How do you edit a PDF document?

It can be that the new Word document doesn’t look quite the same as the PDF format. Graphics and for­mat­ting in par­tic­u­lar may undergo minor text structure changes in the con­ver­sion. Expect shifted images or missing in­ter­ac­tive elements. To avoid this, certain programs other than Microsoft are better suited to con­vert­ing documents.

Free and simple-to-use online PDF editors are a good option for high­light­ing important in­for­ma­tion in a PDF document such as circling an essential passage, for example. Using these, it’s often possible to convert files using drag and drop. However, the options are varied: some allow only su­per­fi­cial changes because the document is treated like an image and thus it’s only possible to add graphic elements or text. Others convert PDF documents to give you the option to edit the text. As examples of these, to follow are how-to guides for the tool Smallpdf as well as another option from Google.

The PDF editor Smallpdf allows you to edit PDFs for free. This tool converts the PDF file back into a Word document in order to be able to edit it. In principle, it works just like Word itself. Select the file, and the tool converts it to a Word document au­to­mat­i­cal­ly. Af­ter­wards, you can download the file.

You can also edit PDF files directly online. But this requires you to upload the document, which generally carries a security risk. For this reason, Smallpdf can be accessed via an SSL-encrypted con­nec­tion. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the Swiss company provides assurance that it doesn’t store files long term, deleting them au­to­mat­i­cal­ly after an hour. Smallpdf is suitable for all Windows, Linux, and Mac devices, requires no in­stal­la­tion or reg­is­tra­tion, and works in all popular browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and IE.

You can also edit PDFs for free using Google’s online tools. It’s easy to edit a PDF with Google Docs and Google Drive.

To use Google’s PDF functions, you need a free account with the search engine. Users who have a Gmail account or are active on the social media platform Google+ already have an account that can also be used with many other services. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, these are only available once reg­is­tered. To set up a Google account, click on the “Sign in” button on the Google homepage, then click “Create account” on the page that follows.

Document edits are saved au­to­mat­i­cal­ly in Google Drive. However, edited documents can then be re-down­loaded in various formats. Clicking “File” and then “download as,” you’ll see formats such as DOCX, ODT, HTML, EPUB or even PDF as options. And since the file will be stored in the Cloud, it is also easily shared with others using the release button top right. Google will create a link that can be forwarded to others, giving col­leagues or friends access to the document.

PDF documents can not only be edited in your browser, but also offline. All you need to do is to install a program for this purpose.

The editor Adobe Acrobat DC provides several ways to change PDFs. While the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC now allows you to not only read but also edit PDF files to a limited extent, only in the paid version of Adobe Acrobat DC has full func­tion­al­i­ty.

If you already use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to read PDF documents, you’re already familiar with the free features: you can add comments, add digital sig­na­tures to documents, or send files to others to sign. However, if you want to make other changes to the document, you need the paid version of Adobe Acrobat DC.

There are two different vari­a­tions of this: Pro and Standard. Both require a monthly sub­scrip­tion. Among the dif­fer­ences between the two versions is that the more expensive one can in­cor­po­rate JavaScript and mul­ti­me­dia elements, optimize PDF ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty, and compare two documents with one another. In addition, only the Pro version is available for Mac. If you want to test drive the program, you can download a 14-day free trial on the Adobe homepage.

As in other programs, open a PDF document for editing by clicking “File.” Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you can set Adobe Acrobat DC as the default program for opening PDF files. It’s even easier to open a PDF file by dragging and dropping it into the program window. The ap­pli­ca­tion isn’t limited to working with documents in PDF format. You can also open other formats such as Word files and convert them to PDFs.

The edited document can be saved as a PDF or forwarded to col­leagues, business partners, or friends, allowing them to comment or sign. The program also gives users the option to export the document to other formats, con­vert­ing a PDF file into a Word document, for example.

With FlexiPDF you can open PDF files and edit them directly. The paid version of FlexiPDF is also available on a trial basis.

