I can't be the only person who imagined the office of the future, free from the confines of the eight and a half by eleven sheet or A4, for my international friends , would have long since arrived.

Instead, we've managed to land in an intermediate state of not paperless, but less paper. Between a trusty scanner, email and various other communication tools, and getting really good at organizing my digital archives, I'm not totally unhappy with where we are today. And I do occasionally admit to reading a paper book, sending a postcard, or gasp printing something off to give to someone else. Until the world moves a little further from paper, print-ready file formats will continue to permeate our digital landscape as well.

And, love it or hate it, PDF, the " portable document format ," seems to be the go-to format for creating and sharing print-ready files, as well as archiving files that originated as print. For years, the only name in the game for working with PDF documents was Adobe Acrobat, whether in the form of their free reader edition or one of their paid editions for PDF creation and editing.

But today, there are numerous open source PDF applications which have chipped away at this market dominance. And for Linux users like me, a proprietary application that only runs on Windows or Mac isn't an option anyway. Since PDF files are used in so many different situations for so many different kinds of purposes, you may need to shop around to find the open source alternative to Adobe Acrobat that meets your exact needs.

Here are some tools I enjoy. For reading PDFs, these days many people get by without having to use an external application at all. Both Firefox and Chromium , the open source version of Google's Chrome browser, come bundled with in-browser PDF readers, so an external plugin is no longer necessary for most users. All of these have the ability to complete PDF forms, view and make comments, search for text, select text, and so on. For a generic, simple, and fast PDF reader, try xpdf.

Scribus , Inkscape , and GIMP all support native PDF export, too, so no matter what kind of document you need to make -- a complex layout, formatted text, vector or raster image, or some combination -- there's an open source application that meets your needs. For practically every other application, the CUPS printing system does an excellent job of outputting documents as PDF, because printers and PDFs both rely on PostScript to represent data on page whether the page is digital or physical.

If you don't need fancy graphical interfaces, you can also generate PDFs through plain text with a few handy terminal commands. Everyone has their favourite, but probably the most popular is Pandoc , which takes nearly any format of document and translates it to nearly any other format. Its ability to translate text formats is staggering, so it's probably all you really need.

Editing is a loaded term. For some people, editing a PDF means changing a few words or a swapping out an old image for a new one, while for others it means altering metadata such as bookmarks, and for still others it means manipulating page order or adjusting print resolution.

That's not always possible, though, and luckily there are some great tools to make all manner of edits possible. LibreOffice Draw does a fantastic job of editing PDF files, giving you full access to the text and images.

There are caveats to this, because of the flexibility of the PDF format. If you haven't installed the fonts used in the PDF, then the flow of text could change due to font substitution,.

If the PDF was created from a scan, then you'll only have images of text and not editable text. Inkscape , too, does a good job with opening documents created elsewhere, and may be a more intuitive choice if your document is heavy on graphics.

If you don't have a font installed, Inkscape through the Poppler renderer can trace characters so that the appearance of text is maintained even without the actual font data.

Of course, that loses the text data you have only the shapes of letters, not the selectable text itself but it's a nice feature when appearance matters most. If your editing tasks are less about the content and more about presentation, you might find the pdftk-java PDF ToolKit command useful.

It can extract and inject bookmark metadata, rearrange and concatenate pages, combine many PDFs into one, break a PDF apart, and much more. If you're not comfortable in a terminal yet, PDFSam has many similar functions, but includes a graphical interface. Finally, you can adjust PostScript properties directly with the GhostScript command, gs.

GhostScript is an open source interpreter for the PostScript, so you can perform very low-level tasks with it, such as swapping one font for another, or adjusting the resolution of images, or dropping images entirely. We know these aren't the only choices in town. Do you work with a lot of PDFs? Have a favorite application to help you along the way? Let us know in the comments below what you use and why it works for you.

Are you interested in reading more articles like this? Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. Privacy Statement. What is an open decision? Resources What is open source? Stay on top of the latest thoughts, strategies and insights from enterprising peers. Image by: Opensource. Aren't we supposed to be living in a paperless world by now? It could be worse. Editing PDFs Editing is a loaded term. Being terminal-based, these are great tools for automated manipulation, too.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in and has been updated. What to read next. Jason Baker. Former Red Hatter.

Now a consultant and aspiring entrepreneur. Map nerd, maker, and enthusiastic installer of open source desktop and self-hosted software. More about me. Seth Kenlon. He has worked in the film and computing industry, often at the same time. He is one of the maintainers of the Slackware-based multimedia production project Slackermedia. Related Content. Tour Collabora Online, an open source alternative to Google Workspace. Edit PDFs on Linux with these open source tools. Location of your Mastodon instance:.

