Programs to edit PDF

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to edit the text of a PDF file? So I really think you’ve come to the right place, at the right time. Below, in fact, you will find a nice collection of programs to edit PDFs able to satisfy any need related to the editing of the type of documents in question, totally free of charge or in any case at low costs compared to the most famous software in the sector.

Among these, there are solutions that allow you to create PDF from scratch and/or modify its content (as if it were a Word document) but also tools that I like to define as “Swiss Army Knives”, through which it is possible to convert documents in other formats, extract the images contained in them, merge them, divide them and much more.

How do you say? Would you like to be able to edit your files without having to download and install anything on your computer? Well, in this case you can turn to the use of some online services accessible directly from the browser. And if you need to act as a mobile, you can consider taking advantage of ad hoc apps for smartphones and tablets. Now, however, just chat and let’s take action. I wish you, as usual, good reading and a good job!

Index

• Programs to edit PDF for free
  • LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)
  • Microsoft Edge (Windows 10)
  • PDFill FREE PDF Tools (Windows)
  • Preview (macOS)
• Programs to edit PDF to Word
  • Word 2013 or later (Windows / macOS)
  • Other solutions
• Programs to edit PDF online
  • PDFescape
  • Other solutions
• App to edit PDF

Programs to edit PDF for free

Are you looking for programs to edit PDF for free from your computer? Then I suggest you take advantage of the solutions that you find reported below. There are for Windows, macOS and Linux.

LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)

If you are looking for a free solution that allows you to freely edit PDFs, I can only recommend LibreOffice. It is a zero-cost and open-source productivity suite – according to many the best free alternative to Microsoft Office -, which allows not only to export any document in PDF format but also to edit files of this type already existing. It is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux and is completely in Italian.

To download LibreOffice on your computer, connect to the official website of the program and click on the Download version xx button. Once the download is complete, if you are using Windows, open the .msi file obtained and, in the window that is shown on the desktop, click on the Run button. Then, click on the Next button, select the Typical option and click on the Next, Install, Yes and Finish buttons, in order to complete the setup.

If you are using macOS, on the other hand, open the .dmg package obtained, move the LibreOffice icon to the Mac Applications folder, right-click on it and select the Open item twice in a row, in order to start the program going around Apple’s limitations on applications from non-certified developers (which must be done only at the first start). Therefore, close the software completely, using the combination of keys cmd + q .

Still on Mac, after having completed the above steps, go back to the LibreOffice website and download the Italian translation of the suite (on Windows it is integrated “as standard”, so it is not necessary), by clicking on the Interface button user translated.

When the download is complete, open the new .dmg package obtained, right-click on the LibreOffice Language Pack executable inside it, select the Open item from the menu that is shown to you and press the Open and Install buttons. Then, select the entry / Applications / LibreOffice.app from the window that appears and click on the Install button.

If in carrying out the above steps you are informed that you do not have high enough privileges to continue, click the Yes button, identify me , enter the password of your user account on macOS in the window that opens and click the OK button (to twice in a row), to complete the LibreOffice language pack installation.

When the installation is complete, start LibreOffice, selecting the appropriate link in the Start menu (on Windows) or click on the relative icon added to the Launchpad (on macOS), then click on the Open file item located in the upper left part of the window displayed and select the PDF document of your interest.

After doing this, Draw, the application of the suite dedicated to the creation of printable documents, will be launched. You can then edit the PDF using the icons located on the left and top sidebar: the geometric shapes and arrows to insert indications and circled elements in the document, the letter “T” to add custom text fields and so on. Instead, to edit the PDF text (where possible), simply select it with the mouse.

When you have finished, you can save your edited PDF by clicking on the File menu located at the top left and then choosing the Save item from the latter.

Microsoft Edge (Windows 10)

If you’re using a PC with Windows 10 installed, you don’t necessarily need to use third-party tools to edit your PDF files. To succeed in the enterprise, in fact, you can also consider relying on the use of Microsoft Edge, the default browser of the operating system, which, not everyone knows, also includes a document viewer of this type with various useful tools for PDF editing.

To be able to use it for your purpose, first open the PDF in relation to which you are interested in going to act, by double-clicking on its icon. If Edge is not the default PDF viewer, proceed as follows instead: right-click on the file and select the items Open with> Microsoft Edge from the context menu.

