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How to Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat: Full Guide & Alternative

  • By Charlotte
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  • Updated on April 3, 2025
Introduction:
Sometimes, you want to add a horizontal line through specific text to indicate the text should be deleted. This line is called strikethrough, and the famous software Adobe Acrobat lets you use strikethrough text on PDFs. You edit a PDF this way to show your suggestions and allow others to see what has been written before. It could be tricky for new users to find where the function is and how to make the most of it. Delve into the SwifDoo PDF post to see how to strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat and its alternative.
summary

How to Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat: Steps to Do

Adobe Acrobat products, including Adobe Reader and Acrobat Pro DC, enable you to strikethrough text in PDFs easily for free. The software offers a set of tools for annotating a PDF at your fingertips. You can alter the line color and capacity and delete a markup in one click. Adobe Acrobat, even the Pro version, doesn't have a dedicated strikethrough keyboard shortcut like bold or underline. However, there is more than one convenient and fast method to do this.

Explore how to strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat, regardless of the Pro, Reader, or Standard software.

Step 1: Open Your PDF Document in Adobe Acrobat

You can drag and drop your PDF file into the Adobe software, close the small window that appears, and open the file.

How to Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat step 1

Step 2: Select the Text to Strikethrough in PDF

Click and switch the Pan icon to the Select tool, and drag over the text you wish to delete to select it.

Step 3: Add a Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat

Click the strikethrough icon in the quick toolbar that pops up to strikethrough the text in the Adobe PDF instantly. The icon displays the letter T with a line through it. You can click on the added line to adjust the color or other properties.

How to Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat step 3

Alternatively, you can first click the highlighter pen in the left-side comment toolbar to choose Strikethrough and select a line color. This allows you to cross out the text in the Adobe PDF immediately as you drag over it.  

How to Strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat step 4

The way to do PDF strikethrough in Acrobat without erasing the original text is clear. However, there can be times when others do not accept the change, and you must remove strikethroughs from the PDF. In Acrobat, navigate to target PDF pages, press Ctrl to select all the strikethroughs you hope to get rid of, and hit the Delete icon that shows up.

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Pros and Cons of Using Adobe Acrobat Strikethrough

You have learned how to use strikethrough in Adobe Acrobat from the above tutorial. Pick your preferred workflow to ease your life. In addition, look at an overview of the software's advantages and downsides. So you will be aware of what problems you can encounter and why.

Pros

  • You can highlight, underline, cross out, and strike through on PDFs in Adobe Acrobat's free version.
  • The PDF software also lets you draw shapes, type text, add notes to a PDF, and make more basic edits.
  • Rich features make it highly versatile, from editing and converting to viewing and signing.

Cons

  • Adobe Acrobat presents PDF strikethrough and other tools in a counterintuitive interface that is hard for novice users to navigate.
  • It is clunky to use due to the program’s big size and can cause your computer to slow down and freeze at times.
  • Subscribing to a paid plan is expensive, even if you don't need most features.

How to Do a Strikethrough in an Adobe Acrobat Alternative

Numerous users consider SwifDoo PDF the best PDF editor alternative to Adobe Acrobat for Windows. This software has a shortcut for strikethrough that Adobe Acrobat lacks. It also lets you remove a strikethrough or modify the markup line appearance anytime. Better than Adobe, this desktop application is designed to be lighter and more user-friendly. Everyone can get started without learning.

Here is an explanation of how to use strikethrough in the Adobe Acrobat alternative.

Step 1: Import Your PDF into the SwifDoo PDF Program

Download the software to install and launch. Then, use the Open option to import and open your document.

Step 2: Choose the Strikethrough Tool

Click the Annotate menu to choose Text Markup > Strikethrough to select the tool.

How to Do a Strikethrough in the Adobe Acrobat Alternative

Step 3: Start Strikethrough and Further Editing

Click and drag to promptly strikethrough the text in the Adobe PDF. If neededm, choose other PDF markup tools from the top secondary bar to use on the pages.

Moreover, SwifDoo PDF contains the majority of features that Adobe Acrobat provides. It even has some Adobe doesn’t have, like translating PDFs, converting image formats, and compressing files other than PDFs.

Tips: For more straightforward methods, Select the text and before releasing your mouse, press the Ctrl + K shortcut for strikethrough in PDF without a bit of curving. Besides, select the text and click the “Strikethrough” icon in the mini toolbar.

Conclusion

Larger enterprises cross out text in Adobe Acrobat more, while small businesses are recommended to employ cost-effective solutions. If you are an individual, affordable, feature-packed software is the ultimate choice. We hope this article guides you to the right path and helps you complete your strikethrough task in Adobe Acrobat in less time. 

FAQs

  • Q: How do you bleed lines in Adobe Acrobat?
    Adding bleed lines or printer marks to a PDF is a function in Adobe Acrobat Pro. So, you have to be a premium user to use it. The process is as follows: choose Use print production from the tools pane, select the Add printer marks option, and apply bleed lines. Or, open the print dialog box and set the Marks and Bleeds option.
  • Q: How do I add a cross mark in a PDF?
    In SwifDoo PDF, choose Annotate > Checkbox > Cross and click to add cross marks to PDFs. When your PDF is opened in Adobe Acrobat, click the Fill in form fields icon (letter A around by a rectangle) in the floating bar, select the Crossmark, and click where you would like to insert the symbol.
  • Q: Can you outline text in Adobe Acrobat?
    Adobe Acrobat allows you to cross out text and convert fonts to outlines. Choose Tools > Print Production > Preflight, search for "outlines," go to select "Convert fonts to outlines" > Analyze and Fix, and finally save the file.

Charlotte has been in the software industry for 8+ years. She works for AWZWARE now as a passionate writer. She is good at providing simple guides to use various video, office and entertainment software. Charlotte also recommends many other useful tools to make your work and life easier. A food lover too.

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