The term 'open source' refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs. PDFSaM or PDF Split and Merge software is a free and open source cross-platform set of tools for manipulating PDF documents. PDFSaM basically provides a command-line and graphical user interfaces to the iText library. The command-line interface is written in Java and dual-licensed under the GPLv2 and LGPLv2. PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use it like a printer in Word, Excel, or any other Windows application. A PDF takes less storage space, and is easier to send with email. Make PDF creator part of your the software suite you have installed on your computer for easy PDF creation. Open Source PDF Editors For Windows 1. The Traditional Way – Using Microsoft Word. If your requirements are simple and the pdf file you want to edit doesn’t contain so much styling, you can use the Microsoft Word to edit your document. The software has inbuilt option to convert any pdf file into Word and vice-versa. What is Open Source Software (OSS)? Open source software is computer software that has a source code available to the general public for use as is or with modifications. This software typically does not require a license fee.
PRODUCT DISCLOSURE $
It's not easy to find a truly free PDF editor that lets you not only edit and add text but also change images, add your own graphics, sign your name, fill out forms, etc. Below, however, is a list of exactly what you're looking for.
Some of these are online PDF editors that work right in your web browser, so all you have to do is upload your PDF file to the website, make the changes you want, and then save it back to your computer. That's the quick way—but do bear in mind that, typically, an online editor isn't as fully featured as its desktop counterpart, plus the file is exposed to the internet (which might be of concern if it contains sensitive content).
Because not all of these free PDF editors support the same features, and some are restricted in what you can do, remember that you can process the same PDF in more than one tool. For example, use one to edit the PDF text (if that's supported), and then put the same PDF through a different editor to do something supported in that program (for example, to edit a form, update an image, or remove a page).
If you don't need to change the contents of the PDF but instead just need to change it to another file format (such as .docx for Microsoft Word or .epub for an eBook), see our list of free document converters for help. On the other hand, if you have a file you created yourself that you want to save as a PDF file, learn How to Print to PDF.
Microsoft Word: A Top Choice
If you already own Microsoft Word 2019, 2016, or 2013, then skip all the suggested programs below: you have a great PDF editor at your disposal right now. Just open the PDF as you would any Word document, give the program a few minutes to convert the PDF, and then edit away.
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Sejda PDF Editor
What We Like
- Lets you load PDFs from other websites
- Supports adding hyperlinks
- Includes a signature tool
- Lets you insert blank pages into the PDF
- Can remove pages from the PDF
- Supports whiting out parts of the page
- Can insert images and shapes into the PDF
What We Don't Like
- Can be used on only three PDFs every hour
- Limited to PDFs with fewer than 200 pages
- Doesn't edit PDFs larger than 50 MB
Sejda PDF Editor is one of the very few PDF editors that actually lets you edit pre-existing text in the PDF without adding a watermark. Most editors only let you edit the text you add yourself, or they support text editing but then throw watermarks all over the place.
Plus, this tool can run entirely in your web browser, so it's easy to get going without having to download any programs. You can get the desktop version if you'd rather use it that way.
There are some differences between the online and desktop versions that you should know about. For example, the desktop edition supports more font types and doesn't let you add PDFs by URL or from online storage services as the online editor does (which supports Dropbox and Google Drive).
Another neat feature is the web integration tool that lets PDF publishers provide a link for their users that they can simply click to automatically open the file in this online PDF editor.
All uploaded files are automatically deleted from Sejda after two hours.
This online PDF editor works no matter which operating system you use. Sejda PDF Desktop runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
You can use both the online and desktop versions to convert a PDF to a Word doc or a Word doc to PDF. Open the Tools section in either program to find that option.
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Inkscape
What We Like
- Can edit PDF text
- Supports manipulating graphics
- Includes lots of image-editing tools
What We Don't Like
- The number of graphics-editing tools can be overwhelming
Inkscape is an extremely popular free image viewer and editor, but it also includes PDF editing functions that most dedicated PDF editors support only in their paid editions.
Inkscape is a very capable image editing program. If you're not already familiar with programs like GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, and other image editors, however, it's probably a bit advanced for you.
In the context of PDF editing, though, you should consider Inkscape only if you want to delete or edit the images or text in the PDF. We suggest you use a different tool in this list to edit PDF forms or add shapes and then plug that PDF into Inkscape if you need to actually edit the preexisting text.