Once the PDF is displayed, to be able to edit it, use the tools found on the toolbar at the top: by clicking on the Drawing button you can draw freely on the document, by pressing on the Delete one you can remove the inserted drawings, while clicking on the button with the circular arrow you can rotate the document. Then there are buttons to change the view of the document and to increase and decrease the zoom.

When the changes are complete, to save the changes you have made to the file click on the button with the floppy disk that you can always find on the toolbar and that’s it.

PDFill FREE PDF Tools (Windows)

If you don’t need to work on the text of your documents, I highly recommend you take a look at PDFill FREE PDF Tools. It is one of the best free PDF editing programs available on Windows. It allows you to merge and divide documents belonging to the categories in question, convert them into images, encrypt and decrypt them (by removing the owner password), rotate or rearrange their pages and apply watermarks to them.

To download it on your computer, connected to its official website and first click on the Download now button which is located under the heading Get FREE basic version and then on the same button located in the center of the page that opens.

When the download is complete, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window you see appear on the desktop, first click on the Yes button and on the Next button. Then put the checkmark next to I accept the terms in the License Agreement and complete the setup, clicking again on the Next button (twice consecutively) and then on the Install and Finish buttons.

If during setup you are asked to install Ghost Script and .Net Framework, accept. These are two free software – clean, which do not contain toolbars or other promotional content – necessary for the correct functioning of PDFill FREE PDF Tools.

Once the installation is complete, to use PDFill FREE PDF Tools, all you have to do is start it, selecting the relative link that has just been added to the Start menu, and click on one of the buttons on its main screen, those indicated below, to select the function of your interest.

• Merge PDF files– to merge two or more PDF files into one;
• Split or Reorder Pages– to split a document or reorder the pages in it;
• Encrypt and Decrypt Options– to add or remove password to PDF files (does not remove password on opening);
• Rotate or Crop PDF Pages– to rotate or crop PDF pages;
• Reformat Multiple Pages– to change the format, margins and other properties of the pages of a PDF document;
• Add Header and Footer– to add headers and footnotes to PDF documents;
• Add Watermark by Text– to add text watermarks to PDFs;
• Add Watermark by Image– to add graphic watermarks to PDFs;
• Convert Images to PDF– to convert a series of images into a PDF file;
• Convert PDF to Images– to convert a PDF into a series of images;
• PDF Form Field Operations– to delete, extrapolate or make “flat” the data present in PDF forms;
• Convert PostScript into PDF– to convert PostScript files to PDF;
• Add PDF Information– to change title, author and other information of PDF files;
• Scan into Image or PDF– to scan documents such as images or PDF files;
• Create Transparent Image– to create transparent images.

Once you have selected the instrument you are interested in, choose the documents to operate on, adjust the relative options for use and that’s it.

Preview (macOS)

If none of the PDF editing programs I have already suggested convinced you in a particular way and you own a Mac, you will surely be happy to find that you can possibly consider relying on the use of Preview. In case you don’t know, it’s the default application on Apple-branded computers for viewing and editing images and PDFs.

To be able to use it, open the document you wish to act on by simply double-clicking on its icon. If Preview is not the default application for opening PDFs, right-click on the file of your interest and select, from the context menu, the items Open with> Preview.

Once the document is open, click on the pencil icon located at the top right, in order to enable the display of the toolbar with the editing tools. Using the buttons on the toolbar in question you can then draw lines, insert texts, signatures, geometric shapes, etc.

If, on the other hand, you need to rotate the pages that make up your PDF, you have to click on the button with the square and the arrow at the top of the window, while pressing on the button with the adjacent highlighter and on the relative menu you can highlight the text and underline it.

Once the changes are complete, simply close the document by clicking on the circular button with the “x” in the upper left part of the window. All changes made will be saved automatically.

Programs to edit PDF to Word

Do you need to convert your PDF files into DOC or DOCX documents and would you therefore like me to recommend some useful solutions for the purpose? No sooner said than done! Below, in fact, you will find what I believe to be the best programs to edit PDF to Word currently on the market, both for Windows and for macOS and Linux.

Word 2013 or later (Windows / macOS)

If you need to convert PDF documents into DOC or DOCX files, you can first rely on Word, the word processor included in Microsoft Office. Starting from the 2013 version, the program, in fact, is able to import PDFs and transform them into text documents, often without problems.

To be able to use it for your purpose, if you have already installed Word on your computer, start the program by selecting the relative link in the Start menu (on Windows) or by clicking on its icon in the Launchpad (on macOS).

