How to edit PDF?

Question

How do I edit a PDF file?

Answer

Tip: PDF files are for viewing not editing, if you have the original file use it instead of following any of the below suggestions.

We recommend PDF files be converted to a DOC, ODG, RTF or other file format before editing them. After the file is edited, it can be saved as an updated PDF file. Below are the steps for converting a file using a software program and online.

Free tools to edit PDF files

We highly recommend the Oracle PDF Import Extension for OpenOffice Draw and PDFill as free tools for editing PDF Files. We found PDF Import Extension to be the most useful free program because of its ability to convert almost any PDF, convert images in the PDF into vector images, edit PDF objects, and because it is available for all major platforms (including Mac). PDFill can come in handy when you want to work with form fields, decrypt a PDF, and perform other features not available in the PDF Import Extension.

To edit a PDF file using the PDF Import Extension follow the below steps.

1. If you don't already have OpenOffice installed on your computer. Download and install OpenOffice. This is a complete suite of Office products including OpenOffice Draw.
2. After installing OpenOffice run the PDF Import Extension.
3. Next, Open OpenOffice Draw.
4. Once open, browse to the PDF file you want to edit and open the file.
5. After the PDF file has been open, edit any text field by double-click the text. If you wish to add new text, click the Text link at the bottom of the Window, and then click the cursor on where you want to add text.
6. Finally, after you have finished editing the file click the PDF link to export the file as a PDF.

Although this is a fantastic free solution for editing a PDF, the PDF Import Extension does have some limitations. It does not currently support PDF forms, table conversions, and decrypting protected files. If you are running Microsoft Windows, many of these limitations can be avoided by also using PDFill.

Below are the steps to edit and otherwise manipulate a PDF file using PDFill.

1. Download and install PDFill.
2. Open the PDFill PDF Editor if you wish to edit a PDF file or the PDFill PDF Tools if you want to encrypt, decrypt, merge, add headers, add PDF, or perform other quick tasks to a PDF file.
3. If you are editing a file, after PDFill PDF Editor is open click File, select Open New PDF Project, and browse to the PDF file you wish to edit.