What should I download?
We advise you which software and apps to use
How can I edit a printed form?
Q I have several pages of a printed form that I’d like to copy and combine into one PDF so that I can fill it in and edit. I have a Canon TS8351 printer and a Dell computer with Windows 10 and Microsoft 365. Which programs do I need to achieve this?
Alan Smith
A The best way to do this is to capture the form as a PDF. Your printer is a multifunction device, so simply scan the form. According to the device’s manual (download it from www.snipca.com/49522), it can scan to PDF using the free IJ Scan Utility tool (download that from www.snipca.com/49523). This has a built-in PDF editor that can handle documents of up to 100 pages.
Once you’ve downloaded the tool, save your PDF then open it in Pdfgear (free from www.pdfgear.com). You’ll see a Fill Form button on the opening screen . However, what you’ve created isn’t technically a form because it doesn’t have defined fields to fill in. So, click Open File instead, then click the Annotate tab ( 1 in our screenshot below). Here, you’ll find several tools for highlighting sections and adding shapes. Using rectangles would be a good way of adding boxes to fill in 2.
Click the toolbar’s Add Text button, then click the page where you want to add your first line of text. When the text box appears, start typing. If you need more room, click and drag on the handle at the far right to enlarge it.
Pdfgear is our favourite free PDF editor, offering plenty of tools you’d normally have to pay for. See page 60 for more.
Can I edit text in a PNG file?
Q I have some PNG photo files that also contain text. What’s the best software for editing that text?
Robert Edwards
A It’s a shame your files aren’t in a format that supports layers, like Adobe’s .psd, Affinity’s .afphoto or GIMP’S .xcf. If they had been, and the text was on its own layer, you could switch off that layer and type replacement text wherever needed. Instead, download GIMP (www.gimp.org) and use it to open the first of your photos. Press C to select the clone tool, then hold down the Ctrl key while clicking an area within the picture that’s similar to what lies below the text. Release Ctrl, then move your cursor to the text, click again, and start painting over it. GIMP will use the area you sampled to remove the text. In our screenshot we’re cloning out the word ‘This’ at the start of the caption. When done, press T to switch to the text tool and type your replacement.
What can I use to enhance entire photo – not just part of it?
Q I’m looking for a free imageenhancing tool that will improve a whole photo, not just part of it. I currently use Topazai (www.snipca.com/49470), which is great at improving faces, the rest of the photo is left practically untouched.
Peter Trayner
A Try the free Darktable (www.darktable.org) which edits images on a whole-frame basis, rather like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Import your images, select one you want to work with, then click the ‘darkroom’ tab to the right of the top toolbar. Expand the various sections in the right-hand sidebar and use the sliders to adjust tones ( 1 in our screenshot). When you’ve finished, expand the ‘export’ section on the left 2 then select a file format and quality level before saving the edited image.