Millions of documents are created on a daily basis and it is not surprising that the number of documents being edited and modified is also very high. This is why different companies around the world have developed applications which will make your workflow easier and allow you to edit text, images, and tables in PDF documents which are all commonly found today. The following article will give you an overview of best free pdf editor.
There are times when you have to edit a pdf. Whether the pdf is a free downloadable sample, or the content you want to edit is in pdf format, you would need a good pdf editing software for it. The good news is that today, you can find many useful, easy-to-use software that can help. Here’s an article on best free pdf editor edit text and how you may use them.
Free pdf editor software has been popular, especially among students and all kinds of employees. The pdf format is the most commonly used now days. Because of its wide usage, it receives a large number of editing, updating and correction demands from users. Many programs have been developed to meet those demands, so there are many free pdf editors are available on market.
Choose a free pdf editor to edit pdf files. Here is a short list of the best software to use for creating, editing and modifying pdf files. The following are freeware, available for download and no cost.
Which type of free PDF editor is best for you?
When deciding which of the best free PDF editors to download and use, first consider which bits of your PDF file you need to change. If you’re just trying to add information to a form digitally, you’ll just need a basic editor that supports text insertion.
However, if you need to change the content of a PDF substantially, you’ll require a more powerful PDF editor that can make modifications to text or images already stored in the file. In some cases, especially if you want to change almost all the content of your file, it may be better to use a PDF to Word converter instead.
Apple Preview
A free option for Mac users
Unlike with Microsoft Windows, Apple includes a built-in PDF editor for free with macOS in the form of Apple Preview and it’s surprisingly capable. In addition to letting you work with PDF files, it also includes a number of image-editing features.
When it comes to PDFs, Apple Preview lets you fill in forms and add signatures using its markup tools. However, you can also combine PDF documents, transfer pages from one PDF to another, add text, highlight and more. Apple’s free PDF editor even allows you password protect PDF files that contain sensitive information.
Apple Preview may be a simple free PDF editor but it gets the job done and best of all, it comes pre-installed on every MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini and the rest of the company’s Mac devices. Unfortunately, it’s not available for iPhone or iPad, so you’ll want to do your PDF editing on desktop before sharing your finished documents on mobile.
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: AppleCompatibility: macOSCategory: : PDF annotation; image editingUpgrade from free version: NoneTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT APPLE
REASONS TO BUY
+Included with every Mac+Includes image-editing tools+Excellent annotation tools and options for adding signatures to documents
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not available for other platforms-Markup tools aren’t easy to find-No OCR
Apple’s Preview application is built into every version of macOS, including macOS BIg Sur. Not only is it capable of working with PDF files, but it also offers a number of other image-editing features. It is the multitool of the image-editing universe, capable of opening virtually any image file you may encounter.
The bulk of Preview’s markup capabilities aren’t obvious when you first open the app, although you’ll find a few basic tools for rotating pages and highlighting text on the basic toolbar.
Preview’s full set of markup tools appears when you click a small markup button that looks like a pencil tip located next to the search tool in the Preview toolbar.
Those markup tools include text-selection options; drawing tools you can use to add freehand drawings to a document; a text tool for adding additional text to a document; a tool that adds shapes and notes; and a signature tool that you can use to capture your signature using your Mac’s camera, a tablet or your trackpad.
Preview is a solid option for basic PDF editing, and if you own a Mac, accessing Preview’s powers is as simple as launching the app.
FormSwift
A great source for forms
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: King Street Labs LLCCompatibility: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, SafariCategory: Legal forms, PDF annotationUpgrade from free version: $89/yearTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT FORMSWIFT
REASONS TO BUY
+Extensive library of legal and business forms+Solid annotation tools
REASONS TO AVOID
-Limited text tools-No way to change existing text
FormSwift offers a slightly different twist on PDF editing. While it gives you the option to upload and edit PDF files, it also offers a large library of legal and other business forms you can fill in online and download as a PDF file or Word document.
I found FormSwift’s offerings to be excellent and well worth a look if you need basic business documents such as 1099s, lease agreements and business meeting minutes.
All of these forms can be filled out online and downloaded once you’ve added the pertinent information. Or you can download blank versions of the documents and enter information locally on your computer.
For PDF editing, the process is simple. Drag a file to your browser — there’s a 10MB max size — then use FormSwift’s tools to add new text and images; highlight, redact or erase existing text; and sign documents.
FormSwift’s text tools are limited. You have four fonts to choose from, but you can resize those fonts to almost any level you want, and you can also make changes to text colors and styles. You can add a new text field to your document, enter new text and adjust the text, placing it anywhere you want on the document.
But there is no way to make changes to existing text, other than by redacting it. All the other tools work as expected, including a signature tool that lets you sign a document using the keyboard, your mouse or an uploaded image.
Smallpdf
Best free PDF editor for multiple languagesTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Cloud-based+Powerful range of tools+Allows you to convert PDFs to other formats
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can only process two documents per day
Smallpdf was created in Switzerland back in 2013 with the aim of creating a single tool to compress and edit PDFs. One thing that sets this free PDF editor apart from the competition is that it’s available in 24 different languages and used in 195 countries around the world.
Smallpdf’s main focus is providing an excellent user experience that makes its online PDF editor very easy to use. On its website, you can upload a PDF and begin making annotations and taking notes. You can also add pictures, text and shapes to a PDF. Once you’ve made the necessary changes, Smallpdf allows you to compress a PDF or export it as a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file.
