A PDF document is often the best format to share documents, booklets, etc., as it lets you share the content in a rich format without any damage to the formatting. But sometimes you need to convert the document in Word format. How can one easily convert any PDF file to Word document for free?

In an earlier post, we talked about free online PDF to Word converters. But they have their own limitations:
1. Online PDF converters cannot handle password-protected files.
2. The output is emailed to you, which might take some time to arrive. So if you are in a hurry, online PDF converters are not recommended.
3. All online PDF converters have a file size limit. If your file exceeds the limit, you are out of luck.
4. It requires you to upload file to the Web, which may be a hindrance if you are stuck with a poor Internet connection.

Converting PDF to Word

AnyBizSoft PDF to Word Converter is a free Windows application for converting PDF files into formatted Word DOC files on a click, provided you have Microsoft Word 2003/2007/2010 installed on your computer. (It's free only for non-commercial use.) After installing the application using the under-7MB Windows installer, you will have to register the product by getting a key code from their website by giving your name and email.

I personally don't like being forced to get registered for using some free product. If I have to, I use any disposable email such as GuerrillaMail instead of my email address. I hope the product company will get rid of this annoyance in future versions.

The application has a simple interface where one can add (or drag-and-drop) multiple PDF files to be converted into Word documents. If only a few pages of any PDF file needs to be converted, the page numbers can be specified.

The tool can even convert your password-protected PDF files into Word. It shows a padlock icon next to protected PDF files. To unlock the file from the PDF to Word Converter's interface itself, click on the lock icon or right-click on the file and choose unlock option. Enter the password in the pop-up dialogue box. If you don't provide the password, the tool skips the protected file and continues processing other files.

The PDF to Word Converter does a good job in retaining the original format, images, graphics and links. However, it's formatting for tables can deviate from the original, given the complexity of the task. It's a fair deal as a free PDF to Word converting application.

The PDF to Word Converter cannot convert scanned PDF files into Word. If you want to convert scanned images and PDFs into text, use free online OCR tools.

If you have been using Ubuntu for some time and you don't hesitate in exploring new avenues, you might have discovered how to install fonts in Ubuntu. If you haven't, here's a simple guide to installing your desired fonts in Ubuntu. (And you will wonder why you didn't find it on your own.)

Use Ubuntu Software Center

It's never been easier to add fonts in Ubuntu, thanks to the Software Center (Applications > Software Center > Fonts) where one can browse through the repository and install the desired fonts.

Download a font and install

If you want to install any specific font, just download it, double-click to open it with Ubuntu Font Viewer and click on Install button. Font Squirrel, DaFont, 1001 Free Fonts and Urban Fonts are some of the places to look for free fonts.

Installing multiple fonts

If you have a huge collection of fonts to install, opening all of them in Font Viewer and then clicking Install button can be tiresome. Instead, select and copy all fonts. Now go to the Home Folder (Places > Home Folder) and press Ctrl+H to show hidden files and folders. If you don't find a folder called .fonts, create one with this name. Paste the fonts in this folder.

All hidden folders in Ubuntu begin with a dot. So when you create a .fonts folder, you are creating a hidden folder that is used for custom fonts of the user whose Home Folder it is. The Home Folder has the same name as the Ubuntu user.

Do you need to use the text in an image of any letter or newspaper or some document? Optical character recognition (OCR) tools can be used to convert the text in some image (JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF or PDF) format into word/text. But not everyone has an OCR application. That's where free online OCR tools come to rescue.

There are plenty of good online tools that will read the text in images and give you the output in word format that you can copy and paste to desired place. This involves simple process of uploading the image on the website and then copy-pasting the resultant text. However, it's recommended to go through the text once because the results are not error-free. Some letters or words can be wrongly identified, changing the meaning of the text.

1. Online OCR: This supports all image formats as well as PDF (only the first page of a multi-page document). The text churned out by the OCR tool removes line breaks (not paragraphs), thus saving you the hassle of removing the unwanted line breaks when using the text in some document.

