That's incorrect analogy. In my opinion.
Pdfs (portable document format) is basically a vector based text format. Uses maths to draw the characters which means it doesn't need the font it was created with on the device reading it. This means it always appears formatted as the author intended. You can also lock them to prevent editing, again so they appear as author intended.
But you can also create fillable digital forms in pdf and also have digital signatures.
You can also convert them back and forth to do something like MS Word once they are not locked.
PDF have become a bit a standard format. Lots of apps can read or edit them. Once they aren't locked. I like Foxit less bloated than Adobe.
A PDF can have text area boxes, it depends on how it was created.
Libreoffice can open a PDF as drawing, which allows you put text boxes on it, but this is different from text entry boxes.
Libre Office can also create pdf forms...
https://www.wps.com/blog/how-to-create-a-fillable-pdf-in-libreoffice-a-step-by-step-guide/
I see online that Libre Writer is too basic to handle PDFs so the workaround is to use Draw. But you can create PDF forms in Writer. If thats the question. There is a difference in creating your own forms, and editing someone else's.
You can create forms (Word Forms) in Word also. These are different to PDF forms.
Too often people create things in PDF then expect others to be able to edit it. PDF is primarily an output/publishing format. So it looks the same on someone iPad and their Android Tablet etc. Not that everyone can edit it.
This may or may not provide the solution your want 🤔
I started out messing with pdfs in Google Docs. Works for basic pdfs but anything complex gets wrecked in the conversation when you download as a pdf. I tried a few of the free editors but always ran into some kind of limitation with the ones I used. In the end I got a copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro + Adobe Illustrator. They are worth "acquiring". For everything else I find Googles free online offering of tools + Libreoffice does the job.
Just as an aside…
Halleluja! Its not just me. I wasted most of yesterday fighting with this situation. And if you take an image out of one of your files and alter it in the Microsoft images thingy then save it, it automatically saves onto the cloud, which means it is effectively lost.
Hi. My laptop is pushing on a bit now at 10 yrs old. If I purchase a new one how will I get some programs i use onto the new one. I'm thinking of Sage micropay professional payroll and sage line 50 accounts. I don't have any installation disks from way back for these.
TIA
HD
I bit the bullet and pay a ONE OFF payment for the Kofax Advances below…. No Annual Fees etc.
Does what it says on the tin
I think it depends on the program. I don't know anything about Sage, but the last time I got a new laptop, about 6 years ago, I ended up having to purchase Photoshop and Word again. Now I have upgraded again and neither of these programs will work on the new one. I can at this stage manage without them, I use alternatives, but if you need something like Sage there is every chance you will have to buy it again.
Try contact Sage and explain situation. I'm sure you are not the first to do this. There is probably some backup / export / archive to be done on old (current) system and then import into new system. You will almost def have to install s/w on new machine but there might be a discount for (re)purchase from Sage or even free. Worth a try.
If they make it too hard / expensive you could keep the old laptop for Sage only and get it tuned so its faster. Then no benefit for Sage at all ……
oh for sure …. i used to pride myself on being tech competent (i was the only one in the house that could programme the VHS tape recorder!) , but things move on and I now feel that the next big push in Tech will leave me behind :-(
These days I use Google more & more …. and Youtube is a great resource ….. but both need you to ask the right question and sometime I dont know enough to do that!!
It'll happen to youuuuu 👉👉👉
The joys of working in IT
Excuse any of the tech terms that I mightn't get right. So last night I moved a few items (PDFs, photos etc) from a desktop PC to a USB stick with the intention of putting them on a different PC. However I discovered that the USB stick was formatted on someone elsses computer and now I have lost the items. Is there any way of finding them again on the first PC? Is there a temporary folder that they may be in by any chance?
Have you checked your recycle bin?
Try this first…
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/recover-lost-or-deleted-files-7bf065bf-f1ea-0a78-c1cf-7dcf51cc8bfc#:~:text=Right%2Dclick%20the%20file%20or%20folder%2C%20and%20then%20select%20Restore,if%20both%20types%20are%20available.
If no good maybe someone could post a third-party file recovery utility. When you delete a file it's not immediately deleted, just marked for deletion until the space is needed.
I was just going to post this link about the same concept
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-recover-files-and-folders-using-shadow-volume-copies/
Never cut and paste when moving files between drives, always use copy and paste.
If a file has been deleted or quick formatted and nothing written / added to the drive then free version of Recuva: https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva/download usually does the trick for me. Chances of nothing been written to the formatted usb in your scenario by now are probably slim but worth keeping in mind if you realise early that you need to recover something.
By any chance is your computer linked to the cloud? (That little place in cyber space that can back up all your files ?) it was possibly set up when you first had the computer and you’ve forgotten about it since.
Thanks for all the help folks. I tried recovering the files as linked to above but no joy Im afraid. The USB stick which had been formatted was used to copy some other files ro since I was using it so no way of getting that to work. The PC isnt connected to the cloud and finally I'll know mot to cut and paste in the future.
Have you tried recovering from the PC side (not the USB)? SourSessions suggested the Recycle bin earlier but I dont see a reply to say that didnt work.
Recycle bin is not listed on normal File Explorer folders, so click on windows search box (bottom left of screen - beside the windows logo) and type Recycle, then click on Recycle Bin …. should bring up an file explorer folder of all your deleted (moved?) stuff …. click on the files to restore them to prev folder
Yes, I tried that but couldnt find the deleted items. There's a recycle bin folder on the desktop.
Someone else might explain this better but is the 'system restore point' available still? It saved my life a few times!
I had thought about that but wasnt sure if it would work or not.
But good news, I found them (accidently).
So I had file explorer open and on the list down the left side which includes documents, downloads, music etc I noticed it also showed "New Volume (E:)". That shows up normally when there's a USB drive in the PC. I thought it odd seeing it without the USB drive so I clicked on it and all the deleted / missing items were there. Happy days.
Now copy them back to wherever they were before you 'cut' them!
The restore point would be for software installations, not for data files, such as photos or documents.
I had a vague notion that might be the case, I can't recall what circumstances it was useful, but I know there were a few times.
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