ADOBE ACROBAT
How PDF software can help you edit, convert, and secure your files.
Discover how PDF software can enhance your workflow and business.
Manage the PDF document deluge.
Most businesses deal with a flurry of documents — business proposals, service contracts, memos, and more. Add to that a remote workforce spread out across multiple locations, using different devices and operating systems, and it can be a challenge to keep the work moving. One way to work more efficiently is by using PDF (Portable Document Format) software.
With Adobe Acrobat Pro, a powerful PDF editing software, you get ease of use, compatibility with any device, annotation tools, and powerful editing capabilities.
How to find the best PDF editor.
Whether you’re looking for more efficient PDF solutions for your business or trying to organize and edit home documents, a PDF editor can provide all the tools you need in one place. There are many PDF editors out there — consider these factors when deciding which is best for you.
1. Identify your PDF document software needs.
Different PDF document software programs can have various features, so before deciding which is the best PDF software for you, take a moment to assess your needs. For example, an artist with a small business might have different needs than a team lead at a large company.
To figure out what your priorities are for PDF software, you can ask yourself where your inefficiencies currently are. Perhaps you have stacks of paper on your desk and feel unorganized. Or maybe your digital storage is bursting at the seams. Does sharing documents feel inefficient? Maybe exchanging edits or comments on files feels more cumbersome than you would like, and your team frequently collaborates on documents.
Once you have your challenges in mind, you can ask yourself these questions:
- Will I be editing PDF documents?
- Do I need to work collaboratively with teammates on my PDF documents?
- Which storage solutions might work best for me? Do I need to store documents on the cloud?
- Do I need to send contracts or PDF documents to clients for signatures?
- Will I be converting paper documents to PDF?
- How important is security for me? Do I need to encrypt or redact my PDFs?
Make a list of the functions you need in PDF creation software based on your answers to these questions. You should be able to find an editable PDF software that meets all your needs.
2. Review the features of the PDF software.
Before you try out an editable PDF software program, do some research to figure out which features are supported. They should describe their features on their website, and you should even be able to delve into some reviews and previews. Some programs have free versions with limited features and paid versions with more features.
Unfortunately, you can’t assume that a paid version will have everything you need. Before you select a program as a top pick, make sure that it has every feature you’ve identified as a need for you.
Besides looking at the features of the PDF software, think about what devices you’ll want to use to access the software. If it isn’t compatible with Mac, for example, that could be a deal breaker for you. If you think you’ll be working on the go, find a software that can work on mobile devices as well as computers.
Something to consider as you’re looking into different software is whether it is user friendly. You might want a more powerful software that is less intuitive to use, but remember to consider how much time you have to learn it and train your team to use it.
3. Compare the best PDF software.
Once you’ve found your top candidates, take some time to compare them. You can ask people who have experience with the software. Read about bugs or other issues that people typically encounter. How good is the support? Will you be able to get support from an expert on the software, or will you have to rely on forums?
Consider the price of the software. How do the prices compare? What does your budget look like? Could the price of the more expensive software be made up with increased efficiency? Or is the difference negligible? Perhaps you anticipate that you’ll need to be processing a lot of files at once, so it’s worth it for you to pay a little more for more powerful software.
When comparing PDF tools, remember to consider:
- Price
- Support
- Interface
- Power
- Ease of use
4. Choose the best PDF tools for your needs.
At this point, the best tools will start to stand out, and you will be able to choose something that meets your needs well.
As a reminder, choosing the best editable PDF software for your needs means making sure that:
- It includes every feature you need and helps alleviate your workflow inefficiencies.
- It works on the devices you’ll use.
- It is the right price with reasonable support, interface, and power for your needs.
If you can choose a PDF software with even more features than you have on your list, that choice can save you time in the future. You’ll get used to the interface on the software you choose, so if you end up needing even more features, it would be easier not to need to switch.
As the creator of the PDF, Adobe has some of the best editable PDF software around. Keep reading to learn about the many tools available with Adobe Acrobat.
Create and edit PDF files.
Acrobat Pro can help you solve many common problems, both complex and simple.
Go paperless.
Many organizations have a massive backlog of paper documents or systems that are built around a complex chain of wet signatures and physical paperwork. With Acrobat Pro, you can make the leap from paper to digital. Turn paper documents into PDF pages and organize them quickly. You can also use Adobe Scan to scan a document or other paper items on your phone and turn them into PDFs.
Collect electronic signatures.
With Adobe Acrobat PDF software, electronic signatures are easy to request, easy to manage, and easy to send. With paper contracts, if you or the signer discovers an error, the entire process has to be repeated. But with electronic documents, you can edit and resend for a signature immediately, without dealing with postage or additional printing.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re using Windows, Linux, or a Mac, or if you’re on an iPad, iPhone, or Android — PDFs are a universal document language.
Get cloud storage.
With a Document Cloud account, you can store files and photos online and fill and sign forms from any device. Plus, work directly in Microsoft Office or Google Drive on desktop and mobile to collaborate and manage documents in real time across all your teams.
Create visually appealing documents.
With this powerful tool for editing PDFs, you can create PDFs that are editable, edit text boxes and fields for electronic signatures, add or remove headers, add page numbers, and make compelling visual arrangements.
Enhance your PDF workflow.
In PDF workflows with Acrobat, you can collaborate with your team, move between different Adobe applications while using advanced features, and merge PDF documents quickly and easily.
Collaborate and annotate PDFs.
File sharing is easy to set up. You can collect feedback from multiple reviewers within or outside your organization, all in a single PDF, using tools such as the PDF reader. Your team can add comments and feedback from anywhere and share and track documents across multiple devices.
Transform documents into searchable PDFs.
Use Adobe Scan on mobile (iOS or Android) to capture a paper document as a PDF and then bring it into Acrobat to fine-tune it using the robust PDF editing functionality. Both apps support OCR (optical character recognition) so you can easily search your scanned documents.
Share easily in different file types.
You can keep PDF file sizes small and easy to send via email, thanks to powerful compression tools. It’s also easy to convert PDFs to and from other file types, whether you’re working with Microsoft Word documents, JPG images, PowerPoint presentations, HTML web pages, and Excel spreadsheets. No matter the file type, you can rest assured that the quality of your original document format will remain intact, making it easy to share by using the document format that’s best for your recipient.
Do more with the Acrobat online PDF editor.
You can also make the most of your PDFs using feature-rich web-based tools that you can access from any web browser. Plus, you can use these tools from different operating systems, including Mac, Windows 10, and Linux computers, or from iPhones, Androids, and other mobile devices. With Acrobat online tools, or a 7-day free trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can try the following actions for yourself:
- View and scan PDFs using the free PDF reader
- Merge Your PDF files into one combined document
- Make annotations and comments with the best free PDF editor for you
- Reduce file size by compressing your PDF documents
- Rotate your PDF file’s pages
- Extract PDF pages
- Reorder PDF pages
- Fill and sign documents
- Password-protect a PDF for added security
Transform your business with PDFs.
Acrobat makes the management of PDF forms easy, with the ability to track, govern, and sign PDFs as one of the many moving parts of a document workflow. Safeguard your edited documents with watermarks, password protection, redaction, and advanced encryption.
Whether you’re looking for editing features, file format flexibility, markup and formatting, the ability to alter fillable fields, or just general workflow improvement, Acrobat Pro continues to lead the industry. Explore tutorials and discover how you can transform your workflow and your business with Acrobat.
Keep exploring