Download Inkscape
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PDFescape Online PDF Editor
What We Like
- Works online through your web browser
- Includes lots of tools
- Lets you add your own text and images
- Can delete and add PDF pages
What We Don't Like
- Can't edit existing text
- Doesn't edit large PDFs
PDFescape has quite a lot of features. It's free as long as the PDF doesn't exceed 100 pages or 10 MB.
You can't truly change text or edit images using this editor, but you can add your own text, images, links, form fields, etc.
The text tool is very customizable so that you can pick your own size, font type, color, alignment, and apply effects such as bolding, underlining, and italics.
You also can draw on the PDF, add sticky notes, strikethrough text, put white space over anything you want to disappear, and insert lines, checkmarks, arrows, ovals, circles, rectangles, and comments.
PDFescape lets you delete individual pages from the PDF, rotate pages, crop out parts of a page, reorganize the order of the pages, and add more pages from other PDFs.
You can upload your own PDF file, paste the URL to an online PDF, and make your own PDF from scratch.
When finished editing, you can download the PDF to your computer without ever having to make a user account. You need one only if you want to save your progress online without downloading the PDF.
The online version of PDFescape works in all operating systems. There's also an offline PDF editor called PDFescape Desktop, but it isn't free and runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows.
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PDF-XChange Editor
What We Like
- Uses OCR to identify the text in the PDF
- Can import a variety of shapes and images
- Supports adding QR codes to the PDF Grand theft auto vice city free download.
- Offers a portable version
What We Don't Like
- Many features require a license
- Works with Windows only
PDF-XChange Editor offers some great tools, but not all of them are free to use. If you use a non-free feature, the PDF will save with a watermark on every page.
If you stick to just the free features, however, you can still do some editing to the file and save it back to your computer.
You can load PDFs from your computer, a URL, SharePoint, Google Drive, and Dropbox. You can save the edited PDF back to your computer or to any of those cloud storage services.
The PDF-XChange Editor program has lots of features, so it might seem overwhelming at first. All of the options and tools are simple to understand, however, and they're categorized into their own sections for easier management.
One nice feature is the ability to highlight all the form fields so that you can easily spot where you need to fill in. This is really helpful if you're editing a PDF with lots of forms, such as an application.
Although the free version puts watermarks on your edited documents, this program does let you edit existing text, add your own text to the PDF, and add or delete pages from the document.
You can download this program in portable mode to use on a flash drive or as a regular installer.
Many of the features are free, but some are not. If you use a feature that's not covered by the free version (you're told which features are not free when you use them), the saved PDF file will have a watermark attached to the corner of every page.
Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 users can install PDF-XChange Editor.
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Smallpdf Online PDF Editor
What We Like
- Is completely free
- Lets you add more text to the PDF
- Can put white space over areas you want to erase
- Supports importing shapes
- Can load and save PDFs from various sources
What We Don't Like
- Doesn't let you edit existing text
- Only two PDFs can be edited every hour
One of the quickest ways to add images, text, shapes, or your signature to a PDF is with Smallpdf.
This website allows you to upload a PDF, make changes to it, and then save it back to your computer all without needing to make a user account or pay for any anti-watermarking features.
You can open and/or save your PDF to your Dropbox or Google Drive account, too, in addition to your computer.
You can import three shapes into a PDF with Smallpdf: a square, circle, or arrow. You can change the object's main color and line color, as well as the thickness of its edge.
Text size can be tiny, small, normal, large, or huge, but only three font types are available. You can change the color of any text you add.
When finished editing the PDF, just hit the FINISH button and then decide where you want it saved; you can even generate a share link. You can also run the edited PDF through Smallpdf's PDF splitter tool if you want to extract the pages from the document.
If you edit two PDFs within an hour, you have to upgrade to Smallpdf Pro if you want to keep using the website. Or, you can wait an hour to edit another.
Smallpdf works with all operating systems that support a modern web browser.
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FormSwift's Free PDF Editor
What We Like
- Everything is free
- Doesn't leave a watermark
- Can erase or redact existing text and images with white or black space
- Lets you insert your own images
- Can add your own custom text to the PDF
- Circles, checkmarks, and 'x' icons can be placed over any text
- Supports highlighting anything on the page
- Easy typing, drawing, and signing
What We Don't Like
- Cannot edit existing text
- No easy-to-access undo button (but you can delete what you've done)
- Can upload PDFs only from your computer (not from other places such as Google Drive or Dropbox)
- Must make a user account to save the PDF
FormSwift's Free PDF Editor is a very simple online PDF editor that you can start using without even making a user account.
