Overwrite to PDF from PC
If you are looking for a way to overwrite on PDF using your PC, here is a series of software that should be right for you, both free and paid.
Microsoft Word (Windows / Mac)
If you have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, you can edit PDF files using Microsoft Word, the word processing software included in the suite.
To write on a PDF file using Microsoft Word - and possibly modify the texts already present in the document - all you have to do is start the software in question, click on the button Fillet located at the top left, select the item apri from the left sidebar and click on the button Shop by Department to select the document to edit.
At this point, answer OK to the warning that appears on the screen and edit your PDF just as if you were editing any Word file. When the operation is complete, choose whether to export the document as a Word file by selecting the item Save with name from the menu Fillet, or as a PDF, by selecting the item Export from the same menu.
Please note: PDF file support is only available in Office versions 2013 or higher. If you have an older version of the suite and want to know how to upgrade to the newer ones, read my tutorial on how to download Word.
LibreOffice (Windows / Mac / Linux)
If you don't have Microsoft Office installed on your computer and you don't intend to install it, you can safely contact LibreOffice. In case you have never heard of it, LibreOffice is a free and open source productivity suite - a free alternative to Microsoft Office - which includes programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. It is compatible with all major computer operating systems: Windows, macOS and Linux and also supports PDF files, both inbound and outbound.
To download LibreOffice on your PC, connect to its official website and click on the button Download version xx. If you are using a Mac, also click on the button Translated user interface to download the LibreOffice cittàn translation package (which is included "as standard" in the Windows version of the suite). At the end of the download you have to proceed differently depending on the operating system you use.
If you are using a Windows PC, open the LibreOffice installation package (LibreOffice_xx_Win_x86.msi) and complete the setup by first clicking on NEXT twice in a row and then on Install, Yes e end.
If you are using a Mac, open the dmg package which contains LibreOffice, drag the suite icon into the folder Applications macOS and open the software by right clicking on its icon and selecting the item apri from the menu that appears (this allows you to start LibreOffice for the first time avoiding macOS blocking its execution because it comes from non-certified developers).
At this point, close LibreOffice, open the dmg package which contains the cittàn language pack for the suite, right click on the icon LibreOffice Language Pack and select the item apri from the menu that opens. Then press the button Install twice in a row, and if you are told that you do not have high enough privileges to continue, click the button Yes, identify me to authenticate (by entering the password of your user account on macOS).
Now you can take action and edit your PDFs with LibreOffice. The steps to take are the same on all operating systems.
To import a PDF file into LibreOffice, open the suite using its icon on the desktop (Windows) or in the LaunchPad (macOS), click on the button Open file located in the left sidebar and select the document to edit. It will start automatically Draw, the drawing application included in LibreOffice.
Then click on the portion of text to edit and freely change the content of the document according to your needs. When done, select the item Export to PDF format from the menu Fillet (top left) and you can export the file again in PDF format.
Overwrite to PDF online
Don't feel like installing new programs on your PC or can't you do it due to restrictions imposed by the system administrator? No problem. As already mentioned above, there are convenient online services that allow you to overwrite on PDF directly from the browser: here are some of the most interesting.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service offered by Google within which you can find online applications for processing documents, spreadsheets, forms and presentations. By loading a PDF file on it, you can turn it into a text document and edit it freely, a bit like in Word and LibreOffice.
To use the PDF editing feature included in Google Drive, connect to the service and log in using your Google account. Then drag the PDF to be edited into the browser window and wait a few seconds for the file to be uploaded.
At this point, right click on the PDF document to edit (on the main Google Drive screen), select the item Apri with> Documenti Google from the menu that opens and the Google Drive editor will automatically open with all the functions to edit the PDF. After editing, you can export the file as a Word, LibreOffice or PDF document using any of the options available in the menu File> Download As (top left).
Word Online
Microsoft also offers an online version of its productivity suite: it is Office Online which can be used for free without taking out special subscriptions and works with all popular browsers.
To edit a PDF with the online version of Word, connect to the main page of OneDrive (Microsoft's cloud storage service), log in with your Microsoft account and drag the PDF to edit into the browser window.
When upload is complete, click on the thumbnail of the document to be edited, select the item Apri in Word online from the menu Open in located at the top left and wait a few seconds for the file to be imported into the online version of Word.
At this point, pigia sul pulsating Edit in Word which is at the top right, answer Converted e Modification to the alerts that appear on the screen and edit the PDF according to your needs using all the tools made available to you by Office Online.
When you are satisfied with the result, click on the button Fillet located at the top left, select the item Save with name from the left sidebar and choose whether to download the document as a files in Word or PDF file.
PDF Pro
PDF Pro is an online service that allows you to edit PDFs by adding writings, highlights and other elements to them. You can use it without registering but in its free basic version it allows you to edit a maximum number of 3 PDFs per month. The Pro version costs 41,88 euros per year.
To edit a PDF with PDF Pro, linked to the home page of the latter and drag the document to be edited in the appropriate box located at the bottom left. Then click on the name of the document to edit, press the button Edit located at the top left and select the tool Text from the PDF Pro toolbar to apply the desired changes to the document.
Unfortunately you cannot directly edit the text portions contained in PDFs, but using the tool Erase (delete) You can delete certain parts of the document and rewrite them using the tool Text.
When you are satisfied with the result, to save your edited PDF, first click on the button Save placed on the top right and then on that Export that appears next to it.
App to overwrite on PDF
Would you like to be able to work on your PDFs directly from your smartphone or tablet? No problem. I know some apps that might be right for you.
- Foxit PDF (Android/iOS/Windows Phone) - one of the best PDF viewers available in the free field. It also includes numerous editing features, including the option to add custom text to PDFs. To recall it, just press the icon Comment which is located at the bottom. It also supports cloud storage services. To avoid sending anonymous usage statistics, the specific function must be deactivated during the initial setup of the app.
- AndrOpen Office (Android) - this is a perfect port of OpenOffice for Android. In case you've never heard of it, OpenOffice is a free, open source productivity suite available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's the same software that LibreOffice is based on, so it offers everything you need to edit PDF files. It's free, although some add-ons may be paid for. To activate the PDF import you need to download a special free plugin.
- Polaris Office (Android/iOS) - a productivity suite with support for PDF files. You can use it for free, but to unlock the PDF editing functions you need to purchase its full version which costs € 4,19 / month or € 29,99 / year.
- PDF Expert (iOS) - one of the best applications for editing PDF files on iOS devices. It allows you to add text, highlights and other elements to PDFs, but not to modify the text already present in them. It costs 9,99 euros.
- PDF Office (iOS) - it is an app developed by the same software house as PDF Expert (Readdle) that allows you to edit PDFs at 360 degrees, altering existing content or adding new ones. It costs € 4,99 / month or € 39,99 / year after the first 15 days of free trial and works only on iPad. In the mobile field it is difficult to find better!
Common problems: text not recognized
Some PDFs are not recognized as documents, but as images and you can't edit them? Unfortunately, these are documents that have not been scanned correctly: they have been scanned without recognizing the writing characters and therefore are "seen" by the computer as images rather than text documents. To fix this you need to use a software OCR (Optical Character Recognition), that is a program that scans the images contained in PDFs and transforms them into editable texts by recognizing the writing characters. There are several you can contact, some even for free: take a look at my tutorial dedicated to OCR programs if you want to know more.
How to overwrite on PDF
