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dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

[Free] What's the best PDF editor

I made some flyers for our church in PDF format so they can be edited easily by all those involved. Now I need to send out a mass email to other church members with a link to a free PDF editor along with instructions on how to edit files.

I searched the Member's Choice FAQ and didn't see anything pertaining to PDF editors?

I would like some opinions on what is the best one in terms of options and ease of use.

Anyone...?
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen

Premium Member

Sorry fins but I think you selected the wrong format (PDF) for easy (free) editing by many different users. PDF is basically owned by Adobe and there aren't any decent 3rd. party free PDF editors out there.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

dandelion to dolphins

MVM

to dolphins
I haven't tried others but can say this one is simple to use: »www.foxitsoftware.com/Se ··· ties.php

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

Thanks for the link dandelion See Profile but what I'm looking for is something that will allow others to edit the text.
said by aguen:

Sorry fins but I think you selected the wrong format (PDF) for easy (free) editing by many different users. PDF is basically owned by Adobe and there aren't any decent 3rd. party free PDF editors out there.

I'm beginning to realize that now.

OK, new question.

What's the best universal format I should use, Office Writer? Then I could send them links to OpenOffice.
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to dolphins

Premium Member

to dolphins
If the majority of your users don't already have MS Word installed, then yeah, I'd go with either LibreOffice Writer or OpenOffice, in that order.

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

Thanks.

I guess I got a little ahead of myself trying to anticipate what software others may have available.

I just like being creative. I don't like the business part of it all.

VerdeDude
Here Kitty Kitty
Premium Member
join:2003-05-01
Northern Az.

VerdeDude to dolphins

Premium Member

to dolphins
This may do the job for you.

PDF-XChange Viewer
"Those wishing to View/Modify or perform simple editing and even OCR Image based PDF files on their Windows PC's now have a FREE pdf reader alternative"

»www.tracker-software.com ··· e-viewer

I have used this program and I like it!

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

Hmmm... I tried the PDF-XChange Viewer but was unable to edit the text?

randavis
74 Challenger 440 4bbl
join:2000-01-19
Blue Springs, MO

randavis

Member

The people who make PDF-XChange viewer also make PDFCreator. IRRC, It can edit the .pdf file. It is a separate program.

Edit: during the install process, you need to install PDFArchitect also, which allows editing.

jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
MVM
join:2000-04-13
USA

jaykaykay to dolphins

MVM

to dolphins
Have you checked into Nitro? I use it all the time and it allows you to do many things that most others do not.

Quick LinksCreate PDF Files
Convert & Extract
Collaborate & Review
Fill & Save Forms
QuickSign PDF Files
Secure & Protect
Nitro ReaderQuick Tour
Technical Support
Technical Details

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell

Premium Member

said by jaykaykay:

Have you checked into Nitro? I use it all the time and it allows you to do many things that most others do not.


Last I knew there wasn't a free version of Nitro, has that changed? The OP was looking for a free version of software because he wants to distribute it to multiple users.

RWild
Them Or Us
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Cary, NC

RWild to dolphins

Premium Member

to dolphins
Current PC and Mac versions of Acrobat's free Reader allows some editing and annotation of PDF files.

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

Thanks for the replies everyone. I came to the conclusion that if I'm having this much trouble editing the files, PDF was the wrong choice.

I recreated the flyers in Office format and saved them as .odt (Open Document Text). It's my assumption that most people should have some sort of office software on their computer. If not, they should but that's my opinion. I believe .odt files are compatible with any office software?
dolphins

dolphins to RWild

Premium Member

to RWild
I have the latest Acrobat Reader and I was unable to edit the files.
NoHereNoMo
join:2012-12-06

1 edit

NoHereNoMo to dolphins

Member

to dolphins
Not a "suggestion" mind you, just wondering... are the documents too complex to format/save as HTML?

jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
MVM
join:2000-04-13
USA

jaykaykay to Msradell

MVM

to Msradell
said by Msradell:

said by jaykaykay:

Have you checked into Nitro? I use it all the time and it allows you to do many things that most others do not.


Last I knew there wasn't a free version of Nitro, has that changed? The OP was looking for a free version of software because he wants to distribute it to multiple users.

I have not paid for it, am using a free version. Yes. There is Nitro Pro, a paid for version, but I haven't found need to use/get it.

•The only free PDF reader that lets you create too.
Create from over 300 formats.
Create PDFs from virtually any Windows application. Convert any printable files to PDF directly from the source, or within Nitro Reader. Nitro PDF Creator, a virtual print driver, lets you print directly from your favorite applications.

Drag it. Drop it. Done.
You can drag any file onto the desktop icon to instantly create a document. All PDFs created with Nitro Reader are 100% compatible with other leading PDF readers and editors. So you can share them securely with anyone, anywhere.

Full-featured PDF creation.
Free doesn’t mean limited. You can completely control the output: customize the colors, font-embedding, page size, orientation and output quality. Or just keep it simple with 3 handy presets: Web, Office, and Print ready.
jp10558
Premium Member
join:2005-06-24
Willseyville, NY

1 recommendation

jp10558 to dolphins

Premium Member

to dolphins
I wouldn't use PDF for anything but a replacement for a printed piece of paper - i.e. don't expect to edit it easily IMO. ODT should work with LibreOffice which makes all sorts of sense for what you want to do (I think).

If you know someone with some skill, or are OK with cloud based products, you could look into some wiki sort of platform which would then be online editable with a browser...

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

dolphins

Premium Member

Exactly!

This whole dilemma was caused by my obsession with the preservation of image quality and edit ability. I blame that on Photoshop. I also like to put into practice concepts as infallible as possible due to my lack of confidence in others. Sometimes I need to just lean back and say, c'est la vie, what ever will be will be.