It's as simple as uploading your PDF file to the website and using the menus at the top of the page to quickly perform some basic PDF editing functions before downloading it back to your computer.
When you're done editing the PDF, you can download the file as a PDF file, print it directly to your printer, or save the PDF as a Microsoft Word .docx document.
The .pdf-to-.docx conversion didn't work for every PDF that we tried, but in those that did convert successfully, the images were formatted nicely and the text was fully editable.
Another feature offered by FormSwift at formswift.com/snap lets you quickly edit or sign PDFs from your phone by taking a picture of a document. You can then share or download the PDF when you're done. It's not perfect: Most things done through a web app are spotty. It does work, however, with a little patience.
You can upload Word documents and images to FormSwift, too, if you need to edit those instead of a PDF.
All operating systems can use this PDF editor since it works online.
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PDFelement Pro
What We Like
- Lets you edit the PDF's text directly
- Supports adding images, links, and custom watermarks
- The background of the PDF pages can be edited
- Headers and footers can be included in the PDF
- Supports combining several PDFs into one
- PDF pages can be cropped
- Supports OCR
- Can insert, extract, delete, and rotate PDF pages
- Editing embedded forms is easy
- Can password-protect the PDF
What We Don't Like
- Free version places a watermark on the PDF
PDFelement Pro, just as the name sounds, is free but with a major limitation: It places a watermark on every page of the PDF. That being said, the watermark doesn't cover much of the page, and it's important to realize that it supports some truly great PDF editing features.
This program would be a truly free PDF editor if it weren't for the fact that the free edition will not save without first putting a watermark on every single page of the PDF.
Depending on what you'll use the PDF for, however, the features it supports might be enough for you to consider living with the watermarks.
Download For:
iOS
Windows
This is a list of links to articles on software used to manage Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. The distinction between the various functions is not entirely clear-cut; for example, some viewers allow adding of annotations, signatures, etc. Some software allows redaction, removing content irreversibly for security. Extracting embedded text is a common feature, but other applications perform optical character recognition (OCR) to convert imaged text to machine-readable form, sometimes by using an external OCR module.
- 2Multi-platform
- 3AmigaOS
- 5macOS
- 6Microsoft Windows
- 8Web-based
Terminology[edit]
- Converters: These allow users to convert PDF files to other formats.
- Creators: Software to convert other formats to PDF.
- Editors: These allow users to modify an existing PDF file.
Multi-platform[edit]
Name | License | Platforms | Converts PDF to other format | Edits existing PDF | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Linux | Mac | Windows | Other | |||||
GIMP | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Converts PDF to raster images | ||
ImageMagick | Apache | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Converts PDF to raster images and vice versa | ||
LibreOffice | GNU LGPLv3 / MPLv2.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Import from PDF (extension included by default), export as PDF including PDF/A. | ||
OpenOffice.org | GNU LGPLv3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Import from PDF (with restrictions) (after installing an extension), export as PDF including PDF/A. | ||
PDFBox | Apache License | Yes | Yes | Unix | Yes | Converts PDF to other file format (text, images, html, ..) | ||
Poppler-utils | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Unix | Yes | Converts PDF to other file format (text, images, html, ..) | ||
pstoedit | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Unix | Yes | Converts PostScript to (other) vector graphics file format | ||
QPDF | Apache License 2.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Structural, content-preserving transformations from PDF to PDF | |||
pdf-parser | Public Domain | Python script | Yes | Extraction and analysis tool, handles corrupt and malicious PDF documents | ||||
Solid Converter PDF | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Yes | PDF to Word, Excel, HTML and Text; supports passwords, text editing, and batch conversion | |||