If you have not yet installed the program, to fix it, follow the instructions I gave you in my guide on how to download Word, bearing in mind that it is not a free solution (the lowest cost is the one required for subscribing to the Microsoft program. 365, equal to 7 euros/month), but it is still possible to try the program for 30 days without spending a cent and without obligation to renew.

Now that you see the Word window on the screen, click on the File menu located at the top left, select the Open item from the latter and open the PDF document of your interest.

Then, click on the OK button (to accept any alterations to the layout of the file), select the Save as item from the File menu and save the file by choosing the DOC or DOCX format. Easier than that?

Other solutions

If you are looking for alternatives to transform your PDFs into Word files, I recommend that you consider the additional solutions that I have reported to you in the list below.

• Doxillion Document Converter( Windows / macOS ) – program through which it is possible to convert various types of documents from one format to another and which, of course, also allows you to transform PDFs into Word files. It’s free, but for personal use only. If used for commercial purposes, the appropriate license must be purchased (at a cost of $ 19.99).
• PDFMate PDFConverter( Windows / macOS ) – free and easy-to-use software that allows you to convert PDFs to other types of files, including Word documents. It also allows you to fine-tune the output settings. It is free, but eventually it is available in the Pro variant (at a cost of 43.86 euros), which offers extra functions.
• PDFelement( Windows / macOS ) – this is a software that allows you to view, edit, create and convert PDFs in an incredibly simple way. Basically it is free, but it imprints a watermark on the output documents and provides other limitations, which can be circumvented by switching to the paid version (with prices starting from 77.23 euros/year and 165.64 euros one-off).

Programs to edit PDF online

You don’t want or can’t download new software on your computer and would you like me to suggest programs to edit PDFs online? No sooner said than done. In fact, below you will find what I believe to be the best solutions in the category, which can be used directly from the browser. Put them to the test now.

PDFescape

The online PDF editing service that I invite you to try is PDFescape. It allows you to edit PDF documents directly from your browser, without having to install anything on your computer. Registration is not mandatory (but by creating an account you can save uploaded documents online) and it is free. The only thing to take into consideration is that it only allows you to upload files with a maximum size of 10 MB, which must not consist of more than 100 pages.

To use PDFEscape, connect immediately to its main page and load the document to be edited, dragging it to the box with the word Drop PDF Here. Alternatively, you can upload the file “manually” by first clicking on the Choose file button and then on the Upload button.

Next, use the PDFescape toolbar, visible on the left, to make any necessary changes. The bar is divided into three tabs: in the one called Insert you will find the buttons to insert texts, images, drawings and other customized elements within the document; in the one called Annotate you will find the highlighter and the functions for the annotations; in that called Page you will find useful functions for editing PDF pages, rotating them, cutting them and deleting them.

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

Other solutions

Are you looking for other online services through which you can edit your PDF files? In that case, I invite you to take a look at the solutions you find in the following list.

• PDFzorro– free and very easy to use web service, which allows you to edit PDFs by adding geometric shapes, rotating pages etc. It does not require registration, but by logging in it is possible to save the history of the edited documents.
• PDF Buddy– this is a web service that allows you to edit PDF files that are fed to you, adding texts, removing pages and much more. It is not mandatory to register, but by creating an account you can keep your files online. In addition, it is basic free, but by subscribing to one of the paid plans (with prices starting at $ 5.99 / month) you can take advantage of some extra features.
• DocHub– another online service that allows you to make changes to various types of documents, including PDFs. It’s free, but you need to register to use it. Note that it is also available in a paid variant (at a cost of $ 4.99 / month), which allows you to unlock some additional features.

App to edit PDF

As anticipated at the beginning of the guide, if you do not have a computer at hand, you can consider using apps to edit PDFs, which can be used directly from Android smartphones and tablets and from iPhone / iPad. Below, therefore, you will find the ones that I believe to be the best.

• Xodo PDF( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – app considered as one of the most complete free solutions for editing PDFs in the mobile environment. In fact, it allows you to write on documents, add arrows, highlights and much more. Plus, it integrates with Dropbox, Google Drive, and other cloud storage services.
• Foxit PDF( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – this is an application that allows you to easily edit PDF files by inserting annotations, highlights etc. It is free but, to unlock some advanced features, such as the ability to protect files with certificates, you need to switch to the paid version through in-app purchases (at the base cost of 11.49 euros).
• File( iOS / iPadOS ) – is the default file manager of iPhone and iPad, but it also includes a PDF file viewer and ad hoc tools through which you can make various changes to documents of this type.