# Can I edit a PDF File **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384 "2006-08-04T20:31:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/1 "2006-08-04T20:31:20Z")
even if all I have is Adobe Reader - no Acrobat? At a website where I belong, I can download piano scales. But once I get them, I want to add something in front of each scale. It would be the same format for throughout. For C Major it’d be: 4th **B** - 7th (for the Treble Clef) 4th **D** - 2nd (for the Bass Clef) For G Major it’d be 4th **F#** - 7th 4th \*\*A \*\*- 2nd And so on, for all Majors, plus their Harmonic and Melodic Minors. Is this possible? ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/2 "2006-08-04T20:33:37Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] even if all I have is Adobe Reader - no Acrobat? At a website where I belong, I can download piano scales. But once I get them, I want to add something in front of each scale. It would be the same format for throughout. For C Major it’d be: 4th **B** - 7th (for the Treble Clef) 4th **D** - 2nd (for the Bass Clef) For G Major it’d be 4th **F#** - 7th 4th \*\*A \*\*- 2nd And so on, for all Majors, plus their Harmonic and Melodic Minors. Is this possible? [/QUOTE] OH DAMMIT! THE HEADLINE SHOULD READ: Can I **edit** a PDF File? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/3 "2006-08-04T20:35:27Z")
Are you saying you want to modify an existing PDF or just create your own? For modifying you might need to buy Acrobat (not sure). Also may depend on how the PDF was created (creator can lock out changes and other such things for security). For making your own there are free PDF generators to be found with a quick Google search. They usually work but I have seen people unable to open PDFs created with non-Adobe PDF generators. Usually ok though. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/4 "2006-08-04T20:36:11Z")
You can’t edit if all you have is Reader, but you can insert a PDF file into a MS Word file (using the “insert picture” command). Then you could add the text in the Word file. Of course, then you have a Word file instead of a PDF file, which may defeat your whole purpose. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/5 "2006-08-04T20:41:07Z")
There are a number of pdf editors available. Not all from Adobe. This one has a free trial so you can see if it does what you need. > **[Free Online PDF Editor | Edit PDF Files Effortlessly with Foxit](https://www.foxit.com/pdf-editor/)** > > Foxit PDF Editor provides a full featured platform to create, manage, convert, OCR, eSign and edit PDF documents. Download the best PDF editor for free now! googling pdf editor shows tons more. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/6 "2006-08-04T22:26:45Z")
Thank you all. To keep it simple, I’ll append each scale by hand. Mods, you may close this thread. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/7 "2006-08-04T22:41:49Z")
Seeing as the tread hasn’t been closed yet: Not sure if this is true for PC’s, but the current versions of Microsoft Word for Mac allow you to save a document as a PDF even without Acrobat. Also, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator can open a PDF file as a picture which you can then edit. If you are really desperate, you can convert a PDF (or anything else) to an image file by taking a screen grab. Not useful if you need to make lots of changes or want the format to match precisely, but better than nothing. And Mac OSX has the capacity to save any document as a PDF (Print -\> Preview -\> Save as PDF). ---
**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:** [August 5, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/8 "2006-08-05T03:37:39Z")
PCs don’t have that functionality. But you can get something like [PDF995](http://www.pdf995.com/) which behaves like a printer. Then you just print using the PDF995 printer and the output is a PDF file. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/9 "2006-08-05T10:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”] PCs don’t have that functionality. But you can get something like [PDF995](http://www.pdf995.com/) which behaves like a printer. Then you just print using the PDF995 printer and the output is a PDF file. [/QUOTE] Thanks very much, **1920s Style “Death Ray”**. I’ll try the freebie and if it works for me, I’ll buy the ad-free version. Very nice of you all to contribute and I appreciate your inputs. ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/10 "2006-08-05T11:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Thanks very much, **1920s Style “Death Ray”**. I’ll try the freebie and if it works for me, I’ll buy the ad-free version. Very nice of you all to contribute and I appreciate your inputs. [/QUOTE] PrimoPDF is completely free. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/11 "2006-08-05T13:48:15Z")