2. Free OCR: Free Online OCR is another tool for converting image to text. It supports only JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP and PDF formats. It retains the line breaks in results, which can be a cause for irritation.

3. New OCR: New OCR supports all image formats as well as multi-page PDF documents. If you need to convert any PDF to word text, upload the file and then get page-wise results. It supports multiple languages.

These three online OCR tools should be good enough to meet your most requirements. If you know any better tool, do let me know.

MyPaint is an open source paint application for creating excellent works of art in various operating platforms including Windows, Linux and OSX. It comes with a distraction-free workspace packaged with a wide variety of brushes that allow users to paint their imagination on the limit-less canvas. One can keep working without the need to resize the canvas.

This painting tool can be used with a mouse as well as a pressure-sensitive tablet. So its ideal for both the professional artist as well as those who just want to have some fun.



MyPaint

Emails are one of the most popular ways of infecting any computer with nasty viruses. You have received an email with an attachment that you suspect is virulent. How do you check if it's a virus or not without having to download it? That's where VirusTotal comes to rescue.

VirusTotal provides free online virus scan against multiple virus engines, including BitDefender, ClamAV, McAfee and Symantec. Forward the suspected mail to scan@virustotal.com with SCAN as the subject of the email. Or, you can create a new mail, copy the link to the attachment file and send it to scan@virustotal.com with SCAN in the subject line.

VirusTotal will conduct a free virus scan of the suspected file and email you a report. It may take some time for the report to reach depending on workload. The file to be scanned can be up to 20MB.

If you have already downloaded the file, or have a suspect file on your computer, you can also upload the file at ViruTotal website for a free virus scan.

Do you need to copy text from a PDF file that's in image format? There are several free online PDF converters that can convert any PDF to word.

Why do you need to convert PDF to word? Let's look into this real life scenario. You are short of time for filing a report, and suddenly you get a scanned copy of a letter that you need to include in your document. Had it been a PDF created from digital text file, it would have been possible to copy it using the text selection tool, but it's not possible to do so with a PDF or image file created by scanning a physical document. (Most archived books on Google Books are also scanned images.) Using a free PDF to word converter tool, one can save time and effort which otherwise would have been required for typing the text.

How to convert PDF to text?

1. Upload the PDF file on the PDF converter tool website.
2. Give any disposable mail address (you can use GuerrillaMail for creating free disposable email address) if required
2. Copy the processed text and paste it where required.

If you have to convert a multi-page PDF instantly, create separate image files of each page (use full screen option and zoom feature to fit the entire page in the screen) using "Print Screen" key and paste it in an empty PhotoShop, GIMP or Paint file. Save the image as JPEG or PNG or BMP. Use these images with Online OCR or Free OCR to get the text.

Online OCR: It can convert only the first page of any PDF to word, but you will get the result instantly.

Free OCR: Free OCR is an online optical character recognition tool that can extract only the first page of a PDF document, but the results are instant. However, it can be annoying if you don't want the line breaks to be the same as in the original file.

Zamzar: Zamzar is free tool for converting several files into different formats, including PDF to word files. It requires an email id where the link to the converted text will be sent. It might take some time before you get your text.

PDF to Word: It will convert PDF to text in Word document or Rich Text Format (RTF). No other image formats are supported. It requires an email id, where the text document is mailed after the process is over. May take some time.

PDF2Word Online: Convert PDF2Word Online doesn't require you to give any email id. Just upload the PDF file and wait for a link to the text file.

New OCR: New OCR supports several image formats as well as multi-page PDF documents. Upload the PDF file and then get page-wise results. It supports multiple languages.

Everyone spends a significant portion of their day (and also night) over the Internet. But most of us rely on buttons and mouse for navigating the Web. Keyboard shortcuts can drastically boost your online experience. These shortcuts are used by both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Many of these shortcuts will be valid in other Web browsers as well. If you are using a Mac, replace Ctrl key with Cmd (command) key, Enter key with Return.

Web address: One can immediately go to the address or location bar by pressing Ctrl+L or Alt+D or F6.

