While it is free to view, save and distribute PDF Documents, the option to edit PDF files is only available in the paid version of Adobe Acrobat software. Hence, we are providing below some free PDF Editing Tools that can be used to Edit PDF files, without using the paid version of Adobe Acrobat.
Edit PDF Files Without Using Adobe Acrobat
Unlike Microsoft Word and other files in document format, PDF Documents are basically meant to be “read only” files that are designed to open in the same format across multiple devices. Hence, the option to edit PDF Files is not made available in PDF Viewers.
However, this does not mean that PDF documents cannot be edited. Similar to other documents, PDF Documents can also be edited by using the paid version of Adobe Acrobot Software.
Hence, it is recommended that you buy the paid version of Adobe Acrobat, if you are regularly dealing with PDF files and usually find the need to edit a large number of PDF Files.
If you only have occasional PDF editing needs, you can make use of the following free PDF Document Editing tools that are available on the internet.
1. PDF Editor for Minor Changes
Sometimes, you only need to make minor changes to a PDF document, like hiding dates, numbers, source file location or just highlight sections of a document.
In such cases, you can make use of PDFescape – This is an online PDF editor that allows you to hide parts of a PDF file using its whiteout tool.
In addition to its whiteout tool, PDFescape also provides the option to add annotations to PDF document using arrows, text boxes and other shapes.
These minor changes or edits to the PDF Documents can be made, even if the document is password protected. If this is what you are looking for, you can find this PDF editing software at this link – PDFEscape
2. Edit PDF Files by Converting to Word
An easy way to edit PDF files is by converting the PDF file to Microsoft Word or Excel document format using any of the following file format conversion tools.
BCL Research – This Free tool available at pdfonline.com does a fairly good job of converting PDF documents to word, including PDF files with tables, charts, and images.
NitroPDF – Converts any PDF document including those with images and tables to Word format. Available at pdftoword.com, NitroPDF gives better results than most available tools but also takes more time.
The interface requires you to upload the PDF file to NitroPDF and provide your email address. The file will be emailed back to you after conversion to word, usually within 12 to 24 hours.
Once the PDF document is converted to Word you can easily make changes to the file and convert the document back to PDF format, using any PDF writer like CutePDF.
You can also use the native feature in Microsoft Office to print the edited document to PDF or save it as a PDF document.
3. Advanced PDF Editing Tools
Sometimes, you may find the need to perform advanced editing tasks like replacing images on a PDF file, without breaking the formatting or flow of the document.
PDFXChange – PDF Xchange viewer and editor lets you insert images in a PDF document, precisely on any page or location that you want to. This is not an online tool, You will need to download the PDF Xchange software to your computer in order to use it.
Inkscape – Is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities that are similar to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw. Inkscape can also be used to open PDF files, one page at a time, and then you can edit and re-arrange elements on your PDF file.
However, you need to be aware that Inkscape is not specifically designed for editing PDF files and is not the most efficient PDF editing tool.