disembodied]

Here's the word (if you'll pardon the pun) from Microsquish themselves: Convert documents between PDF and Word.

[Selezen]

CutePDF Writer will allow you to install a printer device that you can set as the destination printer from any Windows application, thus making PDF creation as simple as just printing a document. You can download it for free at http://www.cutepdf.com/

I have to push OpenOffice here, cos I used to be a big fan of Word too. OpenOffice has all of the functionality and customisability of Word but very few of the drawbacks and to be honest I would rather use OO than word nowadays. With a few tweaks you can set the default load and save to Word format (thus preserving compatibility with Microsoft lovers).

The last straw for me was when Office 2007 came out and was filled with stupid features that just made it crap to use. I dislike being forced to update software when it changes the user interface and actually makes the software SLOWER and harder to use. OpenOffice is intuitive and retains its functionality with very little performance difference to MS Office. And it's free.

If you want, I would be happy to burn OpenOffice to a CD for you and post it to you. I'd even pay for the stamps.

[Zieman]

IIRC you can download a plugin for Word from M$. At least for Word 2007, it has an option to save document as .PDF or .XPS, and trying to save as .PDF gives you instructions/link for the plugin.