To automatically complete .com address, press Ctrl+Enter. Eg: for www.google.com, you just need to type google in address bar and then press Ctrl+Enter.

To automatically complete .net address, use Shift+Enter. Eg; for www.google.org, type google and press shift+Enter.

To complete .org address, use Ctrl+Shift+Enter.Eg: for www.google.net, type google and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

If you need to type www.google.com/adsense, type google/adsense and then press Ctrl+Enter. For www.google.net/adsense, type google/adsense and press Shift+Enter. Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter for www.google.org/adsense. (Google Chrome will only be able to expand .com Web addresses.)

Web search: If you need to do a Web search, pressing Ctrl+K or Ctrl+J will take you to the Web search bar. In Google Chrome, prefixing ? with any query will give you Google search results.

Web search in address bar: To search any word or query with your default search engine, type the query in address bar and press Alt+Enter.

Tabbed browsing: Press Ctrl+T for opening a new tab in browser window. To close the current tab, press Ctrl+W. In case you closed a tab accidentally, press Ctrl+Shift+T to restore it.

List of keyboard shortcuts for Firefox

Back: Alt+Left Arrow
Forward: Alt+Right Arrow
Homepage: Alt+Home
Refresh webpage: F5
Completely reload webpage (overriding cache): Ctrl+F5
Stop: Esc
Go to Bottom of Page: End
Go to Top of Page: Home
Zoom In: Ctrl++ (Plus key)
Zoom Out: Ctrl+- (Minus key)
Zoom Reset: Ctrl+0 (Zero)
Search: Ctrl+F
Find Again: F3
Find Previous Shift+F3
Find As You Type Text: /
Web Search: Ctrl+K or Ctrl+J

======

Open Tab: Ctrl+T
Close Tab: Ctrl+W
Undo Close Tab: Ctrl+Shift+T
Move To Next Tab: Ctrl+Tab
New Window: Ctrl+N
Close Window: Ctrl+Shift+W or Alt+F4
Undo Close Window: Ctrl+Shift+N

======

Bookmark Current Page: Ctrl+D
Bookmark All Tabs: Ctrl+Shift+D
Bookmarks: Ctrl+B
History: Ctrl+H
Clear Recent History: Ctrl+Shift+Del

======

Complete .com Address: Ctrl+Enter
Complete .net Address: Shift+Enter
Complete .org Address: Ctrl+Shift+Enter
Delete Selected Autocomplete Entry: Shift+Del
Toggle Full Screen: F11
Select Address Bar: Ctrl+L or Alt+D or F6

Though USB drives have become the most popular storage media, CDs and DVDs still rule when it comes to creating a collection of movies, songs and images. Also, when it comes to operating systems such as Windows and Linux, computers expect a disc for installation. How do you burn a CD or DVD or an ISO file for free? Here's is a list of some of the best free windows applications to burn CDs and DVDs.

ImgBurn

ImgBurn is a light-weight application, primarily meant for quickly and easily creating copies of CDs and DVDs. The application can create images or ISO files from any disc, which can be saved on hard disk or burnt onto CDs and DVDs. This method of creating images and then burning them onto discs is primarily used for creating copies of movie DVDs or bootable discs. ImgBurn is equally efficient in creating video CDs and DVDs, creating music discs, etc. ImgBurn, which comes only as a free software, can also burn HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

CD BurnerXP

CDBurnerXP is another free application to burn CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It is available for free for everyone, including commercial users such as companies. However, it requires .NET Framework to be present on the computer.

BurnAware Free Edition

BurnAware is another CD / DVD burning application with a free version. It has a simple interface and doesn't use lots of resources when burning discs.

DeepBurner Free Edition

DeepBurner Free Edition is another disc burning application that's available as a free version. It's packed with all necessary features with just a few of "pro" features not available in the free version. It is also available as a portable application. Keep it in your USB drive or save it in DropBox, and use it on the go.