SWFTools | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SWF conversion and manipulation suite containing a standalone PDF to SWF converter along with a Python gfx API ( requires Xpdf ) | ||
Smallpdf Desktop | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supports merging, splitting, and extracting pages from PDFs. Also rotating, deleting and reordering pages. Converts PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, raster images. | ||
Nitro PDF | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Yes | Converts PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, raster images . Rich UI, allows combining PDFs, converting to other formats, editing (add images, shapes, text, etc.) | |||
Mobipocket Creator | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Import from PDF and create HTML and MOBI output | ||||
Inkscape | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Import-/Export- from PDF to (Vector-)graphics. Export documents only one page at a time (pages can be later combined using PDF printer) | ||
Scribus | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unix, GNU/Hurd, Haiku, OS/2 | Yes | Yes | Export PDF and many other formats, multi-pages and multi-layers. Supports JS forms |
LibreOffice Draw | GNU LGPLv3 / MPLv2.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | PDF viewing and editing. Has many of the features offered by Acrobat. | |
OpenOffice Draw | GNU LGPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | PDF import via OpenOffice.org software, or extensions | ||
PDFedit | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | BSD | Yes | Software to view or edit the internal structures of PDF documents, and merge them | ||
Pdftk | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | FreeBSD, Solaris | Yes | Command-line tools to edit and convert documents; supports filling of PDF forms with FDF/XFDF data. GUI front-end exists | |
PDF Studio | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full feature PDF editor | ||
Karbon | GNU GPL/LGPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | BSD, Solaris/Illumos | Yes | Import PDF with multiple pages as layouts, export as a one-page PDF. All standard vector graphics editor features. | |
Serif PagePlus | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Desktop publishing (DTP) application allows opening and editing of PDF documents; Allows compatible saving as PDF 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.7 and supports also PDF/X1, PDF/X1a and PDF/X-3 | ||||
Soda PDF | Proprietary | Yes | Mac OS X | Yes | Modular PDF software |
Development libraries[edit]
These are used by software developers to add and create PDF features.
Name | License | Description |
---|---|---|
Adobe PDF Library | Proprietary | C++, .NET, Java API with support for PDF editing, viewing, printing and text extractions |
Apache PDFBox | Apache License | Java developer library for creating, view, extract, print PDF files. |
Formatting Objects Processor | Apache License | Open-source print formatter driven by XSL Formatting Objects and an output independent formatter; main output target is PDF |
iText | Proprietary/AGPL | Library to create and manipulate PDF, RTF, HTML files in Java, C#, and other .NET languages |
JasperReports | GNU LGPL | Open-source Java reporting tool that can write to screen, printer, or into PDF, HTML, Microsoft Excel, RTF, ODT, comma-separated values and XML files |
JPedal | Proprietary/GNU LGPL | Java developer library for viewing, extracting, and printing PDF files. |
LEADTOOLS | Proprietary | .NET, C/C++, Java, and HTML5 developer library for reading, writing, viewing, annotating, and extracting text from PDF files. |
libHaru | ZLIB/LIBPNG | Open-source, cross-platform C library to generate PDF files |
OpenPDF | GNU LGPLv3 / MPLv2.0 | Open source library to create and manipulate PDF files in Java. Fork of an older version of iText, but with the original LGPL / MPL license. |
PDFsharp | MIT License | C# developer library to create, extract, edit PDF files. |
PDFTron Systems | Proprietary | C, C++, C# .NET, JAVA, Objective-C, Python, Ruby and PHP library for creating, editing, annotating, optimizing and viewing PDF files. |
podofo | GNU LGPL | Open-source C++ library to read and write the PDF files |
Poppler | GNU GPL | Open-source multi-backend C++ library derived from Xpdf; no bundled viewer; incl. pdftohtml converter |
TCPDF | GNU LGPL | Open-source PHP library to create PDF files |
Creators[edit]
These create files in their native formats, but then allow users to export them to PDF formats.