If you want even more functionality, you can upgrade to Smallpdf’s paid version. While the web version is slightly cheaper, you can pay a bit more to take advantage of the desktop version so you can work offline. The company also offers a 7-day free trial so you can test out its paid features for yourself before deciding if you want to upgrade.
Inkscape
What We Like
- Can edit PDF text.
- Supports manipulating graphics.
- Includes lots of image-editing tools.
What We Don’t Like
- The number of graphics-editing tools can be overwhelming.
Inkscape is an extremely popular free image viewer and editor, but it also includes PDF editing functions that most dedicated PDF editors support only in their paid editions.
Inkscape is a very capable image editing program. If you’re not already familiar with programs like GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, and other image editors, however, it’s probably a bit advanced for you.
In the context of PDF editing, though, you should consider this software only if you want to delete or edit the images or text in the PDF. We suggest you use a different tool in this list to edit PDF forms or add shapes, and then plug that PDF into Inkscape if you need to actually edit the preexisting text.
You can install Inkscape on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
PDFescape Online PDF Editor
What We Like
- Works online through your web browser.
- Includes lots of tools.
- Lets you add your own text and images.
- Can delete and add PDF pages.
What We Don’t Like
- Can’t edit existing text, unless you pay.
- Limits the PDF size and page length.
- Documents stored in your account remain there only for 7 days.
PDFescape has quite a lot of features. It’s free as long as the document doesn’t exceed 100 pages or 10 MB.
You can’t truly change text or edit images for free using this editor, but you can add your own text, images, links, form fields, etc.
The text tool is very customizable so that you can pick your own size, font type, color, alignment, and apply effects such as bolding, underlining, and italics.
You also can draw on the PDF, add sticky notes, strikethrough text, put white space over anything you want to disappear, and insert lines, checkmarks, arrows, ovals, circles, rectangles, and comments.
PDFescape lets you delete individual pages from the PDF, rotate pages, crop out parts of a page, reorganize the order of the pages, and add more pages from other PDFs.
You can upload your own PDF file, paste the URL to an online PDF, and make your own PDF from scratch.
When finished editing, you can download the PDF to your computer without ever having to make a user account. You need one only if you want to save your progress online without downloading the PDF.
The online version works in all operating systems. There’s also an offline editor that runs on Windows, but it isn’t free.
Which Type of Free PDF Editor is Best for You?
Choosing a PDF editor is definitely not a job for the faint-hearted, and it’s because there are so many online and offline tools available for PDFs that it’s impossible to try them all. In general, HiPDF is one of the top recommendations for a free PDF editor online, but its sister product from Wondershare is an equally powerful contender in the desktop PDF editor category. If you want to narrow it down for a more robust user experience, then a free PDF editor for desktops is the category you want to pursue, and Wondershare PDFelement Pro is exactly what you’re looking for.
The Best PDF Editor for Windows – PDFelement
As one of the top-rated PDF applications available today for Mac and Windows, PDFelement is an award-winning product from one of the most prolific software development companies in the realm of productivity and creativity tools. The current version of PDFelement Pro is the result of several years of experience with earlier iterations and continual development through research, customer feedback, and other important channels. Here are some of the things that set it apart from the crowd of PDF editors on the market today.
- Attractive and intuitive interface that brings minimalistic design to a whole new level
- Clear and crisp labeling, iconography, page layouts, etc.
- Easy navigation despite being feature-rich
- Features include file conversion, editing, annotations, e-signatures, password security, forms management, OCR, page and file organizing, file size optimization, viewing, printing, sharing, batch processes, etc.
- Fast app launch and document open times
- Handles heavy workflows like a breeze
- Hundreds of free templates (Windows PDFelement Pro users)
- Integrated with Wondershare Document Cloud for PDF storage and bulk e-signature service
What types of content in PDF you can edit using PDFelement?
- Text – add, edit, and delete text, change the text font, color, align, line space, etc.
- Image – rotate, extract, replace, overturn the image, change its position and size.
- Link – add, edit, or remove the hyperlink and its appearances, such as color, type, highlight style, line style, and line thickness.
- Watermark – add watermark, edit its position, the proportion of pages, color, opacity, etc., or remove the watermark.
- Background – add and edit the background color and image or remove the background.
- Header and Footer – add or delete the page number, header and footer, edit their font,c color, position, style, page range, and so on.
- Bates numbering – add, edit, and delete text, change the text font, color, align, line space, etc. add and edit bates numbering, including the font, size, style, position, etc.
How we tested the best free PDF editors
To test for the best free PDF editors we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service using a handful of PDF files to see how the PDF editor could handle editing not just text, but also images, as well as tables imported from Microsoft Excel. The aim was to push each software platform to see whether it could simply and easily not just edit a range of content types but also do so faithfully and consistently without introducing formatting issues or similar problems.
Conclusion
This pdf editor is a powerful software to allow you to do editing in pdf file format. If you want to modify the data in the PDF file, and you want to transfer the data to a new PDF file, it can help you. With it, you can delete, insert and extract content freely, and remove the redundant information by using some function editor tools. So using this software will be much more convenient.
There are many differences between a PDF and a Word file, even though they look similar. One of the first things you will notice is the layout. With Microsoft Word, you will see there is usually more than one page. With that being said, it really depends on how much work you want to do. If you love doing all the editing in Word, go ahead and give it a go.