InfraRecorder

InfraRecorder is one of the most popular free CD burning software. This application was, however, last updated in August 2009, and is the website doesn't mention about it's compatibility with Windows 7.

Nero 9 Lite

For those who claim to have grown up using Nero, there is a free version available now. Nero 9 Lite can perform simple data burning and copy CDs and DVDs. The free version of Nero can be used only for personal purposes.

Google Adsense is undoubtedly the most popular and important tool for monetizing websites. A lot of websites solely depend on the Google ad network.

Adsense requires website owners not to click on the ads served on their web pages. Google has a powerful system to track dishonest ad clicks, either manual or by automated bots. Strict adherence to quality of clicks in the ad network is vital for success of Google Adwords (for advertisers) and Adsense and also for the advertisers. Who would want his/her money to be illegally siphoned off their account. (Illegal clicks on Adsense ads do exactly that.)

Despite Adsense's strict warnings at time of applying for the ad network, many website owners (mostly small web publishers) get kicked out of the network due to illegal clicks. Why does it happen? Most small websites get very few visitors and, therefore, just a few ad clicks. Publishers want quick money. "What's going to happen if I click the ads from a different computer? Adsense won't get to know." And the first illegal click from a friend's computer. No objection from Google. And so the website owner feels that clicking an ad from their friend's computer once or twice a day is harmless, only to get an email from Google Adsense team that the publisher's Adsense account has been banned due to illegal clicks.

How to avoid clicking Adsense ads accidentally?

Though it's up to you to be honest and resist the temptation for clicking ads on your website, you can surely avoid risks of clicking ads accidentally using a simple method. (Adsense's tracking system is good at excusing accidental clicks.)

If you are using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome Web browsers, you can install AdBlock Plus add-on for Firefox and Adblock for Chrome. This will block all ads on websites. So you don't risk any invalid clicks. However, it will also block access to your Adsense account. To solve this issue, use another browser for accessing your Adsense account.

Shiny purple design and aesthetics, Me Menu for staying connected to Twitter and other social networks, PiTiVi for editing videos, easy-to-use Software Center for installing applications and interesting games such as Sudoku and Gbrainy. Lucid Lynx has made the switch to Ubuntu even more tempting.

What should you do after installing Ubuntu Lucid Lynx to make it even more sexy and a more efficient workhorse?

1. Mount your hard disk partitions automatically

If you have used Ubuntu earlier, you know it can be a trouble if you mount partitions in wrong order. Ubuntu does not assign drive letters to partitions, instead it names them as disk-1, disk-2, etc., in the order they are mounted. so if you mounted your 90GB partition first, it becomes disk-1. Now you import your music from this partition to Rhythmbox music player and listen to music. When you start Ubuntu next time, you start Rhythmbox to listen to music. You get a no disk error. Now instead of mounting the 90GB partition, you mount another partition first. So the 90GB partition is now disk-2. When Rhythmbox tries to locate the music files on disk-1, it won't be there. It's now on disk-2. This problem will arise with applications as well.

To solve this problem, we should automate the process of mounting the partitions. It will also keep the names of partitions consistent, avoids the above errors. Use this tutorial to automate mounting of partitions on Ubuntu.

2. Install Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is a must-have application. It makes tweaking Ubuntu possible from an easy-to-understand and intuitive interface. You can also install your desired applications from Ubuntu Tweak. Download the latest .deb installation file from Ubuntu Tweak website and run it to install the application.

3. Remove the icon of mounted disks from desktop

By default all disks mounted in Ubuntu system are shown on the desktop. If you want a clean desktop, start Ubuntu Tweak (System Tools > Ubuntu Tweak).
In Ubuntu Tweak, go to Desktop > Desktop Icon Settings, and tweak to your satisfaction.

4. Customize Startup

Again use Ubuntu Tweak to change startup settings (Ubuntu Tweak > Startup). Choose the applications that should be started at Startup. Also customize login settings from Ubuntu Tweak. Scroll down in the Login Settings tab in Ubuntu Tweak and click on unlock button and enter your password. Now you can make your choice.

