Editing pdf files

goodValue

I don't often get pdf forms to fill out, so I haven't had much experience with them.

It seems that sometimes they can be edited, and sometimes they have to be printed and filled out manually.

And sometimes the manual ones can be edited after going through various menus (though I've never understood what has changed).
If I save one that I have edited, then if I need to make a correction, I can't edit the saved file.

When I do an internet search about editing pdf files, I have not been able to find any understanding of this; most of the links are for websites that allow you to edit a file you have.

Is there any site with an explanation of how to search in a pdf file to see if it can be edited, or if it can be changed so that it can be edited?

DullGreyGuy

It will depend if they have been created formally as a form in which case Adobe Acrobat/ Apple Preview etc will allow you to click into the defined fields and type in responses. A lot of forms are just drawn out in Word and saved down as PDF and therefore look like a form but aren't one so you cannot simply click on a field and type in. 

Some applications will allow you to annotate a PDF irrespective of how it's been created but this can be a bit hit and miss because of the different way different apps show annotations etc. 

If you have a full fat PDF editor app, or use an online equivalent, then you can add text and potentially change the existing text irrespective if it's been setup as a form. Personally, got bored with too many badly created PDF forms and bought an application to be able to do full editing. Some other apps, eg Word, can convert PDFs into their own format for editing too however they can vary on how well they preserve the layout. 

goodValue

For those files that you can edit, why can you NOT make corrections after saving it with

Microsoft print to pdf?

Is some setting changed when you do this save, and can you alter that setting?

Green_hopeful

I have used Smallpdf before. It allows you to do certain tasks with pdf documents for free. I think you get two free actions a day. https://smallpdf.com/ It’s not the same as a paid for product but I found it works ok for most things. 

goodValue

I'm not a great technology user, and try to get by with the minimum of time, effort and apps.
In this instance, I was trying to understand the workings of Acrobat, as I didn't seem to be using it to full advantage.

JLB1970

If I've edited about statement when I send it via email is there any way the receiver can see that it's been amended is the only way to get around this

spile

I use Affinity Publisher for this.