How to make changes to a PDF file

Should you make changes to a PDF file but don’t know which program to use to do this? Do not worry. Unlike a few years ago, you no longer need to resort to expensive professional solutions to apply changes to this type of file: just use free programs, which have little to envy to paid ones, and that’s it.

If you want me to recommend some, take five minutes of free time and read this guide on how to make changes to a PDF file that I am about to propose to you. You will only have to identify the tool that best suits you and then you will be free to edit your documents in digital format as you wish.

Classic software aside, I inform you that PDFs can also be edited online, using special Web services, and from smartphones and tablets, using some ad hoc applications for Android and iOS. In all cases, you do not have to worry, their functioning is not complex. Now, however, just chat and let’s take action. Good job!

Index

• How to make changes to a PDF file on a computer
  • LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Windows / macOS)
  • Preview (macOS)
• How to make changes to a PDF file online
  • PDFescape
  • PDFCandy
• App for making changes to a PDF file
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader (Android / iOS)
  • Books (iOS)

How to make changes to a PDF file on a computer

Let’s start by going to find out which are the best programs for making changes to a PDF file on a computer using Windows, macOS and Linux. To find out more, please read on.

LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)

If you need to find out how to make changes to a PDF file in a profound way, that is, having the possibility to modify the text of the document, add writings, images and so on, then your choice can only fall on LibreOffice. As its name suggests quite easily, it is a suite of free and open-source office programs, which represents one of the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office. Inside, it includes a word processing application, one for spreadsheets, one for presentations, one for databases and one, LibreOffice Draw, which allows you to edit PDF files freely, as if they were normal Office documents. Note that it is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

To download it to your computer, go to the program website and click on the Download version xxx button. At the end of the download, if you are using Windows, open the .msi file obtained and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the Run button. Then press the Next button, select the Typical option and click once again on the Next, Install ‌, Yes and Finish buttons to complete the setup.

If you are using macOS, instead, open the .dmg package obtained, drag the LibreOffice icon into the macOS Applications folder, right click on it and select the Open item from the menu that is shown to you. Then press the Open button in the window that appears on the screen, so as to start the program by going around the limitations imposed by Apple on applications from non-certified developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start). Afterwards, close the program using the key combination cmd + q.

After carrying out the above steps, go back to the LibreOffice website and click on the Translated User Interface button, in order to download the Italian translation of the suite. When the download is complete, open the new .dmg package obtained, right-click on the LibreOffice Language Pack executable, select the Open item from the menu that is shown to you and click on the Open and Install buttons. Then select the item / Applications / LibreOffice.app from the window that appears and press the Install button. If you are shown a permission notice while doing so, click on the button Yes, identify me, enter the Mac administration password and click the OK button twice in a row.

Regardless of the operating system used, now import the PDF you want to edit into LibreOffice. To do this, click on the Open file button on the left in the main program window. Once the import procedure is complete, you can use the special tools present on the LibreOffice Draw toolbars, at the top and left, by changing the text of the document, adding images, etc.

After making all the necessary changes, to save them, first click on the File menu located at the top left and then on the word Export in PDF format. For more insights into how LibreOffice works and the ability to edit PDF text, I recommend reading my tutorial focusing specifically on how to write to a PDF file.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Windows / macOS)

Another program, available for Windows and macOS, that you can consider using to make changes to a PDF file is Acrobat Reader DC: this is the official software for opening and editing PDFs, made available by Adobe. Basically, it is free, but some features, such as the ability to convert documents, are reserved for subscribers to the Pro version, which is paid (has a base cost of 18.29 euros/month), which can however be tried for free. for 7 days.

To download the program on your PC, go to its website and click on the Install Now button. When the download is complete, if you are using Windows, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window that is shown on the desktop, click on the Yes button. Then wait for the installation procedure to start and complete, click on the Finish button and wait for the program to open.

If you are using macOS, open the obtained .dmg package instead and run the .pkg file inside it. In the window that opens, click on the Continue button (twice in a row) and then on the Install button. Then, type in the Mac administration password and press the Install software button. Once the setup is complete, click on the Close and Move buttons and wait for the main program window to be visible on the desktop.

At this point, regardless of the operating system used, click on the File menu located at the top left, select the Open item from the latter and choose the PDF you want to act on. Then use the tabs in the program interface to access the functions of your interest and make any necessary changes to the file.

More precisely, in the Home tab you will find the list of recently viewed files, while in the Tools tab you will find the complete list of the program’s functions and tools. In the tab with the name of the document, however, you will find the file currently open with all the tools necessary for its consultation.

Once you have made all the necessary changes, save the changes by clicking on the floppy disk icon located at the top left. The source document will be overwritten immediately.

Preview (macOS)

If what you are using is a Mac, to edit your PDF files, you don’t necessarily have to resort to using third-party tools. In fact, you can easily succeed in your intent using Preview, the “standard” macOS program through which you can view and edit images and PDF documents, in fact. How? I’ll explain it to you right away!

To begin with, open the PDF you wish to act on (by double-clicking on its icon). If Preview is not the default application for opening PDFs, right-click on the icon of the file of your interest, click on the word Open with the present in the context menu and then select the Preview item.

Now that you have opened the PDF, bring up the Preview editing toolbar by clicking on the pencil icon located in the upper right part of the window. Then select the buttons you find on the toolbar in question, to perform various operations: the button with the rectangle and the circle allows you to add geometric shapes and lines to the document, the one with the text box to add text, the one with the signature of sign the document etc.

To add highlights to the document, instead, click on the button with the highlighter located at the top of the window, select the color and style that best suits you (via the menu accessible by clicking on the arrow on the right), click on the part of text on which you want to intervene and, continuing to keep clicked, drag the mouse pointer to the desired point. The button with the rectangle and the arrow, on the other hand, allows you to rotate the pages of the PDF.

