- Step 3: Activate PDFescape Desktop. Click on the Activate PDFescape Desktop. button. If nothing happens right away, be on the lookout for this popup. Click Open PDFescape Desktop. Step 4: Start Using PDFescape Desktop. PDFescape will activate. You'll see your name in the top-right corner confirming everything is good to go.
- Adobe Acrobat is one of the most commonly used PDF reader, relied upon for viewing PDF.
- Restricting permissions in a PDFescape Desktop Mia September 19, 2019 16:53; Updated; Follow. This feature is only available in PDFescape Desktop. You can apply restrictions to your documents to limit the way users interact with your PDFs. When a user tries to make restricted changes to your files, they will encounter this message.
Edit PDF files with PDFescape - an online, free PDF reader, free PDF editor & free PDF form filler. View PDF documents on the web. Fill out PDF forms quickly without Adobe Acrobat. No watermarks or registration. Completely free.
Have you wondered often how to find the best PDF editors for Mac? When it comes to Mac systems, it is often a bit challenging to find apps that can work best for your Macbook.
So, here we are with the best & free PDF solution for Mac in our blog that can help you easily read and edit your PDFs, fill up PDF forms, and do countless other tasks effortlessly.
Create, convert, combine, split, and export text as well as pages to process and manage them better with the help of a PDF file editor.
11 Best Free PDF Editor Software For Mac in 2020:
So, let’s find out the 11 best PDF file editors for Mac computers in 2020.
1. Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is one of the most well-renowned PDF file editor software that offers the best desktop PDF solution including a mobile version to fill, sign, and share PDFs from any device.
It comes with an attractive UI with touch functionality. There is an option for trying the tool for free for 7-days before purchasing it.
You can edit files anytime anywhere with Acrobat. The tool does support lots of advanced features; however, it is slightly complex for beginners.
Key Features:
- Compares documents swiftly.
- Recognizes form fields automatically.
- Transform MS Office files effortlessly into PDF.
- Supports automatic formatting.
- Includes an in-built spellcheck.
- Add digital signatures with this tool.
Read More: How To Convert PDF To Excel (Online & Offline)
2. PDFelement
Another excellent PDF file editor software is PDFelement. With this program, you can easily edit and convert files in PDF format. Additionally, it also supports OCR, annotation, form processing, and digital signature features.
It is an amazing one-stop solution for Mac systems and gives a competitive edge to other software products in this category owing to its data extraction technology.
Key Features:
- Edit PDFs smoothly with superior annotation tools and editing features.
- Convert and create PDFs easily.
- Simple design and user interface.
- Supports OCR and batch processing tools.
3. Skim
Skim is a free Mac PDF editor that has an easy design. Read PDFs effortlessly in addition to editing PDFs and creating as well as converting texts. You can even improve the text of a PDF with the superb editing feature.
It offers a note-taking tool, text highlight feature, magnification tool, and a lot more. Let’s look at the prime features in detail below:
Key Features:
- Add bookmarks easily with this tool.
- Take screenshots of the PDF files for future reference.
- Supports Apple Remote Control.
- Extensively supports AppleScript.
4. Preview
When it comes to discussing the best Mac PDF editing software, then how can we leave behind Preview which is the in-built free application of Mac?
Mac Preview opens a plethora of possibilities to edit PDF files. Wondering what you can do with the Preview app?
Using this program you can merge PDfs, split it, zoom the PDFs as well as secure your PDFs. The best features of this app are mentioned below:
Key Features:
- Supports text highlighting feature.
- Easily export your PDF file to other formats.
- Add a digital signature to the PDFs with this app.
- Read a PDF quickly with this app.
5. PDF Buddy
Our next pick is PDF Buddy that is an online tool for editing PDFs. All you need to do is drag and drop a PDF file in the tool and begin editing the PDF. Sounds pretty simple, right?