5. Create shortcuts for application in Ubuntu

Go to Applications in the top panel. Now locate the application for which a shortcut has to be created. I will create a desktop shortcut for GIMP in this example. After locating GIMP Image Editor in the menu, right-click on it. Choose "Add this launcher to desktop". Adding a shortcut to the panel (the bar at the top) is more convenient as one doesn't have to go to the desktop for starting applications. For this, choose "Add this launcher to panel".

6. Installing necessary applications, tools and codecs.

To install an application, go to Ubuntu Software Center or use Ubuntu Tweak interface (it has some additional applications). Search for your application and install. What should one install on Ubuntu? A few suggestion given below:

• Ubuntu restricted extras: It will install media codecs required to play various music and media formats such as MP3, MPEG4, etc., along with support for Flash and Java and populat Microsoft fonts. You can alternatively install just Gstreamer codecs for playing media.
• VLC Media Player: The Swiss knife for playing media. I haven't come across a music or video format that VLC can't play.
• Adobe Flash: Must if you watch a lot of videos on YouTube and other video-sharing sites. It's also required by several websites. (Not required if you installed Ubuntu restricted extra package.)
• Chromium web browser (Google Chrome): Though Ubuntu Lucid Lynx ships along with versatile Mozilla Firefox browser, Google Chrome will serve as good alternative browser in case you don't want to use it as your default web browser. Why need for an alternative browser? Sometimes a website wont open on one browser.
• GIMP Image Editor: Must for editing images.
• Thunderbird email client
• Liferea RSS reader
• Gnome Do application launcher
• Iced Tea Java Plugin or Sun Java Plugin (Not required if you installed Ubuntu restricted extra package.)

Buying a computer is just half the work done towards owning a brand-new Windows machine that you can proudly show to your friend. All computers, whether pre-loaded with operating system or not, require some effort to make it truly yours. Let's assume that we have a Windows-loaded computer that we want to customize for optimum performance and value for money. We will install free applications that will suffice the basic computing needs without having to compromise on quality.

1. Get a copy of Windows

If your computer has come with Windows pre-loaded, it should have a windows installation CD along with all necessary drivers for the system. If not, your computer manufacturer must have provided the necessary instructions to create a copy of the operating system that can be used for reinstalling the operating system on the machine. Follow the instructions and burn an installation CD. Use a CD marker pen to label it and keep it safe.

2. Partition your hard disk

It's important for optimum performance and easy reinstallation in future that the operating system is installed on a separate partition on the hard disk. It will give the Windows more room for it's functioning. Also, when you need to reinstall the operating system on the computer, you won't lose any data as it will be located on a separate partition. So if your computer doesn't have Windows installed on a separate partition and your data on another, you should create them.

How to partition the hard disk? If you are going to install Windows on your system, you can partition the disk during the installation process. Create at least two partitions, one for the operating system and the other for your storage. The operating system partition should be at least 20GB for both Windows XP and Windows 7. If you will be running applications in Windows XP mode in Windows 7, keep the partition size 40GB.

3. Partitioning the hard disk without reinstalling Windows

If you don't want to reinstall operating system, both Windows Vista and Windows 7 have built-in functionality in Disk Management to shrink or expand existing partitions on hard drives. But before that you should defragment the disk.

Open the Control Panel and type partition in the search box. You will get the link to the utility: Create and format hard disk partitions.

In the Disk Management window, right-click on the C: drive partition which we want to reduce, and select “Shrink Volume” from the menu. The Shrink dialogue box will appear and show you the total size of the partition and the amount by which it can be reduced. Enter the value in megabytes by which you want to reduce the partition. For example, if the partition is 160GB, or 160000MB, and you want to reduce its size to 40GB, type 120000 (or 120GB) in the box.

Now right-click on the resulting unpartitoned space and create new partitions as desired.

You can also use Partition Logic or GParted LIVE CD for partitioning the hard disk.

