Do you need to edit the content of a PDF file on your Mac, but you don’t know which tools to use to do it because you are still inexperienced on what to do? Do not fear. You probably weren’t aware of it, but macOS can count on a huge range of software and online services, in most cases totally free, which allow you to perform the aforementioned operation in various ways.
There are tools that allow you to add simple notes and highlights to documents, others that allow you to alter text in files, and still others that allow you to compress PDFs, merge or split them with one click. Fantastic, don’t you think?
If you want to know what they are and, therefore, want to find out how to edit Mac PDFs using them, all you have to do is continue reading: you will find everything explained below. I assure you that in the end you will have perfectly clear ideas and you will even be ready to affirm that in reality it was a real piece of cake. Let it bet?
Index
- How to edit a PDF on Mac
- Edit PDF with Mac Preview
- Edit PDFs with LibreOffice Mac
- Edit PDF in Word Mac
- Other solutions to edit PDF on Mac
- How to edit PDF Mac online
- PDFescape
- PDF Candy
- More solutions to edit PDF Mac online
How to edit a PDF on Mac
If you want to edit a PDF on Mac using software solutions, you can consider using those listed below, in my opinion they are the best in their category.
Edit PDF with Mac Preview
If you want to edit PDF files with Mac , I suggest you first of all take advantage of Preview , the default macOS application for viewing photos and PDF documents which also offers a series of very useful functions that allow you to customize the content of the files opened in it. so many ways.
To edit PDF with Mac Preview , open the file you want to act on by right-clicking on its icon , selecting the Open with item from the context menu and Preview .
Once the document is displayed, select the pencil icon in the circle located at the top right to bring up the toolbar containing all the tools for editing the PDF: the Aa icon allows you to select the text already present in the document, the icon with the serrated square allows you to select portions of the document, the [T] icon offers the possibility of inserting personalized texts, the signature icon allows you to insert a handwritten signature, etc.
To insert highlights, however, click on the pencil icon located at the top of the Preview window. In addition, by clicking on the adjacent arrow symbol you can access the color selection menu.
If your need is to merge or split documents, activate the thumbnail view by clicking on the View menu at the top left and choosing the Thumbnails option from the latter , then sort, delete or add the thumbnails of the pages in the bar left side.
By default, any changes you make are automatically saved to the original file. If you prefer to save a different copy of the document, you can do so by selecting the File menu at the top left and choosing from the latter the item Export as PDF , after which you must indicate the name to be assigned to the file and the location for saving.
Edit PDFs with LibreOffice Mac
If you need to edit PDF text on Mac or edit PDF Mac underline , you can consider turning to LibreOffice . In case you have never heard of it, I inform you that it is an open source productivity suite, which contains applications for creating texts, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and printable documents. In addition, it is totally free, so it fully falls into the category of useful resources to edit PDF Mac for free .
To download LibreOffice on your Mac, connect to the program’s website and proceed with the download and installation following the instructions I have provided you in my specific guide on what to do .
Then, start LibreOffice by selecting its icon from the Launchpad , from the Applications folder or by searching for it in Spotlight , click on the button to open file on the left and select the PDF to edit. Alternatively, you can drag the PDF directly into the LibreOffice window.
After completing the above steps, Draw will open , LibreOffice’s application for creating printable documents. You will then be able to edit PDF with LibreOffice Mac using the icons located on the left sidebar and at the top: those with geometric shapes and arrows allow you to insert indications and circled elements in the document, the one with the letter “T” allows you to add fields custom text etc.
If, on the other hand, you want and can modify the text of the PDF, proceed by double-clicking on an existing portion, while to add images you must click on the photo icon located at the top right.
Once the changes are complete, save the edited PDF by clicking on the File menu at the top left and choosing the item Save from it. If, on the other hand, you prefer to save a modified PDF other than the original file, select the option to proceed with exporting to PDF , then define the preferences relating to the output document and press the button to confirm everything. For more details, check out my guides on how to write to PDF and how to create editable PDFs .
Edit PDF in Word Mac
When it comes to editing PDF Mac it is practically impossible not to mention Microsoft Word , the famous word processing software from Redmond. Not everyone is aware of it, but it also includes a function that allows you to edit PDFs as if they were files in DOC and DOCX format. Unfortunately, however, the formatting of the original files is not always completely preserved.
Also keep in mind that you can edit PDF in Word with Mac only using Office 2013 and later versions . Furthermore, it is not free: Word is part of the Microsoft 365 suite and the most recent version can be used through a paid subscription (with prices starting at 7 euros/month), but you can try it without spending any money for 30 days and with no obligation to renewal.
That said, first download and install Word as I explained in my guide on the subject .
Subsequently, start the program, click on the File menu at the top left, select the Open item present in it, then the PDF on which you want to intervene and consent to the import procedure.
After performing the above steps, you will be able to edit the file like any other Word document, i.e. by inserting texts, formatting them, etc. using the tools and commands placed on the toolbar at the top and in the various tabs.