It is indeed simple and absolutely safe to edit PDFs with this tool. You can utilize extensive features of this app to edit a PDF according to your choice. Here are some of the important features of this app:
Key Features:
- The tool comes with SSL(Secure Sockets Layer) and AES-256-bit encryption to protect the PDF files.
- You can edit upto 3 PDFs each month with this tool for free.
- This tool is accessible from everywhere.
Read More: How to Convert PDF into Word
6. Master PDF Editor For Mac
If you want to explore more PDF editor apps for macOS, then you can look forward to picking Master PDF Editor as it allows you to smartly convert PDF files to multiple file formats.
You can also edit any portion of your PDF file with the help of this tool; however, it has a slightly complex interface. Although a free version is available, yet it has a limited scope of functions and features.
Key Features:
- It is compatible with Linux based systems.
- It allows you to edit both texts and images in a PDF file.
- The tool is also enabled with OCR, scanning, and printing abilities.
- Comes with powerful annotation tools like Sticky Note, Strikethrough, Measuring tools, etc.
7. PDFescape
Did you know that PDFescape is compatible with all major web browsers, which is why we have included this tool in our list of best PDF editors for Mac computers?
This application is a free PDF editor for Mac that helps to create PDF forms and perform a myriad of actions with its compelling features. It’s a completely online tool and to get started you just need to hit the free online button on the web app.
Key Features:
- Read and edit PDFs.
- Various tools to add text, rotate a PDF view, zoom a file, etc.
- You can even password protect your PDF files.
- This app also lets you share PDFs easily.
8. Smallpdf
This is another online tool for editing PDFs. This cross-platform tool lets you add texts and fill forms. With a simplified interface, you can easily modify PDFs.
All you have to do is drag and drop your files or browse and select the file from your Macbook, Dropbox, or Google Drive to get started with the editing process. Here are some important features of this app:
Key Features:
- Does not require installation or registration.
- Convert a PDF into various file formats.
- With state-of-the-art SSL encryption, it secures your PDF.
9. PDFpenPro
PDFpenPro is another Mac PDF editor that can be used for professional purposes. Similar to the Preview app, this tool has a simple UI and is therefore great for beginners.
Key Features:
- Has intuitive annotation properties.
- Helps to convert PDFs to Word, Excel, Powerpoint formats.
- Enabled to perform OCR on scanned documents.
10. PDF Expert
Our next pick is PDF Expert that is undoubtedly another best PDF editor for Mac. It’s a fast, robust and beautiful PDF editor that has been recognized as the “App of the Year” in the Mac App Store.
With this app, you can enjoy advanced reading experience as it facilitates smooth scrolling function, fast search, and many interesting layouts. It comes with a state-of-the-art Search feature. Other interesting features include:
Key Features:
- Add annotations to documents.
- Merge files and split view with this app.
- Fill PDF files and include digital signatures.
- Reduce the size of the file too with this app.
Read More: How To Remove Password From PDF
11. PDF Editor Mac
Edit PDF content easily with this application. This can be designated as a good Mac PDF editing software as it is completely compatible with the macOS. You can easily add text and images, rotate PDF files, erase unwanted content, and watermark PDF files with this tool.
Key Features:
- Permanently save an edited PDF.
- Draw lines easily for annotation purposes.
How to Edit a PDF file?
Here is an overview of how to edit PDF files with the help of Adobe Acrobat tool:
- Open the file with the Acrobat DC tool.
- Then, click on the “Edit PDF” option that you can find in the right-hand side pane.
- After this, you can add or edit text, images, paragraphs, etc.
- Several additional tools available are “Link,” “Header and Footers,” “Watermark,” and “Background” for further editing purposes.
- Finally, rename your file and save it.
Wrapping Up
With this, we come to the concluding point of this article. Hopefully, you have found the best PDF editor for Mac from this article. Edit your PDFs easily now with an ideal tool.
Do share your thoughts by leaving a comment in the comments section below.
Summary: We will share you the best 5 free PDF editors for Windows 10 (or older) and Mac that we’ve used, the key features of each program included, hope to help you edit PDF online, free or edit PDF free on Windows or Mac.
