PDF is a portable, joint-type file format that integrates image, bitmap and text that can be used on multiple platforms. Since its creation by ADOBE in 1993 it has been constantly improved to possibly become the most versatile and popular digital document format in the world, to the point of being considered the standard format of the ISO , since they can contain multimedia data and do not lose the format when sent from one platform to another.
Currently, everything about guides, ebooks, brochures, infographics and other content formats in image and text have a PDF version. This is because converting any document to PDF, it keeps its appearance unchanged , which makes it very useful for sharing data that cannot be supported in other applications. In addition, it may contain hyperlinks and interactive buttons, making the content more dynamic.
In principle the PDF could only be edited in an ADOBE program , but this has changed. Currently, software capable of editing and modifying this document format has been developed without diminishing its quality. In this guide we will show you which are the best for each desktop or mobile operating system and how to edit them.
Index:
What is a PDF file and what software do we need to open it?
The PDF format (Portable Document Format) , which is translated into Spanish as (Portable Document Format), was created by Adobe Systems. It refers to a digital document format, which allows the secure and reliable exchange of documents in text format, multimedia files, links, buttons, bitmap and almost any document or file that can be scanned.
The PDF files, together with the software that allowed them to be created, edited and visualized, were launched in 1993 by the co-founder of Adobe, John Warnock . What Adobe was looking for with this format was to popularize the concept of paperless office.
However, at the time of its launch, had a very small market , because most of the documents in PDF file were very heavy, and the telephone internet speed of that time was Little practice for download.
At the beginning these files, did not have the option to insert hyperlinks , buttons and other options that they do today. However, with the arrival of broadband and updates made by Adobe, PDF files became popular .
What kind of software is needed to open PDF files?
The software with which you can open a PDF file, will depend on the operating system of the device in which you are accessing it, but for almost all operating systems, there is a tool or application which allows you to access PDF files.
- If it is Windows , the most popular is Adobe Acrobat Reader , which also belongs to the creator of these files.
- For Android devices , we have applications such as Google Drive, Quickoffice that allow you to open files of this nature.
- Also Linux, IOS, Mac, Kindle , have built-in tools, or that you can add to create open and edit PDF files. Most notably, it doesn’t matter where you access it, PDF files will retain their original features.
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Advantages and disadvantages of PDF files
There is no doubt that the PDF format is revolutionary in every way, but like everything in life, nothing is perfect. Next we tell you what are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of documents .
Advantages:
- When saving and sharing a PDF document, you can see it on the screen of your device, just like the original file. Unlike other formats, these files do not lose configuration when sent and shared, regardless of where you access it, and it gives you the advantage of printing exactly what you are seeing on the screen.
- Of the most important advantages offered by files in this format, we find security. They can also be password protected, which prevents unauthorized persons, modifying the file, deleting data and even disappearing the file.
- They can also be digitally signed, which increases trust at the time of share them.
- You can add almost any data you can digitize, which makes it a very versatile tool.
- They are multiplatform, that is, they are compatible with the main operating systems in the market .
- Their reliability and security, gives them the advantage of being used as the format for sharing status documents, confidential documents and academic documents.
- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) , catalog it as the standard file format, for electronic document container files.
- It also allows you to compress your documents, so that they are not so heavy. This is a great advantage when sharing and storing them.
- Some types of these files allow you to join several documents, with different formats such as: Word, Excel, Web Pages, PowerPoint, among others.
- In these documents you can perform specific searches by words.
Disadvantages:
- The main drawback of this file format is that they are not easy to edit. Although they are easy to open, view and print, to work on them in a total and optimal way, you require applications or tools that are generally not free.
- The task of working with text in these files is a Not very complicated, since it perceives the text as images.
- You cannot add animations to files in this format.
Is it possible to remove the editing restrictions of a protected PDF?
Although one of the advantages of PDF files is the security and protection that can be added to them, remove restrictions if possible . Software programmers can develop software to access and modify PDF files. In addition to this also there are online tools and downloadable applications , which allow these restrictions to be removed. Below you have a more than complete list.
What are the best programs to edit a PDF online, compatible for Mac or Windows?
As we explained in the advantages and disadvantages , these documents are easy to open and share, but very complicated when editing them . However, there are online programs that allow us to edit these types of documents. Below we will present the best online programs for PDF editing .
PDF2Go.com
It is a very popular and complete online tool, with a very attractive design in sight. It has a very intuitive interface, which highlights each of the available options, in different colors. In PDF2GO you can: Protect, edit, paginate, convert, rotate, compress, resize and delete . Just upload the file, which will take depending on its weight, and voila, you can start enjoying its multiple options.
PDFzorro.com
Simply upload the document and click on the Start PDF Editor button , to begin the adventure of adding changes to your document, such as: Remove and add information, lines, text, selections, boxes among others.
PDFescape.com
This tool has a bit boring interface, but its operation is quite efficient. You can drag the document to it, and immediately you can edit it, draw on it freehand, insert images, add links, delete data , among others. It also has an online and desktop version.
PDFfiller.com
With this online editor in addition to adding documents from your computer, you can also do it from the cloud in OneDrive, Box and Dropbox . With it you can add signatures, images, text boxes, brands, among others.
PDFBuddy.com
With this powerful online editor, you can add images, annotations, signatures, text, add content , among others. The document upload is almost instantaneous, just drag it, and you can quickly start editing your PDF.
iLovePDF
This is one of the most famous online editing tools used by millions of users . ILovePDF in an easy way allows you to join, divide, compress files of this nature to even pass and convert other Word or JPG documents to open them in PDF.
Advantages of converting a PDF to Word for later editing
If you don’t have a tool for editing and modifying PDFs, you won’t be able to do them. If you also do not have an internet connection, you will not be able to access the online PDF editors , this is where the option to convert the document to Word for editing comes in. >.
Even if you had a specific tool for it, editing text is usually much simpler from Word, there are even people who frequently, convert their PDF to Word , edit it and then save it in Doc format, or PDF again.
The advantage of converting, is that editing a file in Microsoft Word is much simpler and in the end we can save the document in PDF format after modifying it.
How to edit a PDF scanned with OCR?
When we scan a document and save it in PDF format, all images, text and files are grouped into a single image file of a fairly large size . To be able to edit it, you have to ungroup that great image, and create smaller and more manageable elements, in order to access all the information contained in the document.
To ungroup this “great image” and proceed to the editing of the document, we have an efficient tool to do so. Adobe Acrobat Reader , is the most complete in those cases, since when you open a PDF that was scanned, automatically converts it to a fully editable format .
If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, on the Web you can also find tools or applications that allow you to edit PDF files that have been previously scanned.