There are two different versions of the tool: Standard and Pro­fes­sion­al. Both are available for a fixed price, not on sub­scrip­tion as with Adobe. The program license is valid for up to three PCs. The standard version offers almost all of the functions one requires to create or edit PDF documents, e.g. inserting images or graphics or editing text. However, dif­fer­ences can be found in the advanced features for creating PDFs, for example:

Thanks to the program’s simple design, you can quickly find your way around, making opening files simple and straight­for­ward. Navigate either through the menu bar or click on the folder icon in the toolbar where you can search your files for the PDF you need.

Saving files also functions similarly to word pro­cess­ing programs. In addition to PDF files, the program can export documents in numerous formats: HTML, TXT, RTF, EPUB and Word files are available as are the image formats JPEG, TIFF, BMP and PNG.

PDF-XChange Editor from the Swiss company Tracker Software ad­ver­tis­es itself as the fastest free PDF editor which at the same time offers a broad range of functions.

Like other programs for editing PDFs, PDF-XChange is available in different paid versions as well as a free version which has most of the necessary functions that you need to edit a PDF. While the standard version is available either paid or free, buying a license comes with the benefit of pro­fes­sion­al support. The Plus version comes with even more, allowing you to create forms, merge PDF documents and move or delete in­di­vid­ual pages.

PDF-XChange Pro offers the total package. In addition to the editing features, this license also includes a PDF printer for creating PDF files as well as PDF tools that allow you to quickly create PDF documents from multiple sources.

PDF-XChange also allows you to change language settings after the program has been installed. Under “File,” select “Pref­er­ences” and then “Languages.” Choose a language and click “Apply.”

In addition to the usual ways of opening a PDF file in an editor, PDF-XChange users can upload documents directly in the editing window with a double-click. You can also add multiple files to the editing view and thus to an existing document using drag-and-drop. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, you can connect the program to your accounts in Google Drive, Office365, or Share­Point.

With PDF-XChange you can also change the document text, whether modifying it, deleting and adding. The same is true for photos or other images. The program can even support mul­ti­me­dia content including sound.

Aside from the usual storage options (ac­ces­si­ble from the diskette icon in the toolbar) of a PDF editor, users can convert files directly to Word or even Pow­er­Point in order to work on them there. Likewise, complete documents can be exported or only selected pages in different image formats.

PDF Expert  is a good program for editing PDF files on a Mac. The free PDF editor can convert PDF files, edit text, and insert images.

This program also has several versions available. For the most useful editing functions you should opt for the paid version, although there is a free one-week trial available. If you don’t opt for the paid version after this trial period, the free version still includes a PDF reader. You can either buy the product on the homepage or download it in the Mac app store.

In addition to the desktop version, the software is also available in a mobile version for iPhone and iPad which can be found in the app store. These allow you to edit PDF documents on a mobile device as well as to add comments and sig­na­tures.

There are several ways to open PDF documents in the software: when you open a new tab, you can either drag the file into the window or select a file via the button. Drag and drop is the quicker option. The open program shows up in the Mac’s dock. Simply drag the file you want onto the program’s icon and the document will open in PDF Expert. Of course, you can also open files as usual via the menu bar by clicking “Open” in the program.

The func­tion­al­i­ty of the Mac program is every bit as good as its Windows com­peti­tors. In addition to standard features such as adding comments or filling out forms, advanced features can be used to edit existing content. Text can be changed com­plete­ly and even picture elements can be edited. When creating PDFs, you can merge several documents, extract in­di­vid­ual pages, or move pages around.

The ability to redact specific in­for­ma­tion is par­tic­u­lar­ly useful. This function (also available in other PDF programs) doesn’t just draw a black box over the text, rather, it also deletes the text un­der­neath. Also practical is the ability to search the entire document for certain words or groups of words. Choose the redact function and enter the sensitive in­for­ma­tion. Warning: After redacting, you aren’t able to restore the text at a later point, so be sure to keep a copy of the original.

As a software for desktop and mobile Apple devices, PDF Expert is com­pat­i­ble with iCloud, making for easy transfer of documents from different devices. The software can also syn­chro­nize with other Apple devices through the Readdle Transfer feature, enabling you to begin editing on one device and continue seam­less­ly with another. When saving onto your hard drive, you can also decide whether to retain an editable file or an ordinary PDF.