# Free pdf editor



## jmlachance (Nov 6, 2005)

I believe I saw one in a list of best free ox software but didn't download it because it's something I had hardly had use for, but now I do.Since it's a program I might not use for a long time, I'd rather not have to buy it. Anyone have any recommandations


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

jmlachance said:


> I believe I saw one in a list of best free ox software but didn't download it because it's something I had hardly had use for, but now I do.Since it's a program I might not use for a long time, I'd rather not have to buy it. Anyone have any recommandations


OS X Preview.app?


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## jmlachance (Nov 6, 2005)

*Re Preview*



Gerbill said:


> OS X Preview.app?


Are you saying I can edit a pdf file with Preview?


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

jmlachance said:


> Are you saying I can edit a pdf file with Preview?


The whole basic "idea" with PDF is that you create PDF documents in other apps, then save them as PDF. To edit, open the original document and edit, then re-save as PDF.

Some applications will save their documents as PDFs directly. Examples are Preview, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. You can use the Print dialog in other OS X apps to save documents as PDFs.

PDFs are not designed to be edited. Even the full Adobe Acrobat which CAN edit PDFs is mostly good for small touchups. Making a document into a PDF is like making an egg into an omelette - it's hard to turn it back into an egg.

If you really need to do a lot of editing on a PDF, and you don't have the original document, the easiest way is to re-create it in another application, using the original as a guide to how it should look. You can extract the text and graphics from the PDF file in Adobe Reader.


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## jmlachance (Nov 6, 2005)

*PDF editing*

Hmmm...
Looks like I didn't explain it properly when I said I wanted to edit. I just want to be able to fill in a Government of Canada questionnaire right on the screen, without having to print and fill it in by hand then scanning then faxing/emailing. Is that possible?


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

MacWorld listed Formulate as a "Mac Gem" last December (2006).

It's currently still at version 0.0.1  DOWNLOAD ...but I've used it often and it works very well, though a bit quirky. Does the job.

Also check this hint for using MS-Word to fill out PDFs.


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## ernestworthing (Jun 10, 2004)

Yes. Just use the official Adobe Reader. That's what I do.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

jmlachance said:


> Hmmm...
> Looks like I didn't explain it properly when I said I wanted to edit. I just want to be able to fill in a Government of Canada questionnaire right on the screen, without having to print and fill it in by hand then scanning then faxing/emailing. Is that possible?


Depends on how the PDF was constructed in the first place. If it has form fields, you're golden - just use the free Adobe Reader application.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

I used to use Adobe Acrobat Reader, but I had a number of problems with reading newer Acrobat files coupled with the fact that Adobe does not produce Acrobat Reader anymore, forced me to "upgrade" to Adobe Acrobat, which does an acceptable job.

I tried their newer "Adobe Reader", but it is a vastly inferior piece of software that, though it can read PDF's, it can not read Acrobat files, nor do I want embedded movies and other junk in my document files. I've been using Acrobat v.7 since v.8 does not support Panther.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

EvanPitts said:


> I used to use Adobe Acrobat Reader, but I had a number of problems with reading newer Acrobat files coupled with the fact that Adobe does not produce Acrobat Reader anymore, forced me to "upgrade" to Adobe Acrobat, which does an acceptable job.
> 
> I tried their newer "Adobe Reader", but it is a vastly inferior piece of software that, though it can read PDF's, it can not read Acrobat files, nor do I want embedded movies and other junk in my document files. I've been using Acrobat v.7 since v.8 does not support Panther.


Soon, _nothing_ will support Panther. When Leopard is introduced, Panther support will end.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

You should be able to use anything that can display PDFs; Acrobat, PDF Reader, Preview.app, etc.

The key is to understand that the high end applications are for creating PDFs and the free ones are for reading or otherwise interacting with PDFs. So, if _ a properly created pdf file with form fields _ is opened with one of the free readers, you should be able to just enter the data in the fields.

The problems arise when the PDF is created improperly in the first place or when you are not dealing with the original document (ie someone opened it and saved it in a non-editable format). Some people use computer programs without knowing what they are doing.

You, as a user, should be able to use them as intended (ie with editable fields, or not, as the case may be) with your free reader without knowing what you are doing but the person who created the form is supposed to know how to use the expensive, paid, high end application they are running in the first place. Again, this is the whole point of PDF workflow.

There should be no need for any elaborate, or paid, PDF solution to fill out a properly crafted PDF form.

Note that this does not mean you can edit any PDF; the options are quite deliberate and range from edit everything to edit nothing, and everything in between. That's why PDFs can be used in such wide ranging applications like editable forms and also as the legal format for archival electronic documents in Canadian courts (which, of course, must be totally locked in a completely non-editable format).

Now, if you want to edit a PDF that was not intended to be editable in the first place, or one that was saved in a non-editable format (eg by using the Mac's built-in File: Print: Save as PDF) then a 3rd party application, an expensive PDF creation option from Adobe, or other hack might be what is needed.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Gerbill said:


> Soon, _nothing_ will support Panther. When Leopard is introduced, Panther support will end.


And then I shall use the machines until they finally die; then I will need to look for another kind of computer and operating system to do my work on. Until then, Panther does the tasks that I need to do quite adequately, and it is one of the best OSes I have ever used. Well, next to VMS which in so many ways was the best; though I do not have the space to run a VAX.

When Leopard is intorduced, it will singularily be the biggest yawn of my life as the only conceivable feature that I would have any interest in is Spaces; and that is not really a selling point to me.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> And then I shall use the machines until they finally die; then I will need to look for another kind of computer and operating system to do my work on. Until then, Panther does the tasks that I need to do quite adequately, and it is one of the best OSes I have ever used.  Well, next to VMS which in so many ways was the best; though I do not have the space to run a VAX.
> 
> When Leopard is intorduced, it will singularily be the biggest yawn of my life as the only conceivable feature that I would have any interest in is Spaces; and that is not really a selling point to me.


And I thought I was the only one. Actually I still boot into 9.2.2 on occasion and have another computer running OS 7.5. Both are long past being officially supported and both do exactly what I want them to do. I'll ditto the bit about Panther especially if you can stay at 10.3.8 and avoid those zillions of security updates that accompanied the latest version of Quicktime and iTunes.


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