Name | License | Platforms | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Adobe Acrobat | Proprietary | Windows, MacOS X | Desktop PDF authoring suite |
Adobe Illustrator | Proprietary | Windows, MacOS X | Illustrator can save as PDF, and can recognize and edit text and graphics |
FineReader | Proprietary | ? | OCR tool; can save as PDF, and recognize text from PDF |
Ghostscript | Proprietary/AGPL | Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, UNIX | Viewer, creator, converter; supports also PDF/X-3; used by PdfCreator (until v1.7.3 then .NET Framework 4 since v2.0.0), WinPdf, BullzipPdf, CutePDF freeware version and others |
Microsoft Office | Proprietary | Windows, Mac OS X | All Microsoft Office products from 2007 version allow users to Save as PDF |
OpenOffice.org | GNU LGPL | Linux, Windows, Mac | All OpenOffice.org applications allow PDF export; supports also PDF/A-1a; since many import formats are supported (e.g., doc, docx, rtf, xls, ppt) conversion is also possible |
LibreOffice | GNU LGPLv3 / MPLv2.0 | Linux, Windows, Mac | All LibreOffice applications allow PDF export; supports also PDF/A-1a; since many import formats are supported (e.g., doc, docx, rtf, xls, ppt) conversion is also possible |
Serif PagePlus | Proprietary | Windows | Desktop publishing (DTP) application; Allows compatible saving as PDF 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.7 and supports also PDF/X1, PDF/X1a and PDF/X-3 |
PageStream | Proprietary | ? | Cross-platform desktop publishing application to open, edit, export |
Prince | Proprietary | Linux, Mac, Windows, Solaris, | Converts HTML, XML, SVG, and MathML to PDF by way of CSS |
Scribus | GNU GPL | Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4/eComStation and Windows desktops | Cross-platform desktop publishing (DTP) application; supports also PDF/X-3 |
LaTeX, TeX | LaTeX Project Public License, Permissive | ? | Mark-up language and tools to write technical reports, books, magazines, almost any publication type |
LuaTeX | GNU GPL | ? | TeX typesetting system that creates PDF documents |
pdfTeX | GNU GPL | ? | TeX typesetting system that creates PDF documents |
XeTeX | MIT | ? | TeX typesetting system that creates PDF documents |
Viewers[edit]
These allow users to view (not edit or modify) any existing PDF file.
Name | License | Description |
---|---|---|
Adobe Reader | Proprietary, freeware | Adobe's PDF reader |
DigiSigner | Proprietary, freeware | PDF viewer with added function to digitally sign PDF documents |
Evince | GNU GPL | Universal viewer for GNOME. |
Mozilla Firefox | MPL 2.0 | JavaScript-based built-in viewer, based on PDF.js. |
Foxit Reader | Proprietary, adware | PDF Viewer / Reader for Desktop computer and Mobile Devices. Allows users to add many elements to PDFs (e.g. arrowed comment boxes, text boxes, links, bookmarks, and images). |
Ghostview | Aladdin Free Public License | A graphical interface for Ghostscript |
Google Chrome | Proprietary, freeware | Browser includes PDF viewer functionality. |
MuPDF | Proprietary/AGPL | PDF conversion and rendering with anti-aliased graphics. |
PDF.js | Apache License 2.0 | A JavaScript library to convert PDF files into HTML5, usable as a web-based viewer that can be included in web browsers. |
Qiqqa | Proprietary, freeware | View PDFs in a variety of zoom layouts, annotate, tag, search, cross-reference. |
Utopia Documents | GNU GPL v3 | Semantic scientific PDF reader (optimised for life sciences and medicine), allows public comments on PDFs, generates on-the-fly link-outs to scientific databases and resources when used while online |
Xpdf | GNU GPL/Proprietary | Multi-platform viewer; source and binaries available for Linux, Windows and Macintosh |
AmigaOS[edit]
Converters[edit]
- Antiword: A free Microsoft Office Word reader for various operating systems; converts binary files from Word 2, 6, 7, 97, 2000, 2002 and 2003 to plain text or PostScript; available for AmigaOS 4, MorphOS, AROS x86
- dvipdfm: a DVI to PDF translator with zlib support
Viewers[edit]
Free Open Source Pdf Software
- Xpdf: a multi-platform viewer for PDF files, Amiga version uses X11 engine Cygnix.
