Sometimes, you have a PDF file that you would want to edit but you don’t know how to go about it. Truly, getting a very function free PDF editor out there is very tough. This isn’t because they are not. There are. But, only few are top-notch. Only few can give you lots of features for free. This is why we want to link you up with these free editors for your PDF documents.
Some of these are online PDF editors that work right in your web browser, so all you have to do is upload your PDF file to the website, make the changes you want, and then save it back to your computer. That’s the quick way — but do bear in mind that, typically, an online editor isn’t as fully featured as its desktop counterpart, plus the file is exposed to the internet (which might be of concern if it contains sensitive content).
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So, let’s show you the best free PDF editors you can use to edit your PDF files anytime you want to.
Best Free PDF Editors
1. PDF-XChange Editor
The PDF-Xchange Editor is one of the best tools you can use out there. As a matter of fact, if you need to edit the text in a PDF, PDF-XChange Editor is ideal. It lets you retype, delete, and reformat text, and adapts well if the document uses a font that isn’t installed on your PC. You can also attach comments, split PDFs, and extract pages.
One of PDF-Xchange Editor’s best features is the ability to use OCR to recognize text in scanned documents – ideal if you only have a printout rather than the original file (a handout from a lecture, for example). Some of the features visible in the menus and toolbars are only available in the premium version of the software, PDF-XChange Editor Plus, but you can easily hover your mouse pointer over an icon to find out if it’s included.
2. Sedja
Sejda PDF Editor is one of the very few PDF editors that actually lets you edit pre-existing text in the PDF without adding a watermark. Most editors only let you edit the text you add yourself, or they support text editing but then throw watermarks all over the place.
Plus, this tool can run entirely in your web browser, so it’s easy to get going without having to download any programs. You can get the desktop version if you’d rather. You can add text, images and links, sign documents, add annotations, and insert ellipses and rectangles. There’s also a ‘whiteout’ option, though this simply draws a white rectangle – it doesn’t remove any data.
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3. PDFescape
PDFescape has quite a lot of features. It’s completely free so long as the PDF does not exceed 100 pages or 10 MB. You can’t truly change text or edit images 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. Please note that there are two versions of PDFescape: a free web app and a premium desktop program.
4. Smallpdf
One of the quickest ways to add images, text, shapes, or your signature to a PDF is with Smallpdf. This website allows you to upload a PDF, make changes to it, and then save it back to your computer all without needing to make a user account or pay for any anti-watermarking features. You can open and/or save your PDF to your Dropbox or Google Drive account, too, in addition to your computer.
Also, ou can import three shapes into a PDF with Smallpdf: a square, circle, or arrow. You can change the object’s main color and line color, as well as the thickness of its edge. Text size can be tiny, small, normal, large, or huge, but only three font types are available. You can change the color of any text you add.
Also See: Online PDF to Word converter | Convert DOC, DOCX, Text, JPG, PNG, Excel
5. Inkscape
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. It 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 Inkscape 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.
Share with us, which of these free PDF editors you have been using for a while. Is there anyone we didn’t include here/ Let us know below.
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