PDF games

I've been looking for some time for programs which will convert PDF files into something else - either text or pictures (jpg). I need the latter for work with Priority - I was asked recently to alter a procedure which prints a work order for parts to be produced; the printout should also contain any files which have been linked to the parts. This is a very good idea and should save a great deal of time so I was enthusiastic about it, but I discovered that if the linked file is in PDF format, the PDF reader which we have installed on the servers stays in memory. A more elegant solution was to convert the PDF (generally a blueprint)  to JPG and then have the JPG printed. It transpires that the PDF reader which I prefer - the lightweight PDF X-change viewer from Tracker Software - has an option to do this ("export to image").

I have also been looking for a tool which will extract the text from PDF files - the recent posts here about the DBA degree could easily have been prepared using such a tool. The acceptance letter was created by creating a JPG file from the PDF letter which I received (see above), whereas the text about PhD vs DBA was extracted by marking the text (with Adobe Reader 9) and saving the marked text to a text file. Michael Covington has again opened my eyes by pointing out that Adobe Reader has a 'Save to Text' option on its main menu! D'oh!.