Linux and Unix[edit]
Name | License | Functions | Description | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
View | Annotate | Edit | Create | Convert | Library | |||
Okular | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | KDE desktop environment; replaces KPDF. Supports a range of annotation types. Annotations are stored separately from the unmodified PDF file, or (since version 0.15 with Poppler 0.20) can be saved in the document as standard PDF annotations. | ||||
Evince | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Default PDF and file viewer for GNOME; replaces GPdf. Supports addition and removal (since v3.14), of basic text note annotations. | ||||
CUPS | Free | No | No | No | Yes | Printing system can render any document to a PDF file, thus any Linux program with print capability can produce PDF files | ||
Pdftk | GPLv2 | No | Yes | Yes | Command-line tools to merge, split, en-/decrypt, watermark/stamp and manipulate PDF document files. Front end to an older version of the iText library. | |||
poppler | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Utility library for rendering Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. poppler-utils includes command-line tools to extract images from a PDF (pdfimages) and convert a PDF to other formats (pdftohtml, pdftotext, pdftoppm). | ||||
ps2pdf | GNU AGPL | Yes | Part of Ghostscript; converts a PostScript file to a PDF. | |||||
SWFTools | GNU GPL | Yes | pdf2swf component converts PDF to SWF. | |||||
Scribus | GNU GPL | Yes | Open source program for page layout. | |||||
Xpdf | GNU GPL | Yes | Yes | Open source multi-backend library for viewing and manipulating PDF files. Bundled with a viewer with the same name for the X Window System. | ||||
PDF Studio | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | Software for viewing and editing PDF documents | ||||
Inkscape | GNU GPL | Yes | Technically not a PDF editor, but can be used as such page by page | |||||
Adobe Reader | Proprietary freeware | Yes | Extant versions are obsolete, Adobe has stopped support for Linux. | |||||
Firefox | MPL | Yes | Includes a PDF viewer | |||||
Google Chrome | Proprietary freeware | Yes | Includes a PDF viewer | |||||
MuPDF | GNU AGPL | Yes | Yes | Lightweight document viewer. | ||||
Zathura | Free | Yes | Lightweight document viewer with vim-like keybindings. |
macOS[edit]
Converters[edit]
- deskUNPDF for Mac: proprietary application from Docudesk to convert PDF files to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, image, and data file formats
Editors[edit]
- Adobe Acrobat: Proprietary PDF authoring suite
- PDF Expert: Proprietary PDF viewer and editor.
- PDF Studio: Proprietary software to view and edit PDF documents.
- PDF Signer: Proprietary; fills forms and embeds image signatures in PDF documents
Creators[edit]
- macOS: Creates PDF documents natively via print dialog
Viewers[edit]
- Safari: This bundled web browser has built-in support for reading PDF documents.
- Firefox: Includes a PDF viewer
- Google Chrome: Includes a PDF viewer
- Preview: macOS's default PDF viewer (in Mac OS X v10.5 and later, it also can rotate, reorder, annotate, insert, and delete pages. It can also merge files, create new files from existing files, and move pages between files.)
- Adobe Reader: Adobe Systems's reader which is also available for Macintosh; Safari plug-in available
- Skim, an open source (BSD licence) PDF reader and note-taker for Mac OS X
- Foxit Reader: Proprietary, freeware. Allows users to add elements to PDFs (e.g. arrowed comment boxes, text boxes, links, bookmarks, and images)
Microsoft Windows[edit]
Converters[edit]
- Adobe Acrobat: Can convert files into PDF or convert PDF files into other formats
- ABBYY FineReader: Commercial PDF converter which converts PDF into Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), PowerPoint (ppt), and more
- deskUNPDF: PDF converter to convert PDFs to Word (.doc, docx), Excel (.xls), (.csv), (.txt), more
- GSview: File:Convert menu item converts any sequence of PDF pages to a sequence of images in many formats from bit to tiffpack with resolutions from 72 to 204 × 98 (open source software)
- Google Chrome: convert HTML to PDF using Print > Save as PDF.
- gDoc Fusion: Proprietary, shareware; PDF views, edits, converts documents into PDF, XPS or Microsoft Word document; after 30 days a watermark is placed on documents in shareware version
- OmniPage: Converts to and from PDF and other formats with many options.
- Nitro PDF Reader: (Freeware) Extracts Images in original resolution.
- PDF-XChange: PDF Tools and PDF-XChange print driver allow conversion from many formats to PDF. A 'lite' version of the print driver is free for non-commercial (home and academic) but places a watermark on documents
- Qiqqa: Converts Microsoft Word document and Web Pages to PDF.
- SWFTools: 'pdf2swf component converts PDF to SWF – command line with GUI wrapper
- poppler-utils a collection of tools builds on poppler to convert PDF contents to everything
- GraphicsMagick: Can convert PDF to PNG or other formats.
