can i take a typewritten page or a form etc etc and use my scanner (hp5300c) to scan it into my computer and convert it to an editable word document?

I don't think so, your document would actually become a unit, much the same as a picture. You might be able to scan it, then copy and paste the text in to notepad or word, and alter it.

You will need the program or similiar to Adobe Acrobat Professional. I just got it today from a friend today. Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional, is an AWESOME Program. Down fall its like $500.00 and just released... I'll try it out and let you know if its any good.

If you are using the HP software, you maybeable to do it. Mine has some software that will scan it into my word processor. There is other OCR software like Ominpage that will also permit you to do it. Adobe will, but it is very expensive. I have not experimented with it much, but if you have Office XP or later, (WORD 2002 OR 2003) it has some built in features that may let you do it.

I have done this with a lot of software, but none of them are perfect and most leave a lot to be desired. If the document you wish to scan was done in a Courier font or a Times New Roman font, then you have a better chance at inputting correctly

You can actually do this quite easily.

Look for "OCR" software (character recognition). I think Abbyy Fine Reader and Iris will both handle the task. I think version 5.0 of Adobe Acrobat (not the "reader" version) will also handle this, but I believe they automated it online in v6.0+, so ...

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-31,GGLD:en&q=OCR+software+JPEG

Some scanners come with a stripped down version of OCR software. Check the book for your scanner, and see if it came with any.

Slonaker