Understanding PDF editing options

Many applications are now available to provide the ability to edit PDF documents. However, not all of them are as cost effective and efficient as they should be. The main provider of the PDF format is Adobe, a widely recognised name and provider of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader that is installed on the majority of Windows machines throughout the world. Adobe Reader does exactly what it’s name suggests, it allows the user to read PDF documents. Unless this piece of software is installed, any document with a PDF file format will be unable to be opened and read. The good news is that the software required is available on the internet and for free from the official Adobe website. The download takes approximately five minutes dependent on internet connection speed.

So far with the Adobe Reader software installed for free the end user can view any PDF file required, but what if they need to edit PDF documents? What software is available and what is the cost?

The ability to edit PDF documents is something that an end user will probably need once in a while. The occasional email will be received with a PDF attachment, the request to make changes to the document and send it back is normally easily met when the document attached is a Word or Excel file, but what can be done when it is a PDF file? Initially the document can be viewed in Adobe Reader, but no changes can be made using this application. To edit PDF files additional software is required, and commonly, it is not free.

When spending company money it is important that the relevant software is purchased. Adobe’s latest product is Acrobat 9 Pro, this software provides the user with the facility to create, amend and mass produce PDF documents from invoices to presentations. Unfortunately, this software is quite costly and may prove a little too complicated for the average user that generally just needs to change the odd spelling on a PDF document.

For reliable, cost effective solutions to provide the user with the facility to edit PDF documents easily and quickly, alternative software can be purchased. There are a number of different products available, all ranging in price and all providing similar results, namely, the ability to edit PDF documents. There are some key differences however, that should be considered before purchasing the PDF editor required. The main variable between PDF editors available is usability. The ability to spell check, word search, edit text, change fonts, export from and import to a PDF document, all within a simulated word processor environment is often desired. Unfortunately, the applications that seem most attractive due to price are often the least user friendly and do not provide this feature. Carefully look at what the application does to allow the user to edit PDF documents before purchasing. A number of the cheaper or free editors convert the PDF to another editable file format before printing back to PDF. To edit PDF documents efficiently, a more powerful piece of software is worth spending the extra money on, in order to allow a user to edit PDF documents without an unnecessary conversion process.