Free PDF Editor for Mac - Page 2

Odetti · 06-06-2010, 03:58 AM

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.

tw · 06-06-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Odetti


	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...

09-22-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonGiovanni


	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

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.

01-06-2011, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonGiovanni


	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

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

01-12-2011, 08:18 AM

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.

Columbia28 · 04-07-2011, 06:17 AM

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.

04-20-2011, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Columbia28


	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.)

catherine22 · 05-14-2011, 05:51 AM

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!

roncross@cox.net · 05-14-2011, 08:51 AM

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.

tommaso · 05-20-2011, 02:21 PM

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

roncross@cox.net · 05-21-2011, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommaso


	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.

benwiggy · 05-21-2011, 12:01 PM

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.

tommaso · 05-21-2011, 02:02 PM

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.

NaOH · 05-21-2011, 04:36 PM

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.

tommaso · 05-21-2011, 05:11 PM

Thanks, NaOH. That sounds like my cuppa.

tommaso · 05-21-2011, 06:23 PM

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

NaOH · 05-21-2011, 06:58 PM

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.

tommaso · 05-22-2011, 08:44 AM

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

tommaso · 05-22-2011, 08:48 AM

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

benwiggy · 05-22-2011, 08:53 AM

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.

06-06-2010, 03:58 AM	#21
Odetti Prospect Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Genoa, Italy Posts: 14	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.

01-12-2011, 08:18 AM	#25
rudgeb Guest Posts: n/a	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.

05-14-2011, 05:51 AM	#28
catherine22 Prospect Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Posts: 3	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! __________________ Rick Last edited by catherine22; 05-14-2011 at 05:55 AM.

05-14-2011, 08:51 AM	#29
roncross@cox.net MVP Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,764	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. __________________ with warm regards Ronald Cross

05-20-2011, 02:21 PM	#30
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	How does one save as compressed pdf? I could surely use that functionality! Thank you. __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

04-07-2011, 06:17 AM	#26
Columbia28 Prospect Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2	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.

05-21-2011, 12:01 PM	#32
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London Posts: 5,843	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.

05-21-2011, 02:02 PM	#33
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	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. __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

05-21-2011, 04:36 PM	#34
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,852	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.

05-21-2011, 05:11 PM	#35
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	Thanks, NaOH. That sounds like my cuppa. __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

05-21-2011, 06:23 PM	#36
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	But here's the real solution: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...fworkflow.html __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

05-21-2011, 06:58 PM	#37
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,852	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.

05-22-2011, 08:44 AM	#38
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	Glad you had the time to check that out! Curiouser and curiouser. __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

05-22-2011, 08:48 AM	#39
tommaso Major Leaguer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Uranium Capital, NM Posts: 492	Then there's this Apple page, but there is no save as reduced option for me. __________________ Mac Pro 2x2.66 GHz 10.10 MacBook Pro 13.3" 10.10

05-22-2011, 08:53 AM	#40
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London Posts: 5,843	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.