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- Best PDF editors: Our top picks | PCWorld

Get an insight into the detailed information about each of them and make a correct decision based on your needs and requirements. It is an all-in-one solution that allows users to make, read, edit and convert PDF files flawlessly. With this tool, you can easily edit, OCR, merge, create, sign, annotate and split PDF files in just a couple of minutes.

No matter which device you are using, the original fonts, pictures, and layout of the document will look the same everywhere. With unique features, you can customize PDFs painlessly. If you want to have a try, click the below button to get this lightweight but powerful alternative for Adobe Acrobat. Smallpdf is another alternative for Adobe Acrobat that allows you to edit PDFs in just a few simple steps.

Apart from all this, the best thing about Smallpdf is that it offers a cloud-based solution and desktop software to edit PDFs as you want. On top of that, the Liquid Text PDF reader comes equipped with great editing tools that focus on annotations and highlights in various colors. When you need the most comprehensive alternative to Adobe Acrobat, PDFelement is a solution that is a very good competitor. SlimPDF is a reader that works very similarly to the Preview, and yet it comes with integrated tools that allow easy editing without taking up too much space on your Mac or imposing security issues.

The biggest advantage of Power PDF is the ability to use the dictate-to-text feature that allows you to quickly create your PDFs without having to type everything down.

The biggest advantage in comparison to Adobe Acrobat is the integration of Dragon Notes which allows you to easily turn your dictation to text. However, keep in mind that Power PDF is a bit limited in its trial version and yet while the upgrade will unlock the full potential of the tool — it can be a bit pricey for some average users. PDF Lite is a fairly light tool classified as a PDF viewer, but it also has decent editing capabilities as it allows you to sign PDF documents digitally and add annotations or highlight text sections.

If yes, then HelloSign is an ideal Adobe Acrobat alternative. This is a light yet sufficient PDF editor that makes the eSigning process effortless in the mission to reduce the use of paper. Within HelloSign, you can create your own signature, save it, and reuse it on every document, rather than having to sign every document over and over again.

Along with signing, you can also format PDF documents and do slight modifications if ever required. HelloSign is free to use, but I should also tell you about the Pro version which includes pre-built templates, data validation, email alerts, secure storage, and more. Most average PDF users will get away with a lightweight tool or even a web-browser option that provides a decent way to edit and even fill out PDF files straight on the web.

If you happen to use the PDFescape online version and you like it, but you think some features are missing, you can even download PDFescape for your Windows computer. It also comes with a good OCR, conversion tools. Volume licensing for businesses is also available. Unlike many of the best Acrobat alternatives, EaseUS has a free, but limited version available alongside the Pro version.

This works great in a pinch, but it restricted in many ways - not least adding a watermark to your documents. The Pro version opens up the software, however. It also comes with more standard features, such as a converter, and has good OCR capabilities. The program is impressively kitted out for PDF editing, splitting pages into boxes that can be moved and resized. Content can also be changed, such as altering the font, color, and the text itself.

This makes navigating the tool an absolute breeze - not dissimilar to the excellent user experience offered in Adobe Acrobat, with its focus on maximizing productivity.

Bundles are available. PDF Expert is much more fully featured, making it a much better alternative to Acrobat. A wide range of editing tools include the ability to highlight parts of the PDF and add notes, redact sensitive information, extract or rearrange pages, and merge documents. Being able to draw directly onto the PDF is also useful for those who are using the software on iPad and have an Apple Pencil.

The sleek interface and a well-organized toolbar make it simple and intuitive for new users to accomplish everyday PDF editing tasks. Pricing is via an annual subscription or a perpetual license - however, only the yearly fee offers use across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The free plan includes basic PDF creation for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint docs, and the ability to merge, move, and delete pages and files.

These open up necessary editing, converting, collaboration tools, and more. However, there are limitations, even beyond the free version.

Read our full pdfforge PDF Architect review. For those with a need to edit PDFs online and on a budget, Sejda opens in new tab offers a tool that might just be the best free Acrobat alternative online. But watch out for restrictions in the free version. You can only perform three tasks per day, you can only work on one document at a time, and file sizes cannot exceed pages or 50MB. All files uploaded to the server are automatically deleted after two hours.

Ideal, then, for businesses with a focus on data protection and compliance. Then, save the updated file as a PDF, and you can encrypt the file, add a password, or your watermark to prevent anyone from stealing your work. I like that not only can I add interactive features like links and forms, but I can also upload attachments to the file. One of the reasons I prefer WPS Office is because it has a tabbed interface that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tools.

