How to Edit PDFs?

Question

I typically have two needs:

Scenario A. Change a single PDF page.

In this case I have a PDF but not the original source file used to create the PDF. I don't want to try to recreate the document from scratch. I'd like to open the PDF and change a few things. A good example of this scenario: I was responsible for planning a big event at a campground site, I had a PDF of the site. I wanted to start with that document, highlight some parts, add some labels, remove some parts that weren't relevant.

or

Scenario B. Combine PDFs or extract page(s) from a PDF

This scenario usually arises because I want a single PDF deliverable that is made up of parts that are best created in different programs. In this case I have the source files for all the documents but they don't play well enough together to easily create a single PDF deliverable. For part of it, I may want to use Libre Office Writer. For another page I may want to use Gimp. Still another page I may use Libre Office Calc. I could use Writer as the master document and embed images or the Calc object into that, but for ultimate control, you can't beat separate PDF documents that are then combined.

What are the best tools / processes for editing PDFs in Ubuntu?

Answer 1

I feel like I have tried every possible free pdf solution on Ubuntu. Some seem to have great potential but at the end of the day are just too buggy or complex. These three solutions for me have passed the test of time:

PDF-shuffler I do a lot of combining of PDF documents (as in the second scenario) and I find PDF-shuffler simple and convenient. I have also used it to extract pages out of a larger pdf document and it works well there too. The PDF-shuffler GUI is simple and it works consistently.

pdftk Despite my love for PDF-shuffler, I turn to the command line when scenario two type situations get at all complicated. You can't beat pdftk for its ability to handle the basic manipulation of pdf files. And, as you'd expect, it is much faster than any GUI which becomes more critical as the files become larger. Don't be intimidated by the command line. Many of the tools for editing PDF are more difficult to figure out how to use than opening up the terminal and then using one of the examples on the pdftk site as a template to do what you want.

inkscape The truth is, there isn't a super easy way to edit pdf files following scenario A above. That is because PDF is a universal format and some of the structure of the document is lost when it is converted to PDF. A simple example: if you take a 3 page report and convert it to a PDF you have broken the links between the text on each page. If you edit the pdf version of it and delete a paragraph on the first page the text from pages 2 and 3 won't automatically flow onto the first page. It would be much easier to edit that document in the original program used to create it.

But for whatever reason, you don't have the original document so you are stuck working off of a PDF. So set your expectations appropriately when editing a PDF document following scenario A.

Once you set your expectations accordingly, you'll see that inkscape is the best tool for the job here. It will allow you to import a single page of the PDF document as an inkscape vector graphic. There will be a few things grouped together that don't really make sense, and you may have to change some fonts (assuming you don't have the original fonts installed), but really it is slick.

There is a learning curve to Inkscape but the truth is that you can't manipulate PDF without using some program with a learning curve. For my time, I'd prefer to invest that in learning Inkscape--a great application for creating vector graphics that can come in handy for lots of different scenarios--than I would in trying to figure out how to use a special tool just for editing PDFs.

Good luck

Answer 2

I think that PDF-Shuffler is small but quite good app.

Info: PDF-Shuffler is a small python-gtk application, which helps the user to merge or split pdf documents and rotate, crop and rearrange their pages using an interactive and intuitive graphical interface. It is a frontend for python-pyPdf.

PDF-Shuffler Web Site

Answer 3

I am surprised that PDF Studio is not mentioned here.

It's an all-in-one PDF solution that can annotate, markup text, form fill, edit content, sign, OCR and manipulate PDF documents.

http://www.qoppa.com/pdfstudio

Answer 4

Foxit PDF Editor (non-free) works well via WINE.

Newer versions of Foxit might work as well -- haven't tested 'em, though.

~.~.~

ps: This answer applies to your "Scenario A": you can basically edit everything in a pdf with Foxit: i.e., you can not only add things, but actually edit them as if it were, say, a Word file.

Answer 5

There was magic thing called pdfedit in repository. Anyway, you can get it from here http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfedit/. I've used it to make some text changes directly to file, omitting any conversions, so that file structure remains untouched. Just choose text selection mode at toolbox and click the text you want to edit. You are allowed to do it through the text-box that appeares at upper-left corner of window. Of course, there are a lot more features.

Answer 6

I was impressed with LibreOffice Draw:

sudo apt-get install libreoffice

Just open the pdf, edit, and export as pdf.

The editing tools appear in a toolbar at the bottom of the window (took me some time to find it...)

Relevant feature set I have found so far (Ubuntu 13.04, LibreOffice 4.0.2.2):

• remove pages. Right click on the page on the left page list > Delete page

• change page order. Drag drop pages on the page list

• edit existing text fields (edit text, formatting and position). Just click twice with the select tool to enter edit mode.

• add new text fields. Choose the text tool at the bottom (T), select the desired text area, and write.

• edit non text fields objects like lines or bullets.

I could not find an extremely convenient highlight method, but you could get away with editing text attributes like setting the colour red and boldface. I could not change the background colour tough.

If I missed good features, please edit and add them!