PDFs are an exceptionally common file format. Nonetheless, most people don’t know anything about it.
In premise, the Portable Document Format is used to contain text and images. However, it can also contain fonts, hyperlinks, videos, and much more.
In this article, we will take a closer look at PDFs, starting with what they are, how to edit them, and how to convert them.
If that’s something you want to know, keep reading to learn more.
What Are PDFs?
A Portable Document Format with the .PDF extension was developed by Adobe. As mentioned earlier, these formats can contain text and images, as well as the prior mentioned elements.
You will often see eBooks, manuals, job applications, brochures, flyers, and a variety of other documents available in this format. Even websites can be saved as PDFs in their full presence.
PDFs do not rely on software, nor the particular operating hardware or system, meaning they will look the same regardless of where they are being viewed.
Most people start out with Adobe Acrobat (part of the creative cloud) when they need to open them. Adobe created the standard and the program, so it’s not surprising that most people use it. It’s entirely fine to make use of, it’s somewhat bloated, but that’s because the features are so extensive.
Most modern browsers can open PDFs. You might or might not need an extension to open them, but it’s quite handy to have that capability for when you need access quickly.
Convert PDF Files
Most people want to convert PDF files to another format which will allow them to extensively edit the contents without jeopardizing mobility. Converting a PDF means that the extension is no longer .PDF, and it can be opened by another program that is developed for that format.
For instance, conversions from PDF to DOCX allow you to open the file not just in Microsoft Word, but also in LibreOffice and OpenOffice. Using these programs can make editing a PDF significantly more convenient, as most people do not have the proficiency to use a PDF editor.
If you wanted a non-PDF file to become a PDF, you would use a PDF creator. These tools will take your existing formats, assess them, and then export them as PDF. Exporting from any format to PDF can be done with any applicable software.
Some of the software can do both, convert non-PDF to PDF, and PDFs to non-PDF. For instance, Calibre is a great example of such software.
Many programs can merge several PDFs into a single file. As well as save just the images or extract specific pages.
If you wanted your PDF to be a JPG, you can do that. This is handy if you need somebody to see the contents of a file, but don’t know if they have a PDF reader.
CleverPDF or EasyPDF are great converters for a variety of purposes. Another conversion you can make is from PDF to PPTX. This will allow you to split each PDF page and create a PowerPoint presentation. You can also convert PDF to text if you wanted to.
Edit PDF Files
As mentioned earlier, Adobe Acrobat is the most common software, but Word will work as well. Other PDF editors, such as Nitro or PhantomPDF can help you too.
If you don’t want to download software, you can make use of PDF Buddy, PDFescape, or DocHub, all of which are online PDF editors. Just upload your PDF to them, and then choose to add text, signatures, images, links, and anything else. After that, you can download the file back to your computer.
If you just need to add signatures, you can make use of Fill, which is designed for that purpose alone. It also supports regular text, checkboxes, dates. However, you can’t edit any of the existing text or fill out open-ended forms.
If you want to extract a separate part of a PDF file or split one file into many, you can make use of a PDF splitter. However, most of the mentioned software is capable of doing all of the mentioned actions, except for Fill.
Also, if you haven’t thought of this, you can convert your PDF to another format first, such as DOCX. After doing this, you can edit the file as you wish and see fit, then convert it back to the original PDF format. By doing so, you extend the abilities for editing and make use of features that might not be available on Adobe Acrobat or any other PDF editing tool.
The versatility of PDF conversion and editing is what makes it truly stand out. PDFs are great for sending lots of textual content to others, as the file size is minimal and can be attached as a regular file on any traditional means of file sharing.
PDFs Elaborated
Now that you know what PDFs are, how to convert them, and how to edit them, you are well on your way to make full use of their potential. If you haven’t already been using them, you might not need to now. However, the capabilities of the file format are infinite, so there’s really no reason not to.
If you’re a writer, if you’re a blogger, if you’re a presenter, if you’re a creator of any kind, the PDF is a great tool for you to deliver content to a broader audience. If you’re interested in learning more about similar topics, feel free to check out the rest of our tech-related articles.
