How to Edit PDF Files in 2021
Traditionally, PDF files are a pleasure to read and a nightmare to edit. All of us enjoy reviewing a PDF document with its great and understandable structure, original fonts, and clear look. On the flip side, probably everyone has at least onсe had an experience of trying to edit the text without changing the format, crying over some file’s impregnable order, and chasing the circling thoughts of “why can’t I just move this a bit?”. This article won’t tell you that there are ways to edit PDF like text documents. Instead, we will focus on ways to lessen the pain.
Why work with PDF, to begin with? Let us review these reasons to accept everything that comes along with the positive sides. Today PDF is one of the most popular formats while exchanging files as it looks good, ensures the original formatting remains, and it is also small in size. Therefore, all kinds of documents, legal and personal, presentations, and forms are commonly shared in this format. Dozens of documents of every format are being turned into PDF every day.
Plus, in terms of safety, the negative side of PDF becomes an unexpected plus: It’s not that easy to alter and it has multiple safety functions such as forbidding to copy text from your document or preventing people from printing it without your permission. Of course, it was not meant to be a benefit from the very beginning, which we can guess from the abbreviation itself. PDF stands for Portable Document File and it was introduced as a format that would show the way printed documents are going to look.
Over the course of time, more and more people started trying to edit PDF documents to correct typos or mistakes, change pictures, logos, signatures, etc. Obviously, the demand never waits too long before the supply appears: Nowadays there are plenty of PDF editing tools that are convenient, intuitive in use, and cheap
Even though the difference between old and modern editors is undeniable, all of them do not make it as easy to work in PDF as in a Word document for example. As you have probably noticed, it is impossible to add some text on the page and make the rest of the content adjust accordingly in a smooth manner. Do not be mislead by the names of the services you pick. While there are many wonderful PDF tools called PDF editors, most of them can’t actually do the editing or make permanent changes in the file. What they can do though is add comments like textboxes or post-it notes that you insert on the page. All of these actions are not altering the initial document, so it remains in its original form.
When it comes to all the changes needed to make without changing the content, most of the main tools are available and can be easily found online. The usage of most of them is free. The main functions may include merging, splitting, rotating a PDF file, or rearranging its pages. Also, with an online converter, it won’t take long to turn any file format to PDF and vice versa. There are dozens of online and desktop programs to assist you, such as PDFChef by Movavi, which is an online PDF editor. You may check reviews of this and other websites to pick the one that will be the most convenient for you.
Of course, if your main goal is to edit text or insert a signature into your files, you will definitely need desktop services, such as Adobe to do it quickly. On the other side, if you do not feel like paying $299 for a standard version, you might want to continue editing your Word documents and then converting them into PDF with more affordable or free services like PDFChef we have mentioned before.
In case you do not like using laptops for working with your files and for emergency cases, we would definitely recommend downloading an app to your phone that would help you with PDF files. Nowadays, there are so many options for both Android and iOS that it should not take more than a couple of minutes to find something convenient.
In general, it is a very useful habit - to have all the needed tools, converters, and editors handy on all your devices. This way any moment an emergency comes, you are ready to resolve it and proceed with your day. There is nothing worse than having to find some supposedly user-friendly website within a short period of time in a rush. Actually, this is how most users purchase services they do not actually need. Apart from wasting money, this process usually involves a lot of stress and often anxiety as you cannot be sure if the chosen tool or website, or app is worth the money and if you are ever going to use it again.
Therefore, as this year has begun, start it with structuring your thoughts and processes. Test and find the best tools that will allow you to deliver your work in a professional manner with the least amount of stress involved. PDF files are tricky ones for most of people, so it will take a lot of pressure off if you figure it out and find the best ways to alter those.
To sum up, PDF files are not that easy to work with. However, there are plenty of tools that make it fast to convert, split, and merge them. You just need to find the one that seems the most intuitive and easy to you. It is one of the most popular formats out there, so the research is worth the time. Try not to expect PDF to be flexible, even in 2021, because its main function is not meant for editors. These files are here to show us final versions of the docs, perpetuate the work is done and the look given to the file, and they are doing their job well!