How to edit PDF files for free

Are you looking for a program to edit the content of PDF files but can’t find anything but expensive paid software? Don’t despair. I guarantee you that you have not searched deeply enough: there are also applications to edit PDFs in the free sector and, believe me, they have very little to envy to the most noble commercial solutions.

Do you want me to give you some examples? Of course, I’ll settle you immediately. Give me five minutes of your time – I ask no more – and I’ll show you how to edit PDF files for free using some programs for Windows, Mac and Linux that allow you to write on the documents in question as if they were a common text file.

Just think, there are also online services that allow you to do the same job without installing any software on your computer and apps thanks to which you can do everything directly from smartphones and tablets. Do you want me to talk to you about this kind of solutions too? No problem. But now let’s try to go in order, let’s start with the more “traditional” desktop applications.

Index

• Edit PDF files for free on Windows, Mac and Linux
  • LibreOffice
  • PDF-XChange Viewer
  • Preview
• Edit PDF files for free online
  • iLovePDF
• Edit PDF files for free on smartphones and tablets

Edit PDF files for free on Windows, Mac and Linux

As I told you at the beginning of the guide, to begin with, let’s go through the “classic” solutions for editing PDFs at no cost, namely those programs for Windows, Mac and Linux that can be used for editing of documents in the format in question. For more info continue reading.

LibreOffice

If you are looking for an application that allows you to edit PDF files freely, a bit like Word documents, try LibreOffice. You’ve probably heard of it before, it’s a free and open source productivity suite that allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and other printable content.

It is compatible with all files generated by Microsoft Office and allows you to freely modify PDF documents by altering the writings contained in them, adding new ones and creating notes, highlights or other customized content. Other undeniable advantages are full compatibility with Windows, Mac and Linux (it is included “standard” in numerous distros, starting from Ubuntu) and support for the Italian language both in the interface and in the spelling dictionary.

To download LibreOffice on your PC, connect to the program’s website and click on the  Download version xx button. If you are using a Mac, also click on the Translated User Interface button which is used to download the Italian language pack for the suite (which is included “as standard” in the Windows version).

When the download is complete, if you are using a Windows PC, start the LibreOffice installation package ( LibreOffice_xx_Win_x86.msi ) and complete the setup by clicking on Next (twice in a row), on  Install, on  Yes and on  Finish.

If you are using a Mac, on the other hand, open the .dmg package that contains LibreOffice and move the program icon to the macOS Applications folder. Then open the .dmg package of the language pack and start the setup it contains to install the Italian translation. To start LibreOffice on Mac for the first time, due to the protection features included in macOS that prevent the execution of software from sources other than the App Store, you need to right-click on the suite icon and select the Open item from the menu that appears twice in succession.

Now you can open any PDF document in LibreOffice (using the File> Open menu ) and start editing it using the buttons at the bottom of the program window: geometric shapes, arrows, the letter “T” (for insertion of custom texts) and so on. If you need more information, try reading my tutorials on how to write on PDFs and how to create editable PDFs .

PDF-XChange Viewer

As an alternative to the above program, if you are using a Windows PC you can use  PDF-XChange Viewer. It is a free software (but with some Pro functions, for a fee) and in Italian language designed for viewing and editing files in the format in question that has very little to envy to the most popular commercial solutions. Try it now and you will see that you will not regret it.

In order to use it, first connect to the program’s website and click the Download button, in order to start the download of PDF-XChange Viewer on your computer.

Once the download is complete, extract the compressed archive you just obtained in any location and start the file contained within it ( PDFXVwer.exe ) to start the software installation procedure. In the window that opens, click on Yes and OK. Then click Next, check the box next to  I accept the terms of the license agreement, click Next six times in a row, click  Install and  Finish.

Now that you see the software window on your desktop, click on the Open Mail item at the top and select the PDF you want to edit for free saved on your computer. Then click on the Tools item on the menu bar and select the operation you want to perform on the file. For example, you can insert annotations, geometric shapes, comments, you can underline the text, cross it out and so on.

