Opening PDF in Illy...

Question

Hello,
This is something that has bugged me for some time. When clients give me PDF's asking me to change the text, I end up writing it all out again which is annoying. Is there a way of connecting all the text boxes up so I don't have to spend half my day writing T's & C's??
Hope this makes sense,
Cheers.
Craig

Answer 1

What an awful workflow. Your clients should be sending you native files if they need changes made. PDFs are not meant for editing. Illustrator’s ability to open PDFs is a convenience and should not be seen as a viable way to edit and save the file. You should ask you clients to send the complete file, along with any links if they need you to make changes.
That said; you are at the mercy of the format. Since PDFs are not meant to be edited, text is not stored in the file in tidy logical blocks and columns. The format does not even support kerning, which is why you sometimes see a new text item formed within a line of text.
I believe if you search the forum you can find a script by James Talmidge (aka JET) that will help you. Try "script type combine" also try searching for terms specific to your problem, like "pdf text edit".
The only additional help I can offer is a rick I have used when backed into this corner. Select all the text objects in one block (e.g. one column) and copy. Create a new text frame by dragging out out with the Type tool. Paste. Now position the frame over the existing type and resize the column width to get the correct line breaks. You will still need to format the text to get the correct leading and paragraph spacing. Some minor tweaks in line breaks may still be necessary.