Free PDF Editor for Mac
 

I was wondering if anyone knows of a free program for the Mac OS X that will allow you to type and save information on PDF formats.

Have a look at Skim.

You can do basic editing on existing files.
Very useful to take notes on a file you have been sent.

There was an excellent thread on this a while ago, I'm sure that you could find it if you used to search function...

I haven't tried this app, it's open source. Perhaps those with experience with Scribus could speak about it.

Is there PDF-editor for PC, be it free or not?
That would save pdfs as text files/format the text in pdf? I've got a huge need for it. My girlfriend is writing her diploma and needs to use lots of .pdf files

Last night, googling this brought up a page with lots of pdf editors, almost all of which are for the pc. I'm at work and not at the computer from which I'd been googling. When I'm home I'll look back for it if you haven't already had success.

Scribus is ported for win, mac, and linux their website said.

Thanks! I'll google for them. I just didn't try, frankly speaking=)

In case you haven't found, here's the url of the list of apps.

http://www.cogniview.com/convert-pdf...adobe-acrobat/

Further reading about Scribus suggests that it isn't a pdf editor, just that as a layout app, it can create PDFs.

In another thread on this topic, PDFpen is mentioned.

Skim under OSX 10.5.x
 

I just downloaded this to annotate and save a contract on the fly and it saved my bacon - but it wouldn't save my file, at least not directly. Not sure if that is a limitation or what - I had to print it to PDF, and give it a new name, and then - WHAM! File with changes saved to disc, able to email, etc. Tidy product, nice fast d/l and install. I will definitely throw them a few quid for Skim.

Peace,
~V.

I've gone through the same crazy search for a good PDF editing program for my G5, but never found a free one that could really help. Ended up going with PDF Studio, and it has definitely been a good move. Pretty cheap at $60 compared to Acrobat's $450!! Unlike Scribus and Skim, this is an actual PDF Editor that I like to use to type text into PDF documents. I've also used it to add internal links back into my documents that didn't take when I convert word documents to PDF. They do a free trial version so you can test it out before you buy it, and it seems to be compatible with both intel and PPC macs. Website is http://www.qoppa.com/psindex.html. Good luck!

Good to know.

I've been wondering what might work to add internal links back into documents that had been converted to PDF from Word via the mac's native Print dialog.

Thank you for posting this info.

File Juicer can turn simple PDF's into RTF files that word processors, like MS Word or Apple Pages, can load.

You can probably use a vector artwork editor, like Inkscape.

Note that PDFs saved with a particular setting in Acrobat will allow forms to be filled in and saved in Adobe READER.

Also, Preview in Snow Leopard has Annotation capabilities. I can't remember if it does in 10.5. (Never used annotation!)

You can also use shell commands in the Terminal to access OS X facilities, such as converting files to PDF, or switching between HTML, DOC, TXT, RTF.
Use textutil and pstopdf.

Several PDF utilities have been broken by Snow Leopard, such as PDFLab, CocoaBooklet.

It is worth saying that Acrobat does an incredible amount of stuff with PDFs, so if you do use, edit, manipulate or work with PDFs in a major way, it is an excellent tool -- and nothing matches its complete range of functions.

Preview rocks for this.

I just used Preview for the first time to fill out a PDF form and it worked great except for one problem. When I printed out the form there were yellow highlighted text boxes. I don't really mind the text boxes, but does anyone know how to get rid of the yellow?

Insert images into PDF
 

Lost one night to find it but it was worth it:

Formulate Pro!

http://code.google.com/p/formulatepro/downloads/list

Ideal to fill out forms, insert text and pics, etc.
Simple and effective, and FREE

How do I use the text editor in Formulate Pro? It's not exactly intuitive like some of the other programs I've seen. I tried PDF Studio, but the free version imprints "Demo Version" on each page which isn't exactly professional looking. Please help!

I don't think Preiview can help you do that work well, because it is just a PDF Reader like we use in Windows OS. You can never do any editing about the PDF file.