From the Document menu you can rotate pages, extract text and much more. If you then need to transform the PDF into an image, click on the File menu, select the Export item and then the  Export as image item. Indicate the output format you prefer from the Type of image menu :, adjust the various other options on the screen and press Export….

To save all the various and any changes made to the PDF, press the File menu and choose Save Copy (to save a copy of the file without changing the original one) or Save As (to overwrite the source file).

Preview

Do you own a Mac? In this case you already have at your fingertips, or rather with the mouse, everything you need to edit your PDF files for free: Preview, the program already included in macOS to view and edit images and… PDFs!

To use it, just double-click on the PDF of your interest and press the pen icon located at the top right. Then you will see a toolbar appear with all the tools useful for editing the document: the Aa button allows you to select the text already present in the document, the one with the serrated square allows you to select portions of the document, the one with the fountain pen to draw on the file and so on. You can also highlight the text contained in the PDF document and rotate its pages.

At the bottom of the toolbar, there are icons to determine the thickness of the edges of the elements inserted in the document, the border and fill colors of the latter and the style of the text to be entered in the PDF.

Changes made to PDFs will be automatically saved to the original files. If you do not want to overwrite the original document, select the Export as PDF item from the File menu and indicate the name and location for saving.

Edit PDF files for free online

Now let’s move on to the useful tools to edit PDF files for free by acting online. As anticipated at the beginning, there are several services used for this purpose that can be used directly and comfortably from the browser window (any), without having to download and install anything on the PC. To find out more, keep reading.

iLovePDF

If you do not intend to alter the content of a PDF, that is, you do not want to modify the text but you want to convert it to other formats, reduce its size, divide it or create a new one from various PDFs you have on your computer, I strongly suggest you put iLovePDF to the test.

This is a sort of “Swiss army knife” for PDFs that allows you to convert, edit and create this kind of file directly online. Works with any browser, requires no registration and has no upload limits. It also protects users’ privacy by deleting all files uploaded to its servers within a few hours.

To use it, all you have to do is connect to its home page, choose one of the many available functions, drag the documents to work on in the browser window and wait a few moments for the upload to complete. If you want more detailed examples of how it works, read these tutorials of mine:  how to merge two PDFs , how to convert PDF files to JPG and how to compress PDF online.

Edit PDF files for free on smartphones and tablets

Do you often find yourself working on the move and therefore are you looking for an app that allows you to edit PDF files even from your tablet, if not even from your smartphone? No problem, you can rely on Xodo PDF.

It is a free application for  Android,  iOS and Windows Mobile that allows you to view PDF documents and modify them freely by adding texts, highlights, geometric shapes and many other customizations to them. It doesn’t make speed its greatest asset, but it works and does its duty very well. Try it and you will not regret it.

Alternatively, you can rely on another of the following applications.

• Foxit PDF( Android / iOS / Windows Mobile ) – Excellent app at no cost thanks to which you can easily edit PDF files by inserting annotations, highlights and much more. You can also unlock some advanced features, such as the ability to protect your files with certificates, through in-app purchases.
• Universal Book Reader( Android ) – You can immediately guess from the name, it is actually an app for reading eBooks which not only allows you to export more than 50 different file formats in PDF or ePub format but also allows you to edit them documents by adding highlights and various other customizations to the texts of the same.
• Apple Books( iOS ) – It is the eBook and PDF reader installed “as standard” on all the devices of the “bitten apple”. As far as PDFs are concerned, in addition to allowing them to be viewed, it provides users with a whole series of useful functions for editing them, which is why I have chosen to tell you about them in this tutorial of mine.

For more information and to get acquainted with further useful resources in this regard, I invite you to consult my post focused specifically on apps to edit PDFs and my article on apps to read PDFs.