# Anybody use PDFpen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154 "2009-07-24T20:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/1 "2009-07-24T20:03:34Z")
I want one, and I can get it now for $30 from an email from SmithMicro. I’m mostly interested in filling in PDF forms and the like on my mac. Does it work as advertised? Thanks mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/2 "2009-07-25T09:15:53Z")
There’s a free trial [here](http://www.smileonmymac.com/PDFpen/), why not try it out. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/3 "2009-07-25T15:34:25Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:2, topic:504154”] There’s a free trial [here](http://www.smileonmymac.com/PDFpen/), why not try it out. [/QUOTE] I checked a bunch of reviews (mostly to make sure it wouldn’t do something nasty to my comp) then went ahead and bought it. $30 ain’t that much, and so far I’ve filled in a couple forms. Works fine. Looks like they have pretty good support too. Macworld gave it four mice. It’s always annoyed me when someone would send me a PDF all filled with _their_ info, but I’d have to print it out and do my part by hand. It’s a good deal for one who’s fingers aren’t as nimble as they once were. So far, I’m happy. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/4 "2009-07-26T14:09:07Z")
I like it. a little hard to get all the words, checkmarks, etc in just the right spot. But it does what I need. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/5 "2009-07-26T14:45:32Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I like it. > a little hard to get all the words, checkmarks, etc in just the right spot. But it does what I need. I assume it gets easier with practice. I cheat and use Xs in place of checks (ticks?) I like it too. I’d recommend it to someone who has the same needs I do. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/6 "2009-07-27T18:11:54Z")
Anybody know of something like that for Windows? It’s happened several times in the past I needed to sign and return a .pdf, and I had to print-\>sign-\>scan. I’d rather keep it all electronic. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/7 "2009-07-27T19:58:11Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Anybody know of something like that for Windows? It’s happened several times in the past I needed to sign and return a .pdf, and I had to print-\>sign-\>scan. I’d rather keep it all electronic. I googled "PDF editor and got 26 million hits. I also searched in bizrate and got a few hits there. I didn’t look in any depth, though. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/8 "2009-07-28T04:47:47Z")
Might I recommend [PDF XChange Viewer](http://www.docu-track.com/) (for windows). It is free, and allows you to type on PDFs (and otherwise mark them up), and to save and print the altered versions. It does have some odd little bugs and awkwardnesses, but once you get the hang of it it works well. Last time I checked it also started up much faster than Acrobat, and it displays _almost_ all PDFs correctly. (I have had a minor problem with watermarked documents, because it makes the watermarks much too dark). I keep Acrobat Reader around just in case, but I hardly ever use it. Mind you, if you need to _sign_ something they are usually going to want handwriting anyway, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/9 "2009-07-28T19:24:44Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Macworld gave it four mice. For some reason this just cracked me up. It’s not that funny but it made me laugh Now back to your regularly scheduled thread:D ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-pdfpen/504154/10 "2009-07-28T19:46:30Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > For some reason this just cracked me up. It’s not that funny but it made me laugh > > Now back to your regularly scheduled thread:D Well, the dang thing was hungry!