Thanks to Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software, viewing Portable Document Format files downloaded from the web or attached to an email is routine these days.

One lower-priced option, ScanSoft's recently upgraded PDF Converter 3 Professional ($99), is aimed at home users and businesses on a budget. Converter Pro 3 does quite a bit more than just convert PDF files. The program includes modules for creating and editing PDF documents, as well as converting them into WordPerfect, Word, or Excel files.

I recently test-drove the product and was impressed with the number of features it offers in this price range. The upgraded edition makes it possible to change PDF documents directly, so you can alter text, move, delete, resize, or add graphics, almost as if you were working in the original document.

The program also includes a handy feature called FormTyper, which turns a PDF form into a file that can be filled out on your computer, eliminating the need to print out forms and fill them out by hand.

Creating a PDF file is fairly straightforward, but there are multiple ways to do it. You can choose print from any program you're working in and select the PDF Create! printer driver, drag and drop or open a file in Converter Pro, or use a toolbar that the program installs in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel. You can also add files from different applications (Word or Excel, for example) and combine them into one PDF file.

In addition, ScanSoft's PDF Converter Assistant converts a PDF file into Word, WordPerfect, or Excel formats and lets you tweak options such as the resolution of graphics. The program adds a button to Microsoft Outlook that opens PDF attachments for conversion.

How does ScanSoft's PDF Converter Professional 3 stack up against Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional? Pretty well. As a test, I created a PDF file from a Word document in both applications, and they were indistinguishable.

However, neither program performed flawlessly when I converted a PDF file from an e-mail attachment into a Word document. The ScanSoft product stripped off subhead text, and while Acrobat delivered the text, the bold formatting was lost. That said, the Converter Pro file looked closest to the PDF and would have won hands down if it hadn't inexplicably dropped the subheadings.

I was also less than impressed with Converter Pro's interface, which includes a long row of toolbar buttons, but no pop-up explanation of what they do when you roll your cursor over them. There's a split screen feature, so you can view and reorder multiple pages in a document.

Another oddity: Initially the program's toolbar buttons didn't work in Microsoft Word, although I was able to successfully create a PDF document using the print function. After a couple of days, something apparently kicked in, and they worked perfectly.

The FormTyper feature worked as advertised, creating fields and check boxes on a form that allowed me to fill it out on screen. FormTyper will also work this magic with scanned PDF documents.

Like its competitor, Converter Pro includes tools for touching up text and graphics; tools for security, such as encryption and password protection; and support for watermarks, stamps, annotation, markup, and digital signatures.

Adobe's Acrobat line runs from Acrobat Elements ($39), which creates but doesn't allow you to edit PDF documents, to Acrobat Professional ($449), which is chock full of bells and whistles. ScanSoft also offers lower-end versions of their product, PDF Converter ($49) and PDF Create! ($49). This latest upgrade of the professional edition makes it a worthy alternative to pricier products. Despite a few shortcomings, PDF Converter 3 Professional is a feature-packed bargain.

Michelle Johnson is a freelance writer. Her email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .