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Would Like To Know Best Program To Use To Edit PDF Documents?

I am trying to edit a Pdf file on my Mac. Wanted to know what was the best program to use to edit documents, for erasing and putting in different numbers?
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Adriano

Comments: 7 Responses to “Would Like To Know Best Program To Use To Edit PDF Documents?”

    3 years ago

    The best app to use for that is the app used to create the original document.

    PDFs are FINISHED documents. You don't create a PDF. You create Pages document, or Word, or InDesign, or Illustrator, etc. Then when you are done with that document you export it as a PDF in the same way you would print it to paper.

    So what did you use to create the document in the first place? Use that app to edit the actual document and export it again.

    If you didn't create the document, who did? Go to them, I assume someone you are associated with, and get the original document and use the equivalent app to edit it and export a new version.

    Or, if you are creating a new document, then pick an app that fits your needs. If you need word processing or a basic page layout format (newsletter, etc) then Pages or Word. If you need something more artistic, then Illustrator, InDesign or something like that. But even spreadsheet apps like Numbers and Excel would be used in some cases. Use whatever is best for creating the types of documents you want to create. Then export as a PDF from that.

    Andy Hall
    3 years ago

    Gary, I read the question as asking what application is best for annotating pdf documents. Like Preview or Adobe Acrobat to fill in text, sign, or markup pdf documents. Maybe I misunderstood.

    Judith Joubert
    3 years ago

    I use WondersharePDFelement to edit pdf docs on my Mac. It has been great for editing (deleting plus adding text and images), creating fillable pdf forms, reducing pdf file sizes and marking up pdf docs. I also use PDFelement to convert pdfs to Word and text docs.

    What I love most is the OCR function. I have been able to convert text in books, etc. to Word and other formats and edit them. It is a great tool if you do a lot of writing and researching.

    Bob Earp
    3 years ago

    If you cannot (or do not) want to edit the original doc in its native format, as Gary suggests, there is no doubt that Acrobat Pro is the very best editor. There are things like adding headers and footers with page numbering etc. that are not in any other ".pdf editor". However don't forget to use Preview too. It's Quartz Filters (via File Export... ) are a saviour when you have something like a Keynote handout file and want to convert some graphics to gray tone.

    Lawrence Moore
    3 years ago

    Your organization's president (clueless) sends you a PDF membership file of 500 or more names to update from address-correction mail-back cards. You don't know who keyed in the original list, but it's searchable. What's the best way to get the file data into Numbers or Excel for updating the list? What if the list PDF was generated with a word processor? a spreadsheet? a contacts app? What if the list is an unsearchable PDF image?

    3 years ago

    Lawrence: If the PDF is searchable, then I assume you can also select all and copy? If so, I'd copy the text and paste it into TextEdit (plain text document) or another text editor. That of course can be done with word processing documents too. Then I'd clean it up so that each name is on a line, with consistent comma (or tab) separated fields that match. Then import that into Numbers. It probably doesn't have to be perfect as you'd then continue clean-up in Numbers. It will just take time and effort. Not magic solution -- just roll up your sleeves and work at it.
    If the text can't be copied, probably because it is an image, not really text, then you can try to use an OCR app to convert it to text. Google Docs online will do it too. But that will lead to a very imperfect document that then needs to be checked carefully for errors as you do the same clean-up and get it in share to import. OCR isn't good for names where spelling can vary.
    Alternatively, you can just pay someone else to do this. A fast typist can make easy work of a list of 500 lines even if they were on paper or dictated. Go to a site like Upwork or something and pay someone to convert the list to a CSV while you spend more time doing other things.

    Emory
    3 years ago

    If Adriano just wants to erase then change some numbers, Preview is up to the task... and it's free!

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