According to my comprehension, you wanna edit some contents in your PDF file? If that, you can take PDF Pen or Adobe Acrobat for reference. The problems is that both of the editors are too expensive to afford and I am not sure the trial version can do that work well. Also, there is another way you may have a try is to convert PDF to word using AnyBizSoft PDF to Word for mac, which is designed for mac users to help them save PDF as Word and then editing. You can get the resource from the Apple Download. Here is the link.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...pdftoword.html
Maybe there are some other applications. Just get a try!:)

Yeah I got real stoked when I figured out I could use Preview to pull the text from some PDF files. One great utility for unlocking password protected PDF files is PDF Key Pro. It's shareware and costs about $25 to license, but you can demo it. It's at http://pdfkey.com/. It was really useful for me at work.

In Skim most important features are not clear
 

I've ben using Skim for many years and I'm happy with it.
But most important features are not well pointed out.
I mean, if you make annotations and want to save them, you have to "Export..." the file. If you merely save you can only read the annotated file with Skim and not with other PDF readers.
You can select graphically parts of pdf and create a new pdf; you can crop single pages or the whole document.
You can select parts of text (unless pdf has been created by scanning) and paste them elsewere (you'll loose formatting).
The problem is that documentation is not very clear and these features are almost hidden. But try it !
I use PdfLab by Fabien Conus too (donationware). It lets you combine pdf files or extract some pages out of them. It's rather old and sometimes it hangs, but it's free and most of times it works well.:)

I used to use PDFlab, but it seems to be broken completely by Snow Leopard. too bad...

Thanks a lot for pointing it out.

This app is Just what I was looking for. Skim is as good as this one, except you pretty much have to deselect from the Preferences the note's highlighting color and the line.

I highly recommend Formulatepro though. And it's straightforward approach.

Thanks
 

THANKS for the link. It's EXACTLY what I needed. It's easy to download, install, and use... and it's free! :p

Filling in .pdf forms
 

Just downloaded formulate pro. It works a treat - the task is to fill in supplier forms that have been sent as pdf documents. One issue to resolve, namely dropping in an image of a signature, the rest is fine. When finished you can export back into pdf. Thaks for the advice.

How did you write the text over the pdf? Is it a new version of Snow Leopard?
On Mine ( Mac 10.5.8) I don’t see the option of writing over pdf. In Annotations can add notes – but they appear on the side of the pdf – not ON it.
The text tool doesn’t do anything when I click on it.

Hi,
I faced the same problem this morning. After opening a file in FormulatePro, there should be a small floating window with some tools on it, including a 'T' for a text tool. If you click the text tool, you can then move the cursor to a field and enter your text.

(My config: Mac OS X 10.5.8, FormlatePro 0.0.6.)

I've had this same problem, and tried a bunch of PDF editors for my G5 PPC with no luck. Ended up going with AnyBiz PDF Editor, which has a text function so you can basically make a text box and write anything into your documents. It's a paid program, but super cheap compared to Adobe Acrobat... Plus I think they give discounts to students. I think it's $49 regular and $35 for students. Has a bunch of extra features as well, that come in handy from time to time. Hope this helps!

GraphicConverter also works for filling out forms and such and I use this all the time for filling out forms.

When I want to edit a pdf, which I don't do often, I will generally scan it and then use character recognition software, OCR, to turn it into word or a text document. I will edit the document and then convert back to pdf.

Remember to save as compressed pdf to save space.

How does one save as compressed pdf?
I could surely use that functionality!
Thank you.

On Tiger G4 Mac OS X 10.4.11, go to Print. Spy button on the lower hand box which reads, "save as PDF". Click on it and beneath it the options will read Save PDF as Postscript, Fax PDF, Compress PDF, Encrypt PDF, Mail PDF, etc....

If you have a more recent version, then I don't know.

You should investigate creating print plug-ins in Automator. You can knock up a workflow which applies the "Compress images in PDFs" action.

Or you can Apply a Quartz Filter. There is a filter called "Reduce File Size".

Or you can create your own Filter in ColorSync Utility.

Thanks for the replies.
I'd like to have seen Roncross's suggestion work, but 10.6.7 doesn't show a compress choice.
That's about as complicated as I feel comfortable with, so will skip Automator and such.
Thanks anyway.