This way, I can make the changes I want on one platform without having to go back and forth to create the file I want. It makes it easy to share files with anyone, collaborate in real-time, and keep your file organized. You can save documents from the desktop application to your cloud storage and download files from DOCS and store them on your hard drive. It was a big help when I digitized some paper documents. You can get unlimited access to all the premium features with a free 7-day trial , which you can get without entering your credit card information.

This should give you enough time to edit if you need to work on a specific file or a short-term project. There are several different ways to create a PDF:. You can use the same word processor interface for editing a document.

The software recognizes text and gives you the freedom to make changes, leave comments, highlights, and more. You can also add, remove, and resize images to get the final layout and style you desire. I was able to take files from multiple formats and create a single file. Then, I used the Soda PDF compression tool to make the file smaller without sacrificing any of the image quality. It also has a PDF split tool, so I can separate large files and only keep the pages or sections that I need.

There are several security features to prevent unauthorized users or hackers from accessing your files. I found this helpful when sharing a file with different team members. I gave some full editing access, while others could only leave comments or highlight text. I was impressed with the OCR feature. It found small text within a logo and converted it to editable text. I was able to change the font, size, and colors until I was happy with the final results.

The one downside of Soda PDF is the really free version is extremely limited. However, you can access all these premium features and more with a 7-day free trial. The trial starts when you download and activate the account, with no credit card required.

The editor has a similar interface to Word and gives you control over editing or creating new PDF documents. The editor can convert the document into an editable document. I had the flexibility to add or change text, pictures, and combine multiple documents. There are also arrows, colorful highlights, and underlines that can be added to the document.

Best Adobe Acrobat Alternatives | TechRadar

However, most of the users are often discouraged http://replace.me/664.txt its high prices. So, if you are the one who is in need of standarc PDF editor but finding Adobe Acrobat an expensive option, then we have got you covered with a handful of free Adobe Acrobat alternatives that will deliver you the same excellence whenever you will get your hands onto them!

This guide will walk you through the eight best PDF editing software! Get an insight into the detailed information about each of them and make a correct decision based on alternatige needs and requirements. It is an all-in-one solution that allows users to make, read, edit and convert PDF files flawlessly. With this tool, you can easily edit, OCR, merge, create, sign, annotate and split PDF files in just a couple of minutes. No matter which device you are using, the original fonts, pictures, and layout of the document will look the same everywhere.

With unique features, you can customize PDFs painlessly. If you want to have a try, click the below button to get this lightweight but powerful alternative for Adobe Acrobat.

Smallpdf is another alternative for Adobe Acrobat that allows you to edit PDFs in just a few simple steps. Apart from all this, the adlbe thing about Smallpdf is that it offers a cloud-based solution and desktop software to edit PDFs as you want. Talking about the interface, it is pretty complex than that of the other PDF editors in adobe acrobat standard dc alternative free list.

The main thing that has made PDF X-Change Editor one of the top 8 free Adobe alternatives is that it comes with Optical Character Recognition feature, which means that if your original PDF file is a photocopy, then this tool will still be able to recognize the text included in it and will allow you to adobe acrobat standard dc alternative free it.

In addition to this, you can even reformat text and convert it into fonts that are not already loaded on your computer. If we talk about the desktop application, it is influential because it supports editing to the pre-existing PDF content. Moreover, it allows the users to scan paper documents. But one crucial thing to note here is that only the online version of this tool is free to use. Adobe acrobat standard dc alternative free PDFescape, you will get a handful of PDF editing options like the ability to make freehand notes, tools to add clickable URL links to your document, and much more.

Another option is Sejda. It is an entirely full-feature-fledged PDF editing tool acrovat can give tough competition to Adobe Acrobat. PDFSam Basic is a lightweight and aodbe desktop application worth keeping downloaded for all situations requiring quick PDF editing. Yes, you acrobqt it correctly! You don't need to install or download PDF on your PC because it is also a cloud-based platform that can be used just by visiting its official website.

In addition to a PDF Editor, it is also a word processor that helps you edit the files easily and adobe acrobat standard dc alternative free as you would do with a word document. This PDF Editing tool supports reformating images, adding and editing headers and footers, and performs several other essential functions.

Each of adobe acrobat standard dc alternative free tools mentioned above has its relative pros and cons, and this post will help you choose the one that perfectly fits all your needs. Melissa is a sophisticated editor http://replace.me/21688.txt EaseUS in tech blog writing.

She is proficient in writing articles related to screen recording, video editing, and PDF file converting. Screen Recorder. Transfer Products. File Management. More Products. Protect the PDF with password encryption If you want to have a try, click the below button to get this lightweight but powerful alternative for Adobe Acrobat. Read full bio. You May Be Also Interested in.