# Any way to edit a pdf document? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234 "2006-01-09T23:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carnick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnick)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/1 "2006-01-09T23:34:35Z")
I have a large document saved as a pdf file that I need to edit, and I’ve lost the source file to a harddrive crash. Is there a way to edit pdf? Do I need the full retail version of Acrobat? ---
**Author:** ![lonesome\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@lonesome\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonesome_loser)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/2 "2006-01-09T23:40:36Z")
There are several programs that will edit pdf files. Google pdf edit and check them out. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/3 "2006-01-09T23:42:04Z")
I believe the only way to edit a .PDF file is with Acrobat. I don’t know of any third-party editors that can do it. If no one else can provide a reasonable solution, and the editing isn’t too extensive, you can email it to me. I have Acrobat 6.0. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/4 "2006-01-10T00:09:29Z")
There are quite a number of pdf to Word (or other formats) converters available. If this is a really important document, it’s probably worth the cost. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/5 "2006-01-10T00:20:23Z")
I use SolidConverter pdf to convert pdfs back into word form. It does a good job at keeping columns and images and layouts the same as the original doc even in complex layouts, and for simple documents it should convert perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/6 "2006-01-10T00:22:53Z")
Some pdf files are images. That is they are produced by scanning a page. I doubt these are editable in any sense unless you apply OCR first. ---
**Author:** ![cbarnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@cbarnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbarnes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/7 "2006-01-10T01:22:05Z")
Purchasing Acrobat is really your best hope. It is well worth the cost if this happens to be an important document. You can also work purely in .pdf form in the future with Acrobat which may prove to be worthwhile. Either way, I suggest biting the bullet and purchasing Acrobat. ---
**Author:** ![Ty\_Cobb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ty\_Cobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ty_Cobb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/8 "2006-01-10T01:43:17Z")
Go to [http://www.download.com](http://www.download.com) and type in a few keywords like PDF, free, edit, etc. Here’s one you might want. Converts generic text to PDF. There are many that go the other way as well. [http://www.download.com/Free-Text-To-PDF-Converter/3000-6675\_4-10443607.html?tag=lst-0-5](http://www.download.com/Free-Text-To-PDF-Converter/3000-6675_4-10443607.html?tag=lst-0-5) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-edit-a-pdf-document/339234/9 "2006-01-10T02:01:13Z")
Try [PlanetPDF](http://www.planetpdf.com/) And maybe [pdfzone](http://www.pdfzone.com) and see what tools can be found.