Another easy method for shrinking the file size of PDFs is simply to use the free Shrink It from Panic. Yes, it adds another step, but it's very fast and I've found it pretty effective.

Thanks, NaOH. That sounds like my cuppa.

But here's the real solution: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...fworkflow.html

I suggest keeping on eye on that workflow before simply trusting it. I just ran a test by creating a PDF of this thread using the Print dialog in Safari.

• Using the Save As PDF option on this web page: 397 KB.
• Taking the above file and running it through Shrink It: 377 KB.
• Using the Compress PDF option on this web page: 4.6 MB.

I then took a 549 KB, 178-page Word file and did the same thing.

• Using the Save As PDF option created a 1.1 MB file.
• Taking the above file and running it through Shrink It made no difference.
• Using the Compress PDF option also created a 1.1 MB file.

So I repeated the above with a 147 KB, 77-page Word file.

• Using the Save As PDF option created a 610 KB file.
• Again, taking the above file and running it through Shrink It made no difference.
• Using the Compress PDF option also created a 606 KB file.

What I'm sensing here is that the default Save As PDF option has compression built in to it. Perhaps someone more knowledgable about this stuff could confirm or refute that, but that's what I'm sensing from these quick tests.

Glad you had the time to check that out!
Curiouser and curiouser.

Then there's this Apple page, but there is no save as reduced option for me.

You may not see much if any reduction in filesize for a PDF that is just text.

The compression in PDFs (and certainly in OS X's Quartz Filters) is geared towards the compression of bitmap images, rather than fonts.

Didn't notice that. I guess it's deprecated and no longer useful. I do remember a while back that it was good for compressing images, but obviously this has changed. Maybe that's why it isn't in Leopard.

While searching to see if I could find any documentation regarding chanes to the built-in Mac OS PDF creation, I came across a post on the main Hints site that looks potentially useful to folks in need of PDF compression. I haven't tried it, but I would suggest anyone who does read the comments there before proceeding.

guys,

I am using a program called pdfedit, I am not sure if there is a mac version but you can look into it http://www.geeksonwork.com/freeware-pdf-editor.html

Save as PDF isn't in Leopard (the option from the print dialog box)? (still using Tiger)

Save AS PDF is in Leopard and in Snow Leopard. What's changed is the removal of the Compress PDF option.

Ah, I see. Thanks.

I telecommute and am self-employed and have a disabled kid so I'm constantly getting and sending PDFs of various forms. FormulatePro is a tad basic, but it does all the critical stuff. Lets me place a signature image created on my iPad. Lets me add text to fill out blank fields. Lets me do basic formatting and is pretty intuitive. I was going to save up pennies to buy PDF Studio 7, but FormulatePro meets my needs and still works on 10.7.3 - thanks a ton, guys!

Nisus Writer Pro accomplished what neither of the following – MS Word 2011, Pages.app, TextEdit.app, Adobe Acrobat, Skim.app, Preview.app etc. – failed to.
Indeed, the MS Word-generated PDF was shed clear of hyperlinks; the Pages & TextEdit pdf conversions removed even text highlights/colours. Preview, Acrobat or Skim – nothing rendered the hyperlinks readable until I re-converted the original in Nisus Write Pro

Not only that, but in Lion you can also sign documents with your signature using the PDF annotation feature:

1) Open Preview.app under Lion, Click the Annotations button and select the option “Create Signature From Face-Time Camera…”

2) Make your signature on a piece of unlined paper and hold it up to your FaceTime camera so that it aligns with the blue line. Click ‘Accept’ when you like the preview.

3) Once you’ve accepted the signature, you can easily drag it into place anywhere on the PDF you’re trying to sign.

4) Need to sign more documents? The signature you just entered is now readily accessible as a signature from a drop-down within Preview

Yeah, I just do it all in Preview, now. I had to fill out some forms to "fax" to my son's school, recently. Downloaded the PDFs from the web, filled them out, signed and dated them (just make the date in my handwriting and save as another signature), and emailed them in. And for places that actually want a fax, I just use faxzero. No paper or ink used on my end (other than from making the signature and date, I guess). Preview is pretty great, now.