You are looking for a software to open PDF files, but you have no idea how to do it. You are not very knowledgeable in the IT field, so you have no idea which software to use: luckily for you I have what is right for you, in fact below you will find both native solutions and some programs to open PDF files.
What interests you? Yup? Very good. In the following lines I will show you how to open PDF , showing you the best software used for the purpose, both for what concerns the Windows side and for the Mac world, both free and paid.
All you have to do is choose what you think will do the most for you and download it to your computer. In addition, I will also show you some apps to use on your Android device or on your iPhone or iPad. So? May I know what are you still standing there? Let’s not waste any more time chatting and immediately start getting busy. Happy reading and good work!
Index
- How to open PDF on PC and Mac
- Predefined solutions
- How to open PDF with Adobe
- How to open PDF in Chrome
- How to open PDF in Word
- How to open PDF in Excel
- Other programs to open PDFs
- App to open PDF
- How to open damaged PDF
- How to open password protected PDF
- How to open PDF p7m
How to open PDF on PC and Mac
They have sent you a PDF file that you must necessarily open on your PC. Unfortunately, you don’t have a clue how to open this type of file, because it’s your first time dealing with one of these.
Don’t worry though, because I’m here to help you. Over the next few paragraphs I will give you all the information you need, so I guess you can’t wait to find out how to open PDF on PC and Mac .
Predefined solutions
You probably weren’t aware of it, but on both Windows PC and Mac there are some predefined solutions that can be used to open PDF files. Basically you will not need to download third party applications.
If you are using a PC with Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system, you can open a PDF file using the Microsoft Edge web browser , which you find already installed by default on the latest builds of Windows 10 and on Windows 11. However, if it is not present it will not worry, because you can download it directly from the official website . Using the Edge browser you can open and edit files in PDF format.
To open a PDF file with Edge just double-click on the PDF file you want to open and wait for it to load in a web browser tab. If double-clicking the file does not open, don’t worry, just click right on the file and, from the menu that appears, press on the Open with item and select Edge .
Once the PDF file is open, you will be able to access the different commands on the toolbar, so you can adjust the zoom, rotate a screen and much more. More info here .
If, on the other hand, you are using a Mac , you can open a PDF file using the Preview application , which is installed by default within macOS. To open a PDF file with Preview, just double-click on the file you want to open, but if it does not open, just right- click on it and, from the menu that appears, select the items Open with> Preview . More info here .
How to open PDF with Adobe
Since you are not very computer literate, you immediately asked a friend how to open a PDF file and he advised you to use the Acrobat Reader DC program . Despite this, you have no idea what it is, so now you would like to understand how to open PDF with Adobe .
Acrobat Reader DC is a program created by the Adobe company that allows you to open and view any PDF file, both on Windows PC and on Mac. Among the other features of the program there is the possibility to print a PDF and share and comment on the PDF. If, however, you also want to change it, you must necessarily use the Adobe Acrobat program , which however is not free and is only available with a monthly or annual subscription with prices starting from € 28.05 per month . However, there is a 7-day free trial .
However, you can use the free Acrobat Reader DC version to open a PDF file. To download the program, all you have to do is go to this website and you can proceed with the installation by following the instructions you find in my tutorial about it .
Once the program installation is complete I guess you can’t wait to be able to use it to open a PDF file. Usually you just need to double-click on the PDF file you want to open and it will automatically open in Adobe Reader.
If not, just right-click on the file you want to open and, from the menu that appears, select the items Open with> Adobe Reader DC . Alternatively, just open Adobe Reader, click on the File item in the top bar and then click Open : in the screen that appears, select the file you want to open and click the Open button .
How to open PDF in Chrome
You need to open a PDF file you just downloaded, but you don’t know how to proceed. You would like to avoid having to install a special program, which you may only use in this circumstance, so you are wondering if there was any alternative.
In this case you could use the Google Chrome web browser , which is able to open any PDF file as if it were a normal web page. This way you do not have to download a special program and it could be very useful even if you use a Chromebook .
How do you say? Can’t wait to find out how to open PDF in Chrome ? Well, first you need to download and install Google Chrome on your PC, if it isn’t already there. If you don’t know how to do it, don’t worry, just take a look at the instructions you find in my tutorial .
Once the browser installation is complete, just right-click on the PDF file you want to open and, from the menu that appears, select the items Open with> Google Chrome : a browser screen will open with the PDF file inside you want to view.
How to open PDF in Word
Usually you always find yourself working with DOCX files in Word, so now that they have sent you a PDF file you are not sure how to manage or open it. You would like to avoid installing a special program, so you are wondering if it was possible to open this file through Microsoft Word , which is the program present within the Microsoft Office suite. Your question then is how to open PDF in Word .
