How to edit a PDF file online

Do you need to highlight certain passages within a PDF file that was sent to you via email or to add annotations within it but you don’t know which program to use? Sorry, but why waste time installing other software on your computer when you can do it all online? Yes, you read that right! There are now several web services that allow you to edit a PDF file online by adding text, images, notes, highlights and much more to them.

These are tools that work perfectly on any browser and operating system and for the use of which it is not necessary to install special plugins, Acrobat Reader or other software on the computer. Furthermore, these tools can be used without spending a single cent. The only thing you will eventually have to do (but only in some cases!) Will be to create a free account to be able to use the service, that’s all.

How do you say? This seems very interesting to you but being impractical in terms of computer science and new technologies do you fear that the tools to edit a PDF file online that I am about to suggest may be too complicated for you? But no, you are wrong … and also very wrong! Contrary to appearances and beyond what you might think, editing a PDF file online is really very simple. Spend five minutes or so of your free time reading this guide and I’ll prove it to you! So, are you ready? Yes? Very well. So let’s ban the chatter and proceed.

DocHub

If you are looking for a solution that allows you to  edit a PDF file online by adding custom texts, highlights, signatures, rotating and removing the pages of the original documents, the first service I recommend you try is DocHub .

In order to use this service, click here to connect immediately to its main page and create a free account by registering with your email address or by logging in via Google or Dropbox. When the operation is completed, access your e-mail box, click on the confirmation link received from DocHub and log in to the service by typing your credentials.

At this point, click on the + button  located at the top right, select the Import new document item from the menu that appears and press the Computer button  to load the PDF you want to edit from your computer. Alternatively, you can click on the Google and Dropbox buttons  to import documents directly from these services or paste the address of a PDF already present on the Internet in the URL field  .

Once the file has been uploaded (it takes a few seconds), click on the Create document button  and start editing your PDF using the buttons you see above: by clicking on the letter “A” icon  you can add custom writings to the document, by clicking on the highlighter icon  you can highlight the content of the file, with the pencil tool  you can draw on the PDF sheets, by pressing the photo icon  you can insert images anywhere on the page, while through the Sign button  you can add a signature to the file.

If you want to change the order of the pages, rotate them or delete those that you deem superfluous, click on the icon with the  9 squares you see in the left sidebar and use the thumbnails of the pages that appear on the side to make the desired changes.

When you have finished your work on the document, you can save the PDF edited with DocHub by clicking on the blue button with the arrow going to the right  which is located at the top right and selecting the Download PDF  item from the menu that appears.

Then go to the folder on your computer where the files downloaded from the Internet are saved in order to view the modified file.

If you want to keep the document online to make other changes in the future, go back to the DocHub main page and click on the Save button  located in the right sidebar, under the file name.

PDFescape

Another great tool for editing a PDF file online is PDFescape . It is an online service at no cost that allows you to edit PDF documents directly from the Web browser and in a way that is as simple as it is intuitive. Try it and I’m sure you won’t regret it.

In order to use PDFEscape, click here to connect immediately to its main page and upload the document to be edited by first clicking on the Edit your PDF now button and then on Upload PDF to PDFescape , Browse / Choose file and Upload .

The PDFescape toolbar is divided into three tabs. In the main one ( Insert ) you will find the buttons to insert texts, images, drawings and other customized elements within the document. In Annotate you will find the highlighter ( Highlight ) and the annotations ( Sticky note ) while in Page you can modify the pages of the PDF by rotating them, cutting them and deleting them.

When you are satisfied with the result, click on the green icon with the arrow located in the left sidebar to download the edited PDF to your computer.

When the download is complete, go to the folder on your computer where the files downloaded from the Internet are saved in order to view the modified file.

Online2PDF

Another service that I suggest you try to edit a PDF file online is undoubtedly  Online2PDF . This is an excellent tool that can be used directly from a web browser dedicated to editing and converting files into PDF format. You can use this service to edit and convert your PDF documents to other formats and also to merge two or more files into one. The service is totally free but has upload restrictions (it is not possible to process more than 20 documents simultaneously and it is not possible to upload files larger than 50MB, 100 MB for multiple uploads).

To edit a PDF file online with Online2PDF the first operation you need to do is to  click here  so that you can immediately connect to the main web page of the service. Now click on the Select files button   and choose the documents to be processed from your computer and then choose how to act on the file by clicking on the Compression , View , Image to PDF , Protection , Header / Footer , Excel or Layout tab .

If necessary, you can also convert the PDF file by selecting the mode and format from the appropriate drop-down menus that you find in correspondence with the items Modes: and convert to .

Finally, press the Convert button and wait for your documents to be processed first and then downloaded to your PC.

Once the process is complete, go to the folder on your computer where the files downloaded from the Internet are saved in order to view the modified file.

DocsPal

You don’t want to edit the content of a PDF directly but just want to convert it to a more “flexible” file format, such as Word’s DOCX? No problem. To do this, you can contact the free DocsPal online service  which, in fact, allows you to transform PDF documents into Word, RTF, ODT, Web pages and more in just a few clicks. You do not believe me? Well, then try it now and you will see that you will change your mind instantly.

To use this service, click here to immediately link to its main page and then click the Browse button and select the PDF document to convert. Afterwards, select the target format from the Convert to drop-down menu and click the Convert button to complete the operation.

To download the converted document, just click on its name located at the bottom of the page.

Then go to the folder on your computer where the files downloaded from the Internet are saved in order to view the processed file.