PDF editors

[flyboyy]

Hi,
I would like the ability to edit PDF documents. I do it once in awhile so would prefer a low/no cost option.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

 

[Slydude]

What kind/level of editing will you be doing? That's an important consideration when deciding the best option for editing.

The Preview app included with macOS can do some basic editing and it's already on your Mac.

 

[flyboyy]

Thanks Slydude,
I just would like to change the font size and the layout, columns, so I can print it with less ink wastage primarily.

Sometimes it's easy to just 'select all' and save to a Pages document.
I hadn't thought of Preview, Thanks

Al

 

[Slydude]

I don't think you can change a document's font within Preview. If you can I've never been able to do it. To do that you need something that supports optical character recognition (OCR).

Here's one option but it's not free or cheap. PDFelement I think this topic has appeared on the forum before so I'm sure there are other options.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Thanks Slydude,
I just would like to change the font size and the layout, columns, so I can print it with less ink wastage primarily.

PDF is a format that was never intended to be editable. There are some PDF editors that will allow a small amount of editing, but not as much as you want to do. You have two options.

If the PDF that you dealing with was originally created in a word processor, you can open it in Preview (comes with the Mac OS) copy all of the text out of the PDF, and then paste it into a word processor. That will cause you to lose ALL of the original formatting. You can then use your word processor to (possibly tediously) re-format all of the text the way that you would like it to be, and save the document as a word processing document.

The other option is to get an optical character recognition program (OCR), or a program that includes OCR, which will work even if the PDF was created from a graphic image (e.g. a scan). A good OCR program (which is not to say "all PDF programs") will preserve the original formatting in the PDF and convert the PDF into a word processing document. While you can find very limited OCR programs for free or for low cost, to do what you want to do won't be either. You will need something like:

ABBYY FineReader Pro ($129)

PDF Software: Open, Read & Edit PDFs | FineReader PDF

ABBYY's latest AI-based OCR technology powers this PDF editor software. Use tool to convert files (PDF to Excel, PDF to Word, etc.), edit, share, collaborate & more!

finereader.abbyy.com

PDF Studio Pro ($129) (cheaper standard version won't do what you want)

PDF Studio - PDF Editor Software for Mac, Windows and Linux

Need PDF editing software? PDF Studio is an affordable, user-friendly, all-in one PDF editor that works on Windows, Mac and Linux!

www.qoppa.com

 

[IWT]

To add to Randy's list, consider PDFpenPro. Not free. Not cheap. But exhaustive in terms of the facilities offered.

I have no financial or other interest in this app or their company.

PDFpenPro

Ian

 

[Randy B. Singer]

To add to Randy's list, consider PDFpenPro.

PDFpen Pro used to be very popular. However, very recently the product had a change of developer. I'm hearing now that the latest version of the product doesn't work, or that it's extremely buggy, so I've stopped recommending it.

PDF Studio Pro is a product that does everything that PDFpen Pro used to do, for the same price. It's a surprisingly good true PDF editor that most users tend to overlook.

 

[IWT]

the product had a change of developer. I'm hearing now that the latest version of the product doesn't work

Thank you for that, Randy. I didn't know. My needs are relatively modest and I'm still running Big Sur so it may explain why I've not come across any "bugginess".... yet.

Ian

 

[Slydude]

Thanks guys. You've mentioned the other programs I was trying to remember. Hopefully, the apparent slip in PDFpen Pro is only temporary.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Thanks guys. You've mentioned the other programs I was trying to remember. Hopefully, the apparent slip in PDFpen Pro is only temporary.

It's hard to say...and it's complex. Not only has PDFpen changed developers, but their product relies heavily on code from Nuance. Nuance's products have also all changed hands, and are now all owned by Kofax. Kofax's own PDF editor, Kofax Power PDF, is practically identical to PDFpen, and it has the same sorts of problems. This is not a good sign, as Nuance itself has been known for purchasing software from other companies and then milking as much money from it as possible while doing as little development work as possible. So far, Kofax appears to be the same, or worse.

Like I said, many of the folks in my user group have simply switched to PDF Studio Pro, which has similar features, at a similar price (and some say a much nicer interface), but comes from an attentive developer. So there is no reason why you have to stick with a sinking ship.

 

[Sawday]

You can always scale the page to so 50,60 or 70% when printing. Won't change the number of pages used but it will reduce the amount of ink.

