OVER 2 YOU 191 (03/08/04)

FORM FILLING

I am the Chairman and acting Clerk for the Parish Council. Various agencies send me forms, returns and questionnaires etc. by email in PDF format. Currently I have to download, print and complete the form by hand, take a photocopy for my files and then return it by post. I would prefer to complete these forms on screen, store a copy on the computer and return them by email. Can anyone recommend a cheap software program that would enable me to easily fill out PDF forms? I am using Windows XP and Word.

Alan Jury, via email

Your correspondent is in luck and his problem can be solved for a fiver. The conversion of PDF files to Word documents is very neatly done by Solid Converter, which is easy to install and very simple to use and currently one of the free, ‘full’ programs on the September 2004 cover disc of PC Pro magazine, issue 119. You need to register on line and they send you an unlock code by e-mail or you can try it out for 15 days without registering.

Malcolm Youd, via email

I suggest that Alan Jury tries the free form filling program Roboform, available from: www.roboform.com. They also have a professional version if the free one doesn't cover his needs.

Stuart Fletcher, via e-mail

ScanSoft have recently launched PDF Create and PDF Converter. They cost £39.99 each or £59.99 together in PDF Converter Pro 2. As titles suggest you can create and/or convert PDF files and both use Word for saving and editing. The software also has ability to handle drawings, images and all documents in PDF format.

Adrian W Fieldhouse, via email

You could try the free program at: http://www.pdf995.com

Keith Williams, via email

Have a look at JawsPDF Partner from Global Graphics, which retails at about £70. There is a trial down load available from the web site (http://www.jawspdf.com/). There are also some freeware applications available, though these often contain adware. Alan should be aware that depending how the PDF was created the document might not be editable, particularly if it is a scanned image or security restrictions have been applied.

David Wall, via email

A program called PaperPort has a feature called Form Typer. It isn't exactly a one step process but the results are impressive. There are two versions and you can find out more about both of them at: www.scansoft.com/paperport/matrix/

Nick Adams, Wickford, Essex

IN THE FRAME

I want to use my digital camera to take photos of framed prints, with clear glass in front. Can anyone suggest how I can avoid, or remove reflections of the camera in the photograph?

John Lyon-Maris, via email

I usually find that you can move around with your camera so that you photograph the picture on the slant there will be one particular position where the unwanted reflection is outside the image. Your camera will give you a distorted image, which you can correct in PaintShop Pro by going to Effects > Geometric Effects > Perspective Horizontal and/or Perspective Vertical. If the resulting picture is too wide or too tall, use Cylinder Horizontal or Cylinder Vertical to the correct it.

Peter James, via email

ANOTHER DIMENSION

I would like to try my hand at 3D photography. I know there used to be 3D film cameras but does anyone know if this is possible with digital cameras, or is there a way of creating 3D images using just software?

Clive Dyer, via email

My experience in area this stems from my use of aerial photography for mapping purposes. A camera with a 6-inch lens flown at 10,000 feet produces a scale of 1/20,000. The distance between successive exposures to produce overlapping (stereoscopic) images is roughly one kilometre. From this I deduce that the separation distance between two lens positions varies with the average distance of the subject from the camera. Thus for a portrait this would be about ten centimetres (the average inter-ocular distance) increasing with the distance to the subject - although it becomes apparent that the spacing is not critical.

As for viewing the image without the use of a stereoscope, this is best achieved by the use of a piece of card held between the eyes in order to force each eye look at a different image. After a little practice the card can be removed and the stereoscopic vision is retained. It is not necessary to squint, in fact by moving the images together or apart it is possible to make the eyes converge or diverge at will. Having mastered that trick it is interesting to look down on say a tiled effect floor as it is easy to make a second floor image float above the other!

Bill Saunders, via email

CAN YOU HELP?

I am a pilot and have access to club aircraft, along with many other members. The problem is that if a pilot wants to fly, at short notice, there is no easy way to find out if the aircraft is available, if the secretary is not contactable. Can anyone suggest a program, package or a way to set up a website, with access to a private page, that would display a diary of who has booked the aircraft, when it is scheduled for maintenance, any new snags, general messages, etc?

Brian Mellor, via email

I have a mass of local public records, mainly minutes of meetings, going back almost continuously to 1894. There are nine volumes of hand written bound books with pages size 8" x 12½". I wish to transfer the contents to CD so they can be circulated to interested parties. I have not been able to find any scanner larger than A4, which is smaller than my pages and scanning each page twice and joining would only lengthen an already long task. The volumes do not open flat and photographing with a digital camera results in poor quality. Pressing with a sheet of glass to flatten the page produces a reflection into the camera. Ideally I need a lightweight scanner big enough to cover the whole page at one go and which I can press face down on the page. One of the old handheld scanners which one rolled down the page might do the trick but no longer seems to be available. This is an amateur project and the use of a commercial service is out of the question.

Michael Stevens, via email