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Unable to add text to an existing PDF.

Forum Index > General Acrobat Topics > Unable to add text to an existing PDF.
2010-11-05 14:25:20
Armando
Registered: Nov 5 2010
Posts: 2

I am attempting to add text to maps that were scanned to PDF using an OCE Plotwave 300 large format scanner.
  
Once I open the PDF using Acrobat 9 Pro, any tool that may be used to edit or add text is not selectable. That is, ithe text tools appear grayed out in the menu bar.
 

 
The files are not very large, between 300 and 500K in size.
 

 
Furthermore, in a last ditch effort, I tried to add text to the PDF files in Photoshop CS3 Extended. However, the files refused to open and I received an error stating: Could not complete your request because a color was specified using an unsupported color space.
 

 
Can anyone tell me what is going on and what I need to do to add text in Acrobat.
 

 
Thanks!

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.3, Windows
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2010-11-05 16:50:35
#1
daka630
Expert
Registered: Mar 1 2007
Posts: 1420
"...scanned to PDF..."

There is no "text".
The PDF content is that of the image created by the scanner and imported into PDF.
You could use a form field text box or one of the comment/review tools to place form fields or annotations to the image and then flatten either/both. An annotation associated with the Typewriter tool can be placed to a PDF page containing a scanned image as well.


Be well...

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2010-11-10 09:00:26
#2
Armando
Registered: Nov 5 2010
Posts: 2
daka360 -

Yes, I realize there is no "text" to be edited as it is an image.

However, I cannot stress enough that I have NO option anywhere to add text, comment, bubble, NOTHING. EVERYTHING TEXT RELATED IS GRAY AND UN-SELECTABLE. If there is a tool somewhere that I may use then all I can say is that the tool layout is so counter-intuitive that it is not worth the time to search for it.

If there is some special drop-down menu that I need to find to enable a way to add a text layer, or comment field, or editing options then please let me know exactly how to find it as I have been unable to do so.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

If need be I can email you a copy of one of the files so you can see it for yourself.

Thanks again.
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2010-11-10 13:23:06
#3
daka630
Expert
Registered: Mar 1 2007
Posts: 1420
A couple things come to mind.


Perhaps a "Repair" of Acrobat is in order (on the Advanced drop-down).


Or, the software being used to produce the PDF files does not provide ISO 32000-1 compliant PDF (or reasonable closeness to this). While Adobe Reader / Acrobat can render almost any "PDF" the facilities of Acrobat are predicated on having a 'proper' PDF.


You could use Acrobat to process the scan directly (File > Create PDF > From Scanner) or work through a different scanner to see what can be done with the output PDF vis-a-vis the Comment & Review tools.
Something else to play with; configure the plotter's output PDF page size to tabloid and then to ANSI D.
Then play with those PDFs.



Be well...

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2010-11-10 14:02:22
#4
rbogie
Registered: Apr 28 2008
Posts: 432
post one of the files to https://acrobat.com/
and post the link in this thread
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