Can You Edit a PDF: All You Need to Know

By Lydia | Follow | Updated on December 8, 2023

Introduction:

As one of the most favored file formats, PDF or portable document format can be universally heard in your daily business activities. PDF files have many benefits, but there is one common problem: you cannot make changes in a PDF file. Generally, users are only allowed to scroll through the pages and browse the file content. It stands to reason that you may wonder “Can you edit a PDF” if you are in a rush to fill out a PDF form or make changes in your PDF file.

So is it possible to edit a PDF document? No worries; the answer is right in this post. It comprehensively addresses the question “Is there a way to edit a PDF”, along with offering a feasible PDF editor alternative to Adobe Acrobat to make edits on a PDF.

Can You Edit a PDF

So can you edit a PDF? Of course, you can make edits on a PDF as easily as on a Word document. Various tools available on the market allow you to edit a PDF document online and offline.

How Can You Edit a PDF

To edit a PDF, a proficient PDF editing solution like SwifDoo PDF is your top horse. It is an example of an affordable, updated, and well-supported PDF editor. This PDF software contains many up-to-par features. You can edit, annotate, convert, merge, split, and perform other PDF-related tasks. These tools will not only improve your efficiency but also let you work with a small footprint.

You can edit a PDF effortlessly with a range of PDF editing tools. Go to “Edit” and start making changes to a PDF file.

• Add new text to PDF files without conversion;
• Add hyperlinks to PDFs;
• Remove background from a PDF;
• Edit inserted images;
• Crop PDF page size

# 1 Edit existing PDF text

This PDF editor allows you to make changes to a PDF’s existing text or add new text to blank spaces. You can change the font style, font size, and color, and replace PDF text with target words or phrases.

Step 1: Open the PDF file and tap Edit All under Home;

Step 2: Click on the text you want to edit to alter the PDF document;

Step 3: To add a new text box, hit Add Text and click on a blank space to insert it.

# 2 Add or edit images

You can add images to a PDF or make edits to pictures inserted. The application enables you to rotate, replace, adjust transparency, and change the image size. It is hassle-free to update the images without disrupting the formatting.

Step 1: Go over to Edit and select Add Image;

Step 2: Choose the image you like and click on the desired place to add the images;

Step 3: Tap on the image and select the tools shown on the mini toolbar to edit the PDF file.

# 3 Reduce PDF file size

PDF usually has a large size. After making changes to a PDF, it might be necessary to reduce the PDF file size in an attempt to share it with your client or teammate via email:

Step 1: Under the Edit tab, hit Compress;

Step 2: Set the compression level and click Start to compress the PDF file.

Why Can’t I Edit a PDF? What Should You Do

There are some reasons why you can’t edit PDF files, among which, the most common ones are:

1. They are scanned files

Scanned PDFs, or image-based PDFs, are created by scanning physical files from a scanner. As a result, the entire file content is captured as unsearchable and non-editable images instead of text.

To edit a scanned PDF, the OCR software is required to extract text from the scanned images and convert the pages to searchable and editable ones.

2. The PDF is converted to be read-only

Sometimes, to prevent the PDF content from being altered, the PDF is converted to a read-only. This means that you are only allowed to open and view the PDF content. You can use the OCR technology to make edits to a read-only PDF.

3. The PDF is protected by passwords

PDFs can be password-protected to avoid tampering from unauthorized channels. Open password restricts others from opening a file without the password, while a permission password prevents others from editing, copying, annotating, or printing.

Hence, to edit a PDF secured by a password, it is necessary to access the consent of the owner.

4. The PDF editor you use doesn’t support editing

Some PDF editors like Preview only have basic PDF tools to highlight or add text boxes to the PDF file. If the PDF consists of scanned pages or is locked by a password, it requires you to choose an advanced PDF editor like SwifDoo PDF to alter the PDF document.

What Is PDF

Maybe you still want to know more about the PDF format. Here is the information you need to have a general picture of the PDF so that you can know why can’t you edit a PDF without the right tool.

PDF is a file format used to demonstrate documents with fixed layouts across different platforms. A PDF file can contain plain text, images, fonts, hyperlinks, and other dynamic elements.

Portability is the core of the PDF format because its purpose is to present and transfer documents more easily. Hence, this file format preserves the font, image, tables, and other layout elements unchanged. Each time you open a PDF file, the file content will be displayed in the same formatting regardless of the operating systems and the applications being used.

A Quick Wrap-Up

After reading this post, we believe you have found the answer to the question “can you edit a PDF ”. Though it is not easy to make changes to a PDF, you can edit PDFs with an optimal tool. SwifDoo PDF is a user-friendly PDF editor at a reasonable price. It lets you process and manage PDF files just like editing Word documents.