Have to acknowledge Adobe Acrobat Pro is overpriced for many people. So many people asked what’s the best free adobe acrobat pro alternative for editing PDF files. To that question there is no simple answer, adobe created and still owns most of the technologies associated with the PDF file format. Well, you won’t find any free options with the full feature set of adobe acrobat pro, there are free PDF editors that just may have the tools you need to edit your PDF files.
In this publication, we will show you the best free PDF editors that we’ve used and go over the key features of each program. In some cases, you might have to use more than one of these to get the desired result that you want.
1. PDFescape
PDFescape is the first best free PDF editors we recommend, its free online editor can be used with the most popular browsers on any operating system. PDFescape also offers the desktop program, but is only available for windows and include the trial of their premium edition. This article is not about trials or paid software so let’s focus in on their free online PDF editor, the key features of PDFescape free online editor include being able to create simple PDF forms, insert images from your PC, and you can create your own text, unfortunately, existing text and images can’t be changed.
To get started, on the page of PDFescape, you have the choice to create a new PDF document upload PDF from your PC or load a PDF from the internet. Now, let’s create a new PDF document. Click “Choose files” or drag-n-drop PDF files to select your page document, PDFescape supports up to 100 pages no larger than 10 megabytes.
Then in the new window, you can create a new PDF document. In the tabs in the upper left, “Insert” includes tools to add text, images, and to wipe out any part of the document; “Annotate” includes the ability to add sticky notes, insert text, and highlighting tool; and “Page” lets you move and crop the document. To save any document you create or edit to your PC when you’re finished, just select the download icon below the save icon, and then save the file where you want it.
Summary information of PDFescape
Supported Platform: online, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE, Opera
What it can do:
• Create PDF forms
• Fill in and save PDF forms
• Annotate & Comment PDF documents
• Edit PDF document: insert text, image, link, Whiteout text, or add anything with Freehand tool.
Limitations: Max 10MB file size, Max 100 pages, Max 10 files stored, 7 Days file History.
Official page:https://www.pdfescape.com/
2. Smallpdf
Smallpdf is an editor with minimal features to edit a PDF in a very short period of time. you can use it for free online on any operating system, or use their premium desktop version for windows and mac. They’re free online PDF editor offers a limited toolset to quickly add text, images, shapes, or draw on any PDF. It does not let you edit existing text, or create a new PDF document.
To start editing PDF with Smallpdf, you have the choice to drop a file from your PC, or from your Google drive or Dropbox account, where you can just click on choose file to locate the PDF on your system you’d like to add it.
If you just need simplicity without a confusing interface, Smallpdf is a great choice.
At the top, there’s a tool to add text, the text size, font, and color can be changed; you can add an image from your computer, add a shape including rectangle, ellipse, line, and Arrow. And there’s a Pencil draw tool, which lets you highlight or draw notes on PDF document. When you’re done making changes, click on Done button.
And then you can download this file to your computer, or create a link to share with others, and save it to your Dropbox or drive account. You can also convert the document to a Microsoft Word or excel format if you upgrade to Pro version.
Should be noted that Smallpdf has a limit of 2 PDF edits within an hour, you could wait an hour to get 2 more free edits or upgrade to the pro plan to get unlimited access.
Summary information of Smallpdf
Supported Platform: online, almost any operating system
What it can do:
• Add text, images, shapes
• Highlight & comment PDF document
• Draw anything on PDF
• eSign PDF
Limitations: 2 PDF edits within an hour
Official page:https://smallpdf.com/edit-pdf
3. PDF-XChange Editor
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Unlike the previous PDF editors mentioned, PDF-XChange Editor is for those of you looking for a way to edit existing text in a PDF document. While most of the tools are free, there are a small number of advanced tools if used without a license will place a watermark on your document. There are other free tools that do not require a license including splitting PDFs, attaching comments, and OCR (which will recognize text in scanned document even if it’s only a print out and not the original file). With PDF-XChange Editor, there’s no online version, it’s only available for computers running windows XP or newer.
