How to Edit a PDF

One of the best reasons to send someone a PDF instead of a Word doc is so that when they open it, it looks exactly as you intended. The formatting, the font, everything. But for those on the receiving end who want to tweak a word or two, it can be a huge pain to make changes. So just how do you edit a PDF?

PDF (portable document format) is an open-source format so while Adobe Acrobat is popular, it's far from the only program out there. Let's start with Adobe first, though.

Adobe Acrobat
If you've gotten really lucky, you're working with an unlocked PDF and editing it is as simple as opening the PDF, selecting Tools, Content Editing, and the Edit Text & Images tool. Just click on the areas you wish to edit and the tools you need will appear.

If the PDF is locked, you can try to select copy it, create a new document, and then paste the content in. Go to Edit, then Select All, right click and choose Copy. Go to File, then New, right click, and then choose Paste. Be sure to save the document.

Free PDF Editors
Download a free PDF editor; LibreOffice is a good one. Open up LibreOffice, then go to File, Open, and select the PDF you wish to work with. When you go to edit the document, the tools you need will appear automatically. To save, select the PDF icon in the toolbar, name the PDF, and click Save.

PDFUnlock
You've tried to straight edit the PDF, you tried copying it, and no dice. It's time to move on to PDFUnlock. This is a browser-based solution where you can either type in the URL of the PDF, select it from your desktop, or upload it from Dropbox or Google Drive. Then select Unlock. When PDFUnlock is done, save the file and open it for editing in whatever PDF editor you have.

Microsoft Word
The last method involves converting the PDF to Word and then editing in that program. This is doable in Word 2013 and you can see our complete guide on converting a PDF into a Word doc.

One last word of advice is: be prepared for things to get messy. Once you've started shimmying around in a nice, ordered PDF, it's hard to set things right again.

About Our Expert

Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My Experience

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme.

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light.

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

My Areas of Expertise

Making incomprehensible tech news easy to understand
Expanding the boundaries of topics covered in the industry
Figuring out tips and tricks in apps and on devices and letting you know about them
Putting together gift guides for everyone in your life

The Technology I Use

All that gadgets is gold for me: my iPhone 11 Pro, my fifth-generation iPad that I use only for streaming videos and music, my iPad mini 4 that I like to take with me whenever I carry a bag that can fit it, and my MacBook Pro. Why are they all different shades of gold, though? What’s going on, Apple?

None of them quite live up to my two past loves: my LG Lotus LX600 phone and my Sony Walkman NW-E005 MP3 player.

I've never given up wired earbuds so I was ahead of all those trend pieces. I use a Mangotek Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter to connect them to my phone.

I have had so many ebook readers, but I prefer paper to them all. Still, my Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling or when I’m too impatient to wait for a book to be released in paperback.

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