 

[flyboyy]

You guys are the best !! Thanks for amazing info.

 

[wenfeen]

Hi,
I would like the ability to edit PDF documents. I do it once in awhile so would prefer a low/no cost option.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

I don't know what your budget might be, but I use PDFPenPro. They also have a lower-priced app which is PDFPen. It's a one-time fee and I've used it for many years.

 

[IWT]

I don't know what your budget might be, but I use PDFPenPro. They also have a lower-priced app which is PDFPen. It's a one-time fee and I've used it for many years.

I use the Pro version also; but see Post #10 before you buy.

Ian

 

[robisode]

Hi,
I would like the ability to edit PDF documents. I do it once in awhile so would prefer a low/no cost option.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

Try Convert PDF to Word Online. It is a quick way to convert a pdf file to word plus a variety of other ways to convert file types.

 

[AirBear]

Here's a free website that allows some editing of PDF's. I mostly use it to fill in forms.

PDF Editor Free - Edit PDF and Form Filler Online - PDFescape

Edit PDF documents, fill PDF forms, and view PDFs online using PDFescape, the free PDF reader, PDF editor, and PDF form filler software. Edit or fill out PDF forms in seconds for free without having to use Adobe Acrobat. Try it now!

www.pdfescape.com

 

[EricL1]

Hi,
I would like the ability to edit PDF documents. I do it once in awhile so would prefer a low/no cost option.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

I haven't used Adobe's full Acrobat program in quite a few years now, so it I'm sure it has changed a lot, but when I did, even it, the PDF Mother Ship so to speak, didn't really handle formatting very well. You could change a word, but the lines would not reflow, so the justification would be messed up.

As someone pointed out, pdfs are not designed for editing, they're for distributing your finished publication so anyone can see it the way you want it to look.

I think the suggestions to copy the text and paste it into a word processor, or better yet a page layout program, are the way to go for good reformatting results.

For once in a while you probably don't want to subscribe to Adobe's InDesign (which might even open the pdf directly), but there are free or relatively inexpensive page layout programs that may do what you need. The best I have found is Affinity Publisher at $50. But they sometimes have sales.

 

[Rod]

I might be worth considering not printing PDF’s at all. DropBox and similar document sharing options are numerous these days. Just today I received a patient records update request from my doctor’s practice. It came as a PDF email attachment, I opened it on my iPad in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, using the Fill & Sign function I completed the document, shared it back to my email app and sent it back as a PDF attachment. No printing required.

 

[NSMacGuru]

Depending on the amount of editing you need to do to the PDF, there is an option that I've used for years:

Pages & Preview.

This is a method for individual PDF pages, rather than large documents.

Open Pages, choose the blank white template in the paper size (US Letter, A4, whatever) required.

Under the "View" menu item, turn on thumbnails.

Open the PDF in question

Choose VIEW --> Thumbnails

From the Thumbnail sidebar, drag out the page you need to edit onto the desktop.

Then drag that thumbnail onto the Pages blank page.

Use the tools (Image: Arrange) to set "Original Size" and then properly centre the image on the page.

Lock it in place.

Now, use text boxes to overwrite any erroneous information (or even re-write entire blocks of text, within the space available of course).

While you *can* use the "fill" style tool to provide a (hopefully matching) background colour for that text box to make it blend in with the background, it's a pain because you also need to adjust the "Text Inset" and even then it may not "fit" in the space available (For example, I needed to changed a PDF that had an erroneous figure of 1.3 million where it should be 1.5 million).

In that case, use the text box with NO filler, place it over the incorrect text, adjust font size and placement. Then lock it in place.

Now add a square figure, no border, and match the fill colour with the background of the document (use the colour picker for accuracy). Arrange it far more precisely behind your new text without infringing on the surrounding text. You may need to use the Command key while moving it around with your mouse in order to overcome the "snap to" guides, if those are active.

When you're happy, just File—>Print and "Save to PDF". You can drag this individual PDF sheet into the thumbnail view in Preview in the proper spot, and delete the old single page that has been corrected. Save your document and you're done!

I know it sounds like a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite intuitive.

And you didn't have to buy a new piece of software.

 

[Rod]

Remembering here that the primary objective is to save ink.
“I just would like to change the font size and the layout, columns, so I can print it with less ink wastage primarily.“
It
Seems like a lot of work for something only done occasionally. Not printing the doc at all seems like a much easier solution.