Creators[edit]
Name | License | Freeware version | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Bullzip PDF Printer | Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer, requires Ghostscript and PDFPowerTool. |
CC PDF Converter | GNU GPL | -- | Virtual Printer. Creates a PDF with embedded Creative Commons license from any software. Bundled with optional proprietary Razoss adware and browser tools. |
CutePDF | Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer, also with proprietary PDF editor. Attempts to install the Ask Toolbar as well as Hotspot Shield. Can be avoided by using the /no3d command-line switch. Includes OpenCandy adware. |
deskPDF | Proprietary | No | Available for both client and terminal servers. |
doPDF | Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer. It doesn't use Ghostscript. Includes adware. |
eCopy PaperWorks | Proprietary | No | |
Foxit PhantomPDF | Proprietary | No | |
Foxit Reader PDF Printer | Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer that comes with Foxit Reader. |
gDoc Creator | Proprietary, shareware | No | Enterprise-level creator to create, review, edit, share or archive PDF and XPS documents. After 30 days shareware version places a watermark on documents. |
HelpNDoc | Proprietary | Yes | Manual and documentation authoring tool with native PDF export. Free for personal use. |
Nitro PDF Reader | Proprietary | Yes | As with Adobe Acrobat, Nitro PDF Pro's reader is free; but unlike Adobe's free reader, Nitro's free reader allows PDF creation (via a virtual printer driver, or by specifying a filename in the reader's interface, or by drag-'n-drop of a file to Nitro PDF Reader's Windows desktop icon); Ghostscript not needed. |
NovaPDF | Proprietary | No | Virtual printer. |
PagePlus | Proprietary | No | Desktop publishing suite with PDF viewing, editing and creation features |
PaperPort | Proprietary | No | Desktop publishing suite with PDF viewing, editing and creation features |
PDFCreator | GNU GPL/Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer for Windows using a custom license called FairPlay. Used Ghostscript GPL until v1.7.3. Now uses .NET Framework 4. Includes adware. |
PDF24 Creator | Proprietary | Yes | A PDF creator for Microsoft Windows |
PDF-XChange | Proprietary | Yes | PDF Tools allows creation of PDFs from many types of source input (images, scans, etc.). The PDF-XChange print driver allows printing directly to a PDF. A 'lite' version of the print driver is free for non-commercial (home and academic) use. |
PrimoPDF | Proprietary | Yes | Virtual printer, for Microsoft .NET Framework and uses Ghostscript and RedMon. Connects with www.primopdf.com. Includes Open Candy adware. |
Solid PDF Creator | Proprietary | No | |
Universal Document Converter | Proprietary | No | Virtual printer. It doesn't use Ghostscript. |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer | Proprietary | No | Graphic design software with PDF creation plus import, viewing and limited editing |
Editors[edit]
Name | License | Description |
---|---|---|
Adobe Acrobat | Proprietary | Adobe Systems's proprietary desktop PDF authoring suite. |
Adobe Photoshop | Proprietary | Adobe Systems's Graphic Design software and image editor. |
Bluebeam Revu | Proprietary | A commercial PDF editor, markup and collaboration product aimed at engineering and architectural markets. |
Foxit Reader | Freeware | Highlight text, draw lines, measure distances of PDF documents. |
gDoc Fusion | Proprietary/Shareware | desktop product to create, review, edit, share or archive PDF and XPS documents. After 30 days a watermark is placed on documents in shareware version. |
LibreOffice | Free (Mozilla Public License) | GUI tools to manipulate, split, merge, encrypt and decrypt PDF files. |
Microsoft Word 2013 | Proprietary | Desktop software. The 2013 edition of Office allows PDF files to be converted into a format that can be edited. |
Nitro PDF Reader | Freeware | Text highlighting, draw lines and measure distances in PDF files. |
Nitro PDF Pro | Proprietary | a proprietary commercial PDF creator/editor with an interface styled after Microsoft Office; replicates most or all features of the Adobe Acrobat full commercial version; offers a separate freeware reader (which also supports PDF creation, annotation, collaboration and signing); Ghostscript not additionally needed. |
PDF Studio | Proprietary | Proprietary software for viewing and editing PDF documents. |
pdftk | Free (GPL) | command-line tools to manipulate, edit and convert documents; supports filling of PDF forms with FDF/XFDF data. |
PDF-XChange Viewer | Freeware | Freeware PDF reader, tagger, editor (simple editions) and converter (free for non commercial uses). Allows edit of text, draw lines, highlighting of Text, measuring distance. |
Solid PDF Tools | Proprietary | Convert PDFs into editable documents and create PDFs from a variety of file sources. |
Viewers[edit]
- Adobe Reader: Adobe's PDF reader is free for personal use.
- Evince: a free (GPL), open source PDF reader. Part of the GNOME desktop environment. Windows port available since version 2.28.