Microsoft Word can open PDF files, but before opening it converts to an editable Word file, so it may be slightly different from the original PDF file. However, if you want to give it a try, open the Microsoft Word application, click on the Open Mail item in the side menu and then on Browse : select the PDF file you want to open and click on the Open button .
In the Word screen that opens, click on the OK button from the pop-up that appears on the screen and wait for the conversion of the PDF file to be completed: it usually takes a few seconds. Once the conversion is complete, the PDF file will appear on the screen as an editable Word file.
How to open PDF in Excel
Your colleague just turned you over a PDF file instead of the usual Excel file you are used to working with. For this reason you are wondering how to open PDF in Excel .
Unfortunately, in this case, I have bad news for you: the Microsoft Excel program cannot open PDF files . Trying to open this type of file with Excel, a pop-up will appear on the screen that will warn you that the format does not match and that the file could be damaged.
If you want to open a PDF file, but don’t want to install another program, you can always opt for the predefined solutions I told you about in the previous paragraph , or maybe, you could opt for the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program .
Other programs to open PDFs
None of the solutions that I have shown you previously have fully satisfied you, so you would like to know other programs to open PDFs .
Don’t worry, below I will list some programs that may come in handy for opening files with PDF extension.
- Sumatra PDF( Windows ) – free software for opening PDF files quite light and essential. In addition to PDF files, it can also open eBooks in ePub or Mobi format, XPS files and digital comics in CBZ or CBR . The program is available both as an installer and as a portable version, with the latter requiring no installation. More info here .
- Foxit Reader( Windows / macOS / Linux ) – free multiplatform software with which you can view and edit documents in PDF format, as well as compile and sign them.
- SlimPDF Reader( Windows / macOS / Linux ) – free cross-platform software that stands out for its pleasant user interface and ease of use. It allows you to read documents in PDF format, but also to add various comments and annotations.
App to open PDF
You need to open a PDF file with your smartphone, but you don’t have a clue which PDF opening apps you should use.
Don’t worry, you need to know that Android devices , as well as iPhones and iPads , already have a native function to open the PDF file. However, I will also point you to some of the best apps to download to your smartphone to open this type of file.
- Google Drive( Android / iPhone / iPad ) – Although this is a cloud file management app, Google Drive has a built-in PDF file reader. This is a great solution if you don’t intend to install additional apps on Android, as it is installed by default on Android devices with Google services.
- File( iPhone / iPad ) – app integrated within Apple devices that allows you to open a PDF file quickly and easily. Unfortunately, it only allows viewing of the file and not its modification.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – free app created by Adobe which is nothing more than the mobile counterpart of the PC software I told you about in the previous paragraph . Through the app in question it is only possible to view the files in PDF format and not to modify them.
- WPS Office( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – complete office suite that allows you to open virtually any type of document, including PDF files. The free version of the app only allows you to view the files, while you can edit them with the Premium version at a price of 99 euros per month .
How to open damaged PDF
They sent you a PDF file by email and after downloading it you tried to open it but without success. When you try to use one of the programs I told you about in the previous chapter, a pop-up appears that warns you that the file is damaged .
You have already tried to download the file received by email again, but the problem remains the same. Unfortunately, you can’t get another copy of the file anytime soon, so you’d want to figure out how to open damaged PDF .
Don’t worry, there are software designed to “repair” damaged or corrupted PDF files and I told you about it in depth in my tutorial on how to recover corrupt files .
How to open password protected PDF
You are trying to open a PDF file, but a password is required when opening. This is the first time something like this has happened to you, so you would like some guidance on how to open a password protected PDF .
Before giving you the information you need to access the file in question, it is good to specify that the password applied to a PDF file can be of two types: the owner password that protects the files against printing or modification and the user password which, instead, it prevents the opening of the document to those who do not know the keyword used.
Depending on the type of password applied to the document you will have to act differently, but I warn you right now that being able to bypass a user password is certainly not a walk in the park. However, don’t worry, because I’m sure that with the instructions in my tutorial on how to open password protected PDF files you will have a clearer idea about it and you may even succeed.
How to open PDF p7m
You received by email a PDF file with a strange .p7m extension that you have never seen in your life. You initially tried to open it with one of the programs I showed you in the previous chapter , but without success. For this reason you can’t wait to find out how to open PDF p7m .
The PDF file in question is nothing more than a PDF document that has been digitally signed . Precisely because of the latter, you will necessarily have to use software that is able to decrypt, read and validate the digital signature, as well as show the content of the document itself. If you would like more information on this, I recommend that you take a look at my tutorial on how to open a p7m PDF file .