After making all the necessary changes to your PDF, to save the changes, simply close the Preview window by clicking on the red circular button with the “x” at the top left.

How to make changes to a PDF file online

As I told you at the beginning of the guide, you can also make changes to a PDF file online, using some special Web services. You ask me which ones? Well, for example those that I will report to you in the following lines. They work from any browser and operating system and are very intuitive.

PDFescape

The first online service for making changes to a PDF file that I recommend you consider is PDFescape. It allows you to intervene on PDF files by acting directly from the window of any browser, without having to download external software or special plugins on your computer. It is free and requires no registration. The only thing that needs to be taken into account is that it imposes limits on file uploads: the maximum size of documents to be uploaded must not exceed 10 MB and these must not consist of more than 100 pages.

To use PDFescape, go to the official website of the service, click on the Choose file button, select the PDF file of your interest from your computer and press the Upload button. Alternatively, drag the PDF you want to act on directly into the browser window, corresponding to the Drop PDF Here box.

Once the PDF is displayed in the editor of the service, select the pages on which you want to go to intervene, using the menu on the left, and the tabs with the tools of your interest, which are located at the top (always on the left).

To be precise, by selecting the Insert tab you can access the useful tools for inserting and removing text, images etc., by selecting the Annotated tab you can access the tools for highlighting text, adding underlines etc., while in the Page tab you will find the tools for remove one or more pages, to rotate them and so on.

Once you have made all the necessary changes, save and download the edited document on your PC, by clicking on the button with the green square and the two white arrows located on the left. If you haven’t changed your browser’s default settings, the file will be saved in your computer’s Downloads folder.

PDFCandy

Another excellent online service that I advise you to consider to edit your PDFs from the browser is PDFCandy: it is a portal that provides users with numerous useful tools to perform the most disparate operations on PDF files. There are tools for converting to and from PDF format, tools to rotate and remove pages, to set a password for documents, etc. It’s free, requires no registration and, in addition, protects users’ privacy by deleting what is uploaded to its servers within hours.

To use it, go to the home page of the service and click on the name of the tool you want to use to edit your PDF (eg Compress PDF, Add watermark, PDF to BMP etc.). Then proceed to drag the file in relation to which you want to go to act in the browser window. Alternatively, select it “manually” by clicking on the button first

• Add files

or take it from Google Drive or Dropbox, by clicking on the icon of the service of your interest and logging into your account.

Once uploaded, adjust the options that may be available based on your needs and preferences. For example, if you have chosen to use the tool to add a watermark, fill in the Text field by typing the watermark you want to apply to the document or click on the link (Click to upload) and select an image on your PC to use as a watermark. Therefore, use the Position menu to specify the point where to apply the watermark and click on the Add watermark button.

Finally, download the final PDF on your PC by clicking on the Download file button. If you haven’t changed your browser’s default settings, the file will be saved in your computer’s Downloads folder. Alternatively, you can save your file to Google Drive or Dropbox, again by clicking on the relevant icons.

App for making changes to a PDF file

To conclude, I want to point out the ones that, in my humble opinion, represent the best apps to make changes to a PDF file on Android and iOS: you can find them below, feel free to choose the one you think can do the most for you.

Adobe Acrobat Reader (Android / iOS)

Adobe Acrobat Reader, the program I told you about in the chapter at the beginning of the guide, can also be used as an app for Android and iOS, which fully incorporates the main functions offered by its counterpart for Windows and macOS. Also in this case, therefore, it is a solution through which you can view and edit PDFs. Basically it’s free, but offers in-app purchases (starting at $ 9.99) to unlock extra features, such as the ability to export documents.

To download the application on Android, go to the relevant section of the Play Store and tap the Install button. If you are using iOS, on the other hand, access the relevant section on the App Store, tap the Get button, then the Install button and authorize the download via Face ID, Touch ID or Apple ID password. Then, start the app by pressing the Open button that appeared on the screen or by selecting the relative icon added to the home screen.

Now that you see the main screen of the app, touch the File item, located at the bottom, select the location where the PDF to be edited is stored and then tap on the name of the latter, in order to open it.

Then, press the button with the pencil at the bottom right and choose, from the menu that appears, whether to add a comment to the document, whether to fill it in by adding underlines, geometric shapes, etc., whether to sign it or whether to organize the pages. By pressing, instead, on the button with the three vertical dots located at the top right you can export the document or combine multiple files together.

In all cases, after making the changes you are interested in, press the checkmark at the top left to save the changes by overwriting the original document. Easy, right?

Books (iOS)

If you are using an iPhone or an iPad, I am pleased to inform you that to edit your files in PDF format you can also use the Books app: it is an application made available by Apple itself and pre-installed on iOS / iPadOS (if removed, it can be downloaded again from the relevant section on the App Store ). As easily understood by the name itself, it allows you to buy and read eBooks. However, I have chosen to tell you about it in this guide as it is also able to act as a viewer and editor of PDF files.

That said, to use it for your purpose, open the app in which the PDF you are interested in is saved, select the file, press the share icon (the one usually represented with a square and an arrow ) and select the option to open the file in Books.

In the Books screen that is now shown to you, press the pencil button at the top and use the tools that appear at the bottom to add highlights, underlines, pencil marks, access the ruler tool, etc.

By clicking on the colored circle, however, you can select a different color for the signs to be added to the PDF, while by tapping on the adjacent (+) button you can access the menu to use the tool to add text, a signature, to enable the lens and to insert geometric shapes and arrows.

When you have finished editing, simply click on the arrow button at the top left and all changes will be applied to the source file.