4. Install Windows

Choose a Windows operating system for your machine after checking its configuration. Install Windows 7 if your machine meets the minimum system requirements of 1GHz processor, 2-3GB RAM and DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. Almost all new systems can run Windows 7. Else, go for the good old Windows XP.

Installing Windows 7 and Vista has become very easy and intuitive, thanks to the graphical interface. Just make sure that you create at least two partitions during installation and install it on the first one.

5. Remove unwanted applications

Computer manufacturers often install unwanted applications on the systems, most of them trial software. Use PC Decrapifier to get rid of all unwanted applications.

6. Antivirus

There are plenty of free and effective antivirus applications. You can choose between Free AVG and Bit Defender Free Edition.

7. Firefox or Google Chrome

Firefox and Google Chrome are better and faster Web browsers than Internet Explorer that ships with Windows. You can use Firefox add-ons or Chrome add-ons to extend their functionality.

If you choose Firefox, you should install Autopager add-on. It automatically loads the Next page in several websites, thus saving you from the pain of clicking the Next link over and over while searching on Google. A must if you search a lot. Echofon add-on will come handy for those who are active on Twitter. Install Web of Trust, or WOT, add-on for safer web browsing.

8. OpenOffice.org office suite

OpenOffice.org is a free and power-packed application for word processing, creating presentations, spreadsheets and drawings. It will allow you to save documents in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or Excel formats as well as work on documents created in Microsoft Office.

9. VLC Media Player

VLC is the undisputed leader of multimedia players. It can play almost every media file that any user will come across. Never say, this video doesn't play on my computer. It's also open source.

10. GIMP Image Editor

GIMP is the most popular alternative of Adobe Photoshop. Resizing images, adjusting hues, adding effects, do it all with GIMP. There are plenty of free GIMP brushes available on the web for the more digitally inclined. This open source application is a must if you have a camera and/or work on images quite often.

11. Picasa

If you have a digital camera or a phone camera, you should also install Google Picasa for managing as well as editing your photos. Use it to easily fix your photos, tweak the colour or make collages. You can also upload the images to your blog or Picasa web account. It can also read RAW image files and save them as JPEGs.

12. CCleaner

Run CCleaner as often as possible to declutter your computer and improve its performance. It will also remove the remnants of the last application that you uninstalled from your computer's registry. CCleaner also allows you to safely delete your cookies and trash (Recycle Bin) so that it can't be recovered.

13. Recuva

If you accidentally deleted a file (and it's been deleted from the Recycle Bin or Trash as well), use Recuva for recovering it. Run this application as soon as possible to safely recover your images, documents, videos or mp3s that were deleted accidentally. It won't work if you have securely deleted the file using any application such as CCleaner with secure delete function enabled.

14. Pidgin

Pidgin is a chat application that allows you to integrate your various Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, AIM, Facebook and other accounts in one window. Chat with all your friend from just one window. No need to juggle between Web browser and GTalk and Yahoo Messenger.

15. Mozilla Thunderbird

Thunderbird is an excellent email and RSS feed client. It can also be extended like Firefox via Thunderbird add-ons. Mozilla Thunderbird connects to your Gmail account on the fly. Just turn the IMAP function in your Gmail account before adding the account to Thunderbird via IMAP. This way your web mail stays in sync with Thunderbird email client. If you want POP3, that's also possible.

16. 7-Zip

7-Zip is an open source file archiver that can create as well as unzip and extract all types of archives. Zip, .7z, .tar and .iso are just a few of the archive formats supported by 7-Zip.

17. Foxit PDF Reader

Adobe Acrobat is free, but it's huge and consumes a lot of resources of your computer. In comparison, Foxit PDF Reader is light-weight and starts quickly.

18. Revo Uninstaller

Quite often, when you uninstall an application, some files and folders are left on the computer. They also leave some entries on the computer's registry. All these can, over the time, slow your computer. Using Revo Unistaller for uninstalling applications will make sure that all related files and folders are also deleted. It will also remove the application's entries from the computer's registry.

That's it. Flaunt your new Windows PC.

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