Adobe Reader X- can't select text

[scrymied]

Hello everyone,

This should be an easy one- all I want to do is select some text/charts from a PDF, and then copy and paste into Word/Paint... I used to be able to do this (with Adobe Reader 9 I think it was), but since I upgraded to X I can't even select text, even if the Select Tool is on. Can anyone help??

Thanks!

[Claudio_González1]

Are you sure that your file contains actual text, and not images of text? Very frequently, if one cannot select text in a PDF, it's because there is no text there.

[joph12]

hi,

Here is the procedure to select the text,

right click anywhere and switch from hand tool to select tool,

than select the text you want and copy it. Paste it where you like it to.

I tried this and it works on mine.

[u_m1]

Recently I have run across PDF documents that are not an image in the sense that each page is a single image, but rather they are made of lots of individual images, even to the point that each letter is its own image. As such documents are technically not containing text, the text select tool won't work, and this is not an Acrobat issue.

In particular these kind of documents seem to be generated when you print a pop-up window (Ctrl-p, or right-click print) on certain web pages (UPS, for example) from within Google Chrome to PDF.

The easiest way to find out if you happen to have such a document is to open such a document in Acrobat Reader, go to File->Properties, Font tab. You should see that there are no or very few fonts listed, and in particular the fonts you see in the document are not there.

[Guest]

I use to be able to open a tax map online (in pdf format), use the select tool to select and highlight the area around the lot I wanted to print and then "print selection" to print only that lot.  Since upgrading to readerX I no longer have the select option.  I understand that it's not text I am trying to select, rather I am trying to highlight and print just a portion of the document open on the page. However, it was something I did rather easily before making the mistake upgrading. 

Is there anyway, now, that I can select which parts of the map I print?

[ECMelton]

I have the same type of issue: my doc is NOT a text doc, yet, before upgrading (I hadn't figured out 'til now that I had even upgraded! oops!) but now I can't select by the same procedure as I did before, which was exactly what Jopf12 describes.

That no longer works, and snapshots take an actual PICTURE, which doesn't allow me to copy & paste TEXT. Is there a way we can UN-Upgrade?

[u_m1]

You can UN-upgrade by de-installing your current Adobe Reader, and then installing an older version. Adobe makes older versions of the reader available at:

http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/

At least with version 9.5 under Windows this will download a downloader that then downloads the actual reader software installer.

[ECMelton]

thanks very much!

[ECMelton]

I went to the link you recommend, and the oldest ver available seems to be 10.1.4... anyone know where I can find an old enough version, apparently at least as old as 9.5?

[u_m1]

Depends on what operating system you specify. With Windows 8 it only goes back to 10.1.4, while with Windows 7 it goes back to 9.5. I'd suggest you try that.

[ECMelton]

thx! saves wasted time on Acrobat sites!

[C_F_McBlob · Accepted solution]

OldVersion.com has Reader going back to version 3 for Mac and version 1 for Windows

[ECMelton]

oh, bless you... saved me much web searching!

[jpeloquent]

Thank you so much, joph12! Your solution solved my problem. It was driving me crazy, since it worked on other computers with the same file!

[whyudothistome]

thanks - it worked

[dinaels]

This is the right answer!!! Thank you so much, Joph12.  Something so easy and so frustrating.  I've struggled with this problem for MONTHS!  Thank you for solution. Adobe ought to put it in the edit menu...

[lorrainee45243979]

Thank you!

[Rebecca5D73]

Arg!  So annoying.  The icon to switch from hand tool to select tool used to be on the TOOLBAR BY DEFAULT.  Sick of Adobe rearranging tools and calling it new and improved.  I've been using Adobe Acrobat Pro for 15 years and it get less intuitive and more difficult with every new version.  The market is ready for a new kid on the block for PDFs!!!!

[Guest]

To copy and paste selected text in Adobe Reader X:

1. Choose Edit > Take Snapshot

2. Click and drag an area around the  text you want to copy, then release the mouse button.

3. Press Esc to exit Snapshot mode.

4. In another application press Edit > Paste to paste the selected text.

[MATHEUS229244559ivy]

Just needed that Esc tip, after struggling with this snapshot mode for months. Thank you very much! ^^

[carsjam]

I came here looking for an answer to my problem which was, after switching on "snapshot" mode, I could not revert back to select and copy text. The right-mouse trick did not work for me, nor did I want to roll back to an old version (since resistance is futile). After a great deal of weeding out of off-topic help pages, I finally found this elegant answer (not covered in the manual and not easy to find -- are you listening Adobe?):

The Snapshot tool copies an area as an image that you can paste into other applications.

1. Choose Edit > Take a Snapshot.
2. Drag a rectangle around the area you want to copy, and then release the mouse button.
3. Press the Esc key to exit Snapshot mode.

In another application, choose Edit > Paste to paste the copied image.

via: Adobe Reader X * Copy content from PDFs

[fredj94786598]

I understand the Pain with Adobe - somewhere in the Past I was able to Copy/Paste any small Text - but now I have given up, is tooo complicated- if possible at all - -I just did go to my Linux PC and in no Time I could Copy/Paste [i.e. to Notepad]

>>meine Guete!!!!! - where have I landed!?? maybe when MS and others join the Linux People - -so, we weit and hope the all speak one Language[I'm still learning also - -]

Fred

[oltexan]

This may or may not help.  I found that in my scanner you have to save a PDF as a SEARCHABLE PDF. If I did so I could select and copy the resulting text from the PDF. I suspect that if you save a scan as a plain PDF that it saves it like picture from which you cannot select the text.

[JohnAR]

As stated, it might be a scanned copy, Not all PDFs are created by following general norms, creating a PDF file from scratch, or converting an existing text document into PDF format. Sometimes, scanned images are bundled and merged into a PDF file. Such a file can be described as a scanned PDF. They differ from standard PDFs in that editing them is usually not possible.

 If so, use OCR to convert it into a regular file. Here's how:

1. Visit PDF24 or a similar site that uses OCR to recognize the text in files.
2. Click on the Choose files button.
3. Upload the scanned PDF file.
4. Allow the tool to complete its processing.
5. Download the converted version of the PDF file.

This has worked for me whenevr the provider of the original PDF wasn't aware of the difference between scanned PDF's and "regular" PDF copies.

HTH, JohnR