Once the changes are complete, save the edited file by clicking on the File menu at the top left, then on the Export item and on the Create PDF/XPS document option . If you prefer to save the file as a DOC or DOCX document, choose the Save As option from the File menu and that’s it.
Other solutions to edit PDF on Mac
In the event that what has already been proposed has not satisfied you, you can consider taking advantage of the other useful solutions for editing PDFs on Apple-branded computers listed below.
- PDF Toolkit+ – is a compact and very versatile application that allows you to edit PDF Mac by directly acting on the properties of the files and not only on their content. It allows you to compress PDF documents by changing their resolution, extract text and images from them, and split PDF into two or more parts and merge multiple documents into one. It is paid (it costs 2.49 euros).
- Notability– another excellent application for macOS that allows you to create PDF documents from scratch, or rather from your own annotations. It also allows you to add notes and additional information to existing PDFs and synchronize everything online. It’s free, but to unlock all the available functions, you need to subscribe to a paid subscription (at the basic cost of 3.49 euros/month).
- Nitro PDF Pro– great application that allows you to edit PDFs in almost every possible way, as well as view them. In fact, you can create interactive forms, edit OCR texts, add and edit tables, convert entire sites to PDF, etc. It is paid (it costs 169.99 euros), but can be obtained for free by subscribing to Setapp , a service through which it is possible to freely access over 210 paid applications, including the one in question, in exchange for a small monthly fee /annual. For more information, I recommend reading my specific guide on how Setapp works .
How to edit PDF Mac online
Do you prefer to edit Mac PDFs online , using special web services that work from any browser ? Then use the resources listed below and you won’t regret it. I also inform you that they protect all user privacy by automatically deleting files uploaded to their respective servers a few hours after uploading.
PDFescape
PDFescape is a great web service to edit PDF Mac with various features and tools for free. It is easy to use and no registration is required. You can upload files with a maximum size of 10 MB and with a maximum number of 100 pages. Note that you can eventually activate a paid subscription (at a minimum cost of $2.99/month) to unlock extra features.
To be able to use PDFescape, connect to the relevant home page , click on the Upload PDF to PDFescape button , then on the Choose file button to select the PDF from your computer in relation to which you want to act, then press the Upload button . Alternatively, you can upload the PDF by dragging it directly into the browser window, in the Drop PDF Here area . Instead, if the PDF to be edited is online you have to click on the Load PDF From Internet button and type its URL.
Once uploaded, use the toolbar on the left to edit the PDF. You can select one of the three available tabs: the Insert one allows you to use the functions for inserting text, images and other elements into the PDF; the Annotate one offers the possibility to add annotations and highlights through the buttons visible on the screen; that Page allows you to take advantage of the functions to modify the pages of the document, rotating them, eliminating them, etc.
Once all the editing operations are finished, proceed with the download of the edited file by clicking on the down arrow icon on the left side of the screen.
PDF Candy
PDF Candy is another valid online service that I think you can consider to edit PDF Mac. It allows you to modify documents in the format in question in various ways and also allows you to convert various types of files into PDF documents. However, it should be noted that files weighing more than 500 MB cannot be uploaded. To get around this limitation and unlock extra functions, you need to subscribe to a paid subscription (at the basic cost of 4 euros/month).
In order to use PDF Candy for your purpose, connect to the web page of the tool to edit PDFs and drag the reference file to it. Alternatively, you can select the document manually by clicking the Add File button or you can get it from supported cloud storage services by clicking the adjacent arrow and logos .
After loading, select the tools to use to edit the PDF in the toolbar located on the left: by pressing the “T” button you can insert texts, by clicking on the one with the square you can add geometric shapes, by clicking on the one with the signature you can insert your handwritten signature etc. Further options are shown in the adjacent drop-down menu.
When you’re done with the changes, click on the Export file button located at the top right, then click on the Download file button to proceed with downloading the output document to your computer. You can also decide to transfer the final file to Google Drive or Dropbox or you can get a link to share
More solutions to edit PDF Mac online
In case you are looking for other useful solutions to edit PDF Mac from your browser, I suggest you try the ones listed below. I hope they are to your liking.
- iLovePDF— this is a famous Web service, running at no cost and without registration, which provides users with many tools for editing PDFs. You can therefore use it to merge and split PDFs, perform conversion tasks, etc. However, it applies limitations regarding the number of files that can be processed and uploads, but by subscribing to one of the paid plans (with costs starting from 6 euros/month) this can be solved.
- Online2PDF– is a popular web service focused on PDF editing. It can therefore be used to merge and divide PDFs, to compress them and to perform various other operations on the aforementioned type of file. It’s free and requires no registration, but has some upload restrictions: you can’t process more than 20 documents at a time and you can’t upload files larger than 50MB, 100MB for multiple uploads.
- PDF Buddy– another online solution that allows you to edit PDF files in different ways, even by inserting new texts and acting on existing ones. It’s free and it’s not mandatory to register, but by creating an account and/or subscribing to one of the paid plans (with prices starting at $7.99/month) you can unlock extra features.
