PDF editors for Linux (free or paid)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the search for effective PDF editors for Linux, focusing on both free and paid options. Participants share their experiences, preferences, and challenges with various software, as well as the specific functionalities they require, such as text editing and OCR capabilities.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster (OP) expresses dissatisfaction with several PDF editors they have tried, including LibreOffice Draw, Foxit PhantomPDF, and Master PDF editor, citing issues such as application crashes and unsatisfactory user interfaces.
  • Some participants suggest alternatives like Sejda and PDF Candy, although one participant reports that these web-based options did not function as expected.
  • One participant notes that editing limitations may stem from the nature of PDF documents, which are not inherently designed for editing, and suggests workarounds like inserting opaque backgrounds.
  • Another participant shares their personal need for a PDF editor to correct typing errors in notes received from a professor, highlighting the urgency of their situation.
  • There is a discussion about the ethical implications of editing and copying content from PDFs, with differing views on what constitutes fair use.
  • One participant mentions having success with Inkscape for modifying PDFs, while another suggests converting PDFs to other formats as an alternative approach.
  • Concerns are raised about the OP's expectations for a PDF editor that can convert PDFs back to editable formats, with some participants suggesting that such functionality may not exist within the OP's budget.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best PDF editor for Linux, with multiple competing views and experiences shared. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the ideal solution for the OP's needs.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that many tools marketed as PDF editors may only allow for limited functionalities such as commenting or highlighting, rather than full editing capabilities. Additionally, there are unresolved questions about the ethical considerations of editing copyrighted materials.

Wrichik Basu
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I need a good pdf editor for Linux. It can be free or paid. My budget is USD 70. Preferably a perpetual licence. It would be great if the software has a trial version, which will enable me to determine whether it suits my needs.

It should have the following capabilities:
  • insert/edit text
  • OCR
I have already tried the following:
  • LibreOffice Draw: Not very helpful. Can't open a simple 30 MB pdf; Ubuntu shows ANR and I have to force quit the application.
  • Foxit PhantomPDF: Not available for Linux. Can be installed via wine, but may not work. (But the Foxit Reader is a great alternative to Evince)
  • Master PDF editor: I don't like the GUI. In addition, inserting text actually overwrites text.
Any other recommendations?
 
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Haven't used any myself, but based on the technology I should think Sejda is worth a look. Or there are the web-based ones e.g. PDF Candy.
 
CNET and snapfiles have lists both free and paid.
 
pbuk said:
Haven't used any myself, but based on the technology I should think Sejda is worth a look. Or there are the web-based ones e.g. PDF Candy.
I tried Sejda online, as well as PDF candy, but none of them actually worked. I uploaded the file, clicked on a position to edit the text, and typed something, but that text was not inserted in that position. Instead, it was just written on top of other text.
 
That's likely to be due to a limitation of the particular PDF document. PDF documents are not designed to be edited, and generally if you only have access to a PDF file and not the source that generated it, it is because the creator doesn't want you to have access to the source.

You can always work around it by inserting an opaque background with your changed text, but if you don't have the right font or you need to reflow a whole section it isn't going to work.

Why do you want to edit someone else's PDF?
 
pbuk said:
Why do you want to edit someone else's PDF?
I don't need it too often, but when I do, I always find it is worth investing if a perpetual license is available. Recently, one of our professors sent us some notes. It has a lot of typing errors, but he is least interested in correcting them (he is giving out the same notes for years). I can type it out in LaTeX, but that will take quite some time, which I do not have at the moment. A pdf editor would have helped me to simply edit those typos.
 
Wrichik Basu said:
Recently, one of our professors sent us some notes.
Wouldn't it be easier to ask him to re-send the notes in an editable format?
 
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anorlunda said:
Wouldn't it be easier to ask him to re-send the notes in an editable format?
Already tried. He won't.

Another reason why I want to buy an editor: Often, I like to scan (using Android apps like Adobe Scan) a few chapters of books that I use a lot, so that I can refer to them on the go (please don't take it otherwise — I never share the scans and thereby create pirated copies of the books). If the pdf editor had OCR capabilities, it would become very easy to search for something in the text.
 
Wrichik Basu said:
If the pdf editor had OCR capabilities, it would become very easy to search for something in the text.
It seems that you sometimes go out of your way to make things difficult for yourself.

Print them, scan the printed pages, use the scanner's OCR. For graphics figures, use screen capture to put each in the clipboard, then paste that into the document you're working on.

Your copyright conscience is up to you. As an author, I would not consider several chapters as fair use. As a PF reader of your posts, I would prefer to not read about your handling of copyrighted information.
 
  • #10
anorlunda said:
As an author, I would not consider several chapters as fair use.

Does fair use even apply if a person makes copies that they never share with anyone else?
 
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  • #11
PeterDonis said:
Does fair use even apply if a person makes copies that they never share with anyone else?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

Read that article and you'll find a mind numbing list of maybe yes, maybe no circumstances. It sounds like a mess. Copying chapters from a book, or taking a video of scenes from a live stage performance sound similar on the surface, but are likely to be treated differently in law and in social norms.

But the best practice I think is to not discuss the details of what you copy on PF, unless it is necessary. If someone complains, the mentors have to make a decision about possible violation of PF guidelines. Far better that it's not mentioned in the first place if it is not central to the topic.
 
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  • #12
anorlunda said:
Read that article and you'll find a mind numbing list of maybe yes, maybe no circumstances. It sounds like a mess.

The general state of copyright law and jurisprudence is certainly a mess, yes. But there does appear to be a general underlying assumption in all of the factors mentioned that the "use" in "fair use" means a copy is made and shared with someone.

anorlunda said:
best practice I think is to not discuss the details of what you copy on PF, unless it is necessary

I would agree with this.
 
  • #13
I have had luck with Inkscape. Opened documents one page at a time, made any modification, saved the file of the page. Then used a 1 punch knock out command line to assemble each pages into the final modified PDF.
 
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  • #15
Another approach is to convert pdf to some other format like markdown format or an openoffice document format..

google search can show some possible tools. I saw one site where you simply drop a pdf on it and it converts it to markdown. I never tried it and don’t know how good it is. It says it does it via JavaScript locally but being web based that’s hard to say And for some pdf files one might not want to go that route.
 
  • #16
jedishrfu said:
And from google I found this list

https://itsfoss.com/pdf-editors-linux/
Already tried the ones on that list many days back. Some of them actually can't edit pdf files in the strict sense of the term; they are only for highlighting/putting comments.
 
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  • #17
Can we close this thread?

The OP doesn't want a "PDF Editor". He wants something that converts PDF back to the word processing source file from whence it came - for under $70. As has been stated, such a thing really doesn't exist. Acrobat Pro comes closest, but costs 6x what the OP is willing to pay. It will convert PDF to Word, but it doesn't exactly do a brilliant job at it, especially if the source word processor wasn't Word. (And this still leaves the OP wih the second part of the problem - going back to PDF)
 
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  • #19
Wrichik Basu said:
Fine. Close it.
Done. Thank you all for participating.
 
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