[QUOTE=SlickRoenick] PrimoPDF is completely free. [/QUOTE] I looked at it, and I have the same question that I wonder about with all these apps. What do they mean that you “print with any application” apparently to create a PDF file? I don’t get the concept. Could you, **Slick** , or anyone, please explain? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/12 "2006-08-05T14:05:10Z")
PDF995 and other similar programs are not the type of program that you open up and create a PDF document in. They are virtual printers that allow you to save a file as a PDF. You create a document in your document program of choice, e.g., Word, or even Excel. Then you go as if to print the document but instead of choosing your normal external printer, you choose PDF995 (which shows up in the list of printers.) It will then “print” the document as a PDF, i.e., it saves the file as a PDF. It will work with any program that can be printed from. So you could “print” the browser window with this SDMB thread if you wanted, and it is effectively being saved as a PDF. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/13 "2006-08-05T14:08:42Z")
Also, it doesn’t directly do what you want. it won’t let you directly edit a PDF. But you can save your music PDF file as an image, insert the image in to Word, add what ever you want to it, then use a free PDF printer such as PDF995 to save the whole lot back to a PDF. It’s a bit long winded, but the results should be satisfactory. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/14 "2006-08-05T15:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”] Also, it doesn’t directly do what you want. it won’t let you directly edit a PDF. But you can save your music PDF file as an image, insert the image in to Word, add what ever you want to it, then use a free PDF printer such as PDF995 to save the whole lot back to a PDF. It’s a bit long winded, but the results should be satisfactory. [/QUOTE] Not long winded at all! I understand now. In a few short sentences in 2 posts you have answered my questions, cleared all doubts and transformed me to Geekhood!! 😃😃😃 Thanks a lot **“Death Ray”**. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/15 "2006-08-05T15:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Not long winded at all! I understand now. In a few short sentences in 2 posts you have answered my questions, cleared all doubts and transformed me to Geekhood!! 😃😃😃 Thanks a lot **“Death Ray”**. [/QUOTE] Oh. I wasn’t being sarcastic. I really do get it now, and I am genuinely appreciative. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/16 "2006-08-06T04:08:08Z")
No worries :). Someone in another thread mentioned a program called [Foxit Reader](http://www.foxitsoftware.com/default.htm). It seems to be much more streamlined than Adobe Reader (very fast load times, small download.) The free version will let you type directly on to an existing PDF, but you get an ugly “evaluation mark” on the document. For $39 US you can get the pro version which will do what you want with no evaluation marks. ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/17 "2006-08-06T14:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Could you, **Slick** , or anyone, please explain? [/QUOTE] **1920sSDR** was right on the money. What i do with the PDFs is only make them when the final copy is complete. However, i still save all the original documents in their original format: .doc, .xls, whatever file extension. That way, if a change ever needs to be made, i just open up the application, make the adjustment, and reprint/save to a pdf format again. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/18 "2006-08-06T15:15:15Z")
As an aside, I’ve used both PDF995 and PrimoPDF. They’re fine, but I prefer [PDFCreator](http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/), which is an open source program. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/19 "2006-08-06T16:41:24Z")
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”] No worries :). Someone in another thread mentioned a program called [Foxit Reader](http://www.foxitsoftware.com/default.htm). It seems to be much more streamlined than Adobe Reader (very fast load times, small download.) The free version will let you type directly on to an existing PDF, but you get an ugly “evaluation mark” on the document. For $39 US you can get the pro version which will do what you want with no evaluation marks. [/QUOTE] I bought it immediately upon reading your post. Thank you. Hmm. That’s what, $69 for editable PDFs? Oh, WTF. 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-edit-a-pdf-file/367384/20 "2006-08-06T17:04:04Z")
What I meant (above) was I spent $39 dollars for PDF995. Bought the deluxe, no ads edition. Now. for something completely different… \*\*While I’m in a splurging mode, can you recommend some emoticons that work with Gmail. \*\* This is so inane, I’m too embarrassed to start a thread on the topic, but sometimes I want to pin a laughing or scowling face to an email message and I’m severely limited.