- Foxit Reader: Proprietary/freeware PDF reader, supports FDF import/export, saving filled forms; other extended functionality available via purchasable plugins.
- gDoc Fusion: Proprietary/shareware to view PDF, XPS, Microsoft Word document, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or image files, included in the evaluation version of the product. Shareware version places a watermark on documents after 30 day eval.
- Google Chrome: Includes a PDF viewer.
- GSview: Open source software and Ghostscript's viewer for Windows.
- Javelin PDF Reader: A full functionality PDF reader with support for DRM using encoded and encrypted PDF files in Drumlin's DRMX and DRMZ formats.
- Microsoft Edge: Includes a PDF viewer.
- Microsoft Reader: A discontinued PDF viewer in Windows 8.1.
- Mozilla Firefox: Includes a PDF viewer.
- MuPDF: Free lightweight document viewer.
- Nitro PDF Reader: Freeware (though proprietary) PDF reader and creator. Supports three methods (specifying the file within the reader's interface, or dragging-'n-dropping a file onto the reader's Windows desktop icon, or 'printing' to a virtual printer driver) of PDF creation (Ghostscript not additionally needed), saving filled forms (AcroForms), text typewriter, markup/collaboration, and stamp signature (document signing).
- PDF-XChange Viewer: Freeware viewer with free OCR, supports FDF/XFDF import/export, saving filled forms, extended markup and export to image capabilities.
- Qiqqa: Freeware PDF reader, indexer, tagger and annotator. Supports OCR and export of PDF text and images.
- Sumatra PDF: A free (GPL), open source PDF reader based on MuPDF. It also supports DjVu, XPS, CHM, Comic Book (CBR, CBT, CBZ and CB7Z) and eBook (EPUB, FB2, FB2Z, PBD, MOBI, PBR, TCR & ZFB2) , TXT and image file formats (.tga, .gif, .jpg, .j2k, .png, .webp, .tiff). Supports automatic .pdfsync & .synctex reloading of PDF files so is well favoured as a LaTeX / pdfTeX viewer with forward - inverse synchronization. Using Ghost script it supports PostScript (.ps, .eps) files.[1]
- STDU Viewer: A freeware for non-commercial usage PDF reader. It also supports DjVu, Comic Book Archive (CBR or CBZ), XPS, TIFF, TXT and image file formats.
Mobile[edit]
Name | License | Platform | Functions | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Android | iOS | Other | View | Annotate | |||
Amazon Kindle app | Freeware | Yes | Yes | BlackBerry OS webOS Windows Phone | Yes | ? | |
Evince | GNU GPL | ? | ? | Maemo | Yes | ? | |
Foxit MobilePDF | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ||
Google Drive app | Freeware | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
iBooks | Proprietary | No | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
MuPDF | GNU AGPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Lightweight document viewer | |
Qiqqa | Proprietary | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |
Web-based[edit]
Converters[edit]
- Zamzar: Online file converter
- Smallpdf: Offers free Online PDF conversion (PDF to other formats and vice versa)
Editors[edit]
- PDFescape: an advertising and fee supported web service to view, create forms, fill out forms, and edit PDF documents from a web browser (requires JavaScript to be enabled)
- PDFVue: a free web application that allows the user to view PDF's, comment and fill PDF forms from a web browser. Generates a watermark.
- Smallpdf: Free web-based PDF software for editing, signing, compressing, merging, splitting, rotating, unlocking and protecting PDF files.
Open Source Software Pdf In Hindi
Viewers[edit]
- A.nnotate: a web service which views PDF documents as HTML in the browser, with annotation features.
- DigiSigner: free online PDF viewer java applet with additional function to digitally sign PDF documents.
- Docstoc: a web service which allows viewing PDF documents online
- Issuu: a web service which allows viewing PDF documents online
- Google Docs: a web service which views PDF documents as PNG images in the browser
- Scribd: a web service which renders PDF documents as HTML5 in the browser
- PDF.js: A Javascript-based library, with viewer, and browser plugin.
- PDFTron Systems: WebViewer. A free JavaScript viewer and annotator for self-hosting of web optimized PDFs.
References[edit]
- ^https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/docs/Supported-document-formats.html
External links[edit]
- PDF at Curlie
- PDF software at Curlie
- Windows Tools and Drivers at Curlie
Open Source Pdf Merge Software
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