PDF Editor ?
PDF Editor ?
The pdf format was created as a final output type and should not be altered after creation, except to recreate it from the initial source. The material inside might differ from expectations—it could consist of text or simply an uneditable image of a text page.
Of course, Adobe will be the main player here, though it isn’t open source or free. It was once part of Apple’s device lineup for free until recently. Monster pdf isn’t free either, but it works well.
From my perspective, pdf escape seems to be the top editor available, mainly due to its erase function. Still, it’s not free. (see below)
I subscribe to Adobe Pro DC, which is quite expensive but offers the best performance and lowest number of clicks when converting and compressing photos from JPEG to PDF. My main complaint right now is that at $20 per month it doesn’t support HEIC files. To handle this, I have to manually convert each file one by one using Paint, which is a messy process, and then finish it in Adobe. The compression tool is really useful for us.
I pay for Adobe, while the office manager handles pdfescape so that I can send over the things I can’t do directly.
If you’re looking for something truly free, there’s pdf rabbit (if it still exists) but it requires uploading and downloading one at a time through a risky, ad-heavy browser. Others I’ve tried are similar. pdfescape used to allow several free uses per month; we exceed that, but if your needs aren’t heavy you might manage.
They’ve also been testing dochub, which I’m not very familiar with yet but has remained free and handles high volumes well.
LibreOffice's Draw offers the ability to merge and edit PDFs. It's free, local, and secure—plus, it's definitely free!
However,
@ex_bubblehead
points out an important consideration. Not all PDFs are the same. The way a source PDF was generated will significantly affect what modifications you can later make.