PDF files are an accurate representation of a document. They are meant for output or on-screen viewing. They are not intended to be intermediate files that can still be edited. There are some programs on the market that allow you to change the content of a PDF file and there are applications or plug-ins that can extract the content of a PDF so that you can insert this data into a new document. Keep in mind that altering PDF files is a last resort - whenever possible the original source file should be corrected and a new PDF generated. This is especially true for documents that will be reused at a later date! Below is an overview of software that allows you to edit a PDF file.

Adobe Acrobat & Acrobat Professional

Adobe Acrobat can be used to both view and manipulate PDF files. It can be used to completely repurpose PDF files (add multimedia elements like sound and video, add clickable buttons,…). For basic editing, it allows you to do the following:

• Delete pages, change their order or rotate them.
• Drag and drop pages from one PDF file to another.
• Change the size of pages (make them smaller, not larger).
• Modify text within a PDF. The ‘TouchUp Text’ tool is limited as text will not reflow if you add or delete a couple of words.
• Acrobat can also be linked to applications like PhotoShop and Illustrator so you can also edit bitmap and vector objects within a PDF file.

Acrobat plug-ins to edit PDF files

There are some plug-ins on the market that can be installed in Acrobat Professional to enhance its ability to edit objects within PDF document. The most well-known one is probably PitStop Professional from Enfocus.

Adobe Illustrator as a PDF editor

Even though Adobe carefully avoid positioning this drawing application as a PDF editor, a remarkable number of PDF files can be opened and modified in Illustrator. Its weak spot is text handling as Illustrator will automatically use its own fonts instead of fonts embedded in a PDF. This can lead to text reflows.

Other applications for editing PDF files

There are a number of applications on the market that can be used to edit PDF files. Google is your friend
Applications that I have gotten positive feedback about are:

• Enfocus offer Neo, a stand-alone PDF editor that is a lot faster than working in Acrobat.
• Oris PDF Tuner is another alternative solution that seems to have a good reputation.
• For extensive text editing, the best application that I know is the Infix PDF Editor. I used this to add text to a book. The reflow capabilities of this application are awesome.
• Companies who make their money processing PDF files, such as newspapers who need to be able to make small modifications to advertisements, often use the products of OneVision to edit PDF files. These are probably the most powerful editors on the market, with a matching price tag.
• Recosoft created an interesting plug-in, named PDF2ID, which can convert a PDF file into an InDesign publication. This tool is discussed in this thread on the b4print forums.