When you first open PDF-XChange Editor, you’ll notice a ribbon at the top, that is similar to Microsoft Office products. To change the text in an existing document, go to edit, click on the arrow to make sure that “text” is selected, in the document select the text that you would like to change.
To be sure that you’re using a free feature to avoid watermarks, have your mouse cursor over any feature to get the details, for example, modifying text is a free feature that does not require a license fee, but it says adding any other content type (i.e. lines, shapes, images, etc.) is not free and demo stamps will be placed on all pages if the file is saved.
When you’re finished editing, to choose a safe location for your PDF file, go to file-> Save as-> you can save to box.com, Dropbox, Google drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, or a local folder on your computer. Remember after downloading, you can always run your PDF through another editor, with the tool that is not free with PDF-XChange editor to avoid that nasty watermark.
Summary information of PDF-XChange Editor
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Supported Platform: Windows XP or newer
What it can do:
• Edit and update existing PDF text
• OCR engine to make image-based text searchable and selectable.
• Add annotations to PDF documents
• Pencil drawing
• Create/Edit/Remove links
• Arrange selected Items
Limitations: If used some features without a license, a ‘trial’ watermark will be placed on output.
Official page:https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor
4. LightPDF
LightPDF is yet another PDF editor with 2 choices: online PDF Editor and download desktop. Ignore the desktop edition since it’s only a trial of the premium product, which will watermark the PDFs. Their free online editor for use with most of the popular browsers, it’s quite powerful with many useful features. You can add your own text and graphics, along with being able to edit existing text, you can create your own PDFs, and you can also split and merge pages.
To start with LightPDF editor, select one of the functions you want from the list.
Let’s select edit PDF, find your file and open it.
You have several tools located at the top. The edit tool lets you add and edit text and images. You also can convert your PDF to another file type. Annotate PDF gives you various annotation and drawing tools mark up your PDF.
Summary information of LightPDF
Supported Platform: Online
What it can do:
• Edit existing text in native PDF
• Add text and images
• Annotate PDF documents
• Hand-drawing PDF
Limitations: Also may watermark on output when you used the features not included.
Official page:https://lightpdf.com/pdf-edit/
5. Inkscape
The popular vector graphics editor Inkscape is a powerful program which includes many functions for editing PDFs. It is free and open source software, Inkscape is only available for download, there’s no online edition, it offers a ton of features including tools to edit images, edit existing text, and you can change the appearance of graphics within your PDF.
The learning curve is high and the number of tools available for many people will be overwhelming. If you’ve used Inkscape before for similar software, you should have no trouble. Otherwise, if you’re keen on using this, I suggest you check out the numerous tutorials online.
We’ll show you a few tips to quickly change graphic.
Select the transform tool in the left pane, click on the image. You’ll notice several arrows along the outside of the image, left click and drag the arrows to alter the size and shape. Click and hold in the center to move it around. To add or change the color to a specific area of any graphic, back in left pane, select the “fill bounded areas” tool. At the bottom of the screen, pick your color and click the area we’d like to add that color.
An important note about saving, go to file in the upper left, click on “save as”, it will default to the SVG format type for saving, if you want to save the document as a PDF for “save as” type, select the drop down arrow and choose “portable document format” before saving. Inkscape is available for the major operating systems including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
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Summary information of Inkscape
Supported Platform: Windows, Linux, and Mac desktop
What it can do:
• Edit existing text and images in native PDF
• Change graphics appearance in PDF
• Add text, shapes, and stamps in PDF
• Hand-drawing PDF
Limitations: can’t handle with OCR document.
Official page:https://inkscape.org/
According to many users, PDF Escape is the best free online editor without sharing any credit card details or setting up an account. Please let me know which Free PDF editor is your favorite, or you are using. If you know the free PDF editor not mentioned that you think we should try out, let us know about it in the comments.