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Online conversion tools FAQ

Common questions and answers about online conversion tools

 

What happened to the graphics and text formatting in my Adobe PDF?
The Access conversion technology was developed to allow blind and visually impaired users to read Adobe PDF documents with speech synthesis software. For this reason, graphic elements are stripped from the file and text is reformatted during conversion.

How can I convert Adobe PDF files that are on my hard drive to text or HTML?
Use the free Adobe Reader to save the PDF file as text, or use the full version of Adobe Acrobat Professional or Acrobat Standard to save the file to text or other formats, including Rich Text Format (RTF), HTML, XML.

Is there any charge for using Adobe's access tools available via the Web and e-mail?
Adobe has developed these conversion tools as a free service to allow blind and visually impaired users to read Adobe PDF files.

I converted my Adobe PDF file to HTML without an error, but the results seem incomplete, or "jumbled up." What's wrong?
The problem is probably that the text in the converted HTML file has NOT been correctly reorganized to follow the reading order of the text in the original Adobe PDF document. This is where using the free Adobe Reader offers greater flexibility. The product lets you choose from several reading orders, which helps eliminate the results you’re seeing with these online conversion tools. To Adobe Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html.

The Adobe PDF file I want to convert is protected by a password. How do I get past this protection?
This depends on how the file was password protected. Unfortunately, the conversion tool can’t handle Password, or User Name and Password security schemes that are implemented on other Web servers. If, however, the password protection is specific to the Adobe PDF file, using the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form" may allow access.adobe.com to open the file.

Acrobat software allows a user to save an Adobe PDF file with password protection. The password is stored in the PDF file, and Reader will put up a dialog box asking you to enter the password whenever you try to open it. Access.adobe.com provides support for getting past this form of password protection. There’s a "Password" field on the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form," where you can enter the password for the file you’re converting. Provided with the correct password, access.adobe.com should be able to convert the file to HTML.

If possible, contact the person who originally posted the Adobe PDF file and find out if it has a password, and if so, what that password is. Then go to the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form" and enter the URL for the file and the password.

How do I submit Adobe PDF files that are on an FTP server?
Adobe's web-based conversion services do not support FTP servers. Please download the file and submit it using the e-mail method.

When I try to convert an Adobe PDF file to text or HTML, I get an error message saying that permission settings do not allow the conversion. What does this mean?
Acrobat software allows users to create Adobe PDF documents with password-protected security settings, including "Changing PDF Not Allowed" and "Selection of Text Not Allowed." If you're getting an error message, contact the author of the Adobe PDF document to see if they'll provide the password or disable the security settings, then resubmit the document.

Note: Adobe PDF files created with Acrobat 6.0 and above may provide more convenience for users with visual disabilities. New security settings in Acrobat 6.0 make it possible to enable content for accessibility, while still prohibiting copying and extraction.

I am having trouble downloading Adobe Reader software. Is there an alternate, more accessible download page?
Yes. Please go to the accessible Reader download page.

I have an Adobe PDF file in a language other than English. Can I convert it to text or HTML?
The services provided work best on documents in English. Documents in European languages, such as French or German, should convert fairly well with the exception of symbols that can’t be represented by ASCII text, such as umlauts. Languages requiring double-byte characters, such as Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew are not supported.

Adobe Reader supports more languages than these online tools, including Japanese. To download free Adobe Reader software, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html.

Does Adobe open my original file?
By submitting content through these tools, you understand and agree that Adobe may occasionally access the content you submit for purposes of quality control and administration of the conversion service.