There are several reasons why the PDF file format is so popular for document exchange: PDF files are more compact (smaller in size) than the original document; you can open a PDF file on any computer or mobile device with free software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or other similar programs; PDF files cannot be edited easily, especially with software that works only as a reader. If we use the PDF we want to prevent the recipient from modifying it as it could be done with a Word document, limiting the changes only to the necessary text fields (signature, date etc.).
Most PDF editing tools, however, are commercial paid programs; in this guide we will show you the best free online programs and services to edit text and images on PDFs.
READ ALSO: Top 10 programs to edit PDF
Below we will find the services and programs that can be installed on the PC in order to be able to modify PDFs in all their aspects: from the simple addition of a signature and date to the removal of images, portions of text or entire pages that we consider superfluous.
All the tools offered are free and can be used without limits, so as to have full control of the contents of all the PDFs we will receive.
If we are on Linux or Mac we can use Web services or LibreOffice for PDF changes; if instead we have Windows as the operating system we can use any of the methods described given full compatibility.
1) PDFescape (Web)
To make small changes to a PDF file, for example to hide a phone number, you can use an online editor called PDFEscape and reachable from here -> PDFescape .
The free web application allows you to upload the document and make the necessary changes to it, even in the case of password-protected PDFs or changes.
Once the change is complete, just save and download the new PDF without any block and with the changes correctly applied to it.
2) PDFzorro (Web)
Another site where you can edit a PDF is PDFZorro, reachable from here -> PDFZorro .
By uploading your PDF document to be edited on the site, you can add text, annotations, lines and shapes, and so on, later downloading the modified version directly via browser.
3) PDF-XChange Editor
To insert text on a pdf you can use it as explained in another article PDF-XChange Editor, downloadable for free from here -> PDF-XChange Editor .
PDF XChange is a free PDF viewer and editor that you can use to write text or add images to a PDF page like any other paid program. Most of the features are offered for free, so we can use it to edit text and images on PDFs on any PC with Windows.
4) LibreOffice
You can open a PDF document to modify it also with LibreOffice Draw, part of the suite included in LibreOffice and downloadable for free from here -> LibreOffice .
LibreOffice Draw supports PDF editing so you can easily correct typos in a PDF document or change its formatting, color, text size, font, etc.
LibreOffice also includes support for annotations, shapes, images, tables and graphs, presenting itself as one of the best solutions for editing PDFs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
5) Inkscape
Inkscape, the free vector drawing program also allows you to edit a PDF; we can download it free from here -> Inkscape .
With Inkscape you can select any object on a PDF page (text, images, tables, etc.) and move them to a different position or even remove them permanently from the PDF file, so as to make changes even to PDFs full of graphs and diagrams without problems.
6) PDF Eraser
PDF Eraser is a completely free program that allows you to edit a PDF in a non-traditional way; we can download it for free from here -> PDF Eraser .
You cannot edit the text contained in the PDF document, but you can delete and rewrite it .
PDF Eraser contains tools to remove objects and text from a PDF document and add other things.
A classic PDF editor would make the text of the PDF document editable as a Word file, so you can delete the text using the Clear key, make corrections and type new words; PDF Eraser, on the other hand, treats the whole document as if it were an image.
The interface provides a set of erasers, to be used as brushes, to remove certain parts of the PDF; the size of the tire can be changed so that it can be more precise depending on the area to be changed.
To edit the text you must first use the eraser carefully on the text area to be deleted using the same background color.
Once the area is cleaned, a new text box can be added by typing with the keyboard and choosing color, font and font size.
Entire images can also be added and removed which can also be resized and moved.
PDF Eraser also allows you to delete entire pages from a PDF document or change their order.
7) Smallpdf (Web)
Another very convenient web service to use to edit text and images on PDFs is Smallpdf, whose section for editing can be reached from here -> Smallpdf .
Simply load the PDF document or drag it into the window to get a complete PDF editor with which to remove, add or edit parts of text, images and graphics.
At the end we can always save the document and re-download the PDF with the changes, so that we can re-share it modified.
In addition to uploading files from the PC, the site allows you to upload PDF files saved on the cloud, specifically on Google Drive or Dropbox.
READ ALSO: Best programs to edit PDF files
