Why You Can't Edit PDF Files In Mac Preview 

I guess it’s been said already that there are a few apps that let you edit the content quite properly. There might be format issues, of course, but I use PDF Expert every day to edit the PDF directly instead of going back to the source document. Typos, dates, even short paragraphs, or delete/rotate images, there’s many things you can change with these apps. PDFpen is another one. Great basic video, though, to understand both the value and the limitations of PDFs.

Well that was a waste of my time, still can't edit the pdf I have sitting here.

A very useful and informative video tutorial today. I always learn so much. Thank you, Gary! 👏👍🏻❤️

Preview (as of Sept 2021) is great for unlocking locked PDFs. Sometimes the password is hopelessly lost. It's not flawless though especially with interactive functionality. Thanks again. I subscribed.

I know you've addressed this in several comments but you really should have mentioned one of the many PDF editing softwares including Adobe. Yes, you should use the source material but you're also speaking about lost documentation so "shoulds" go out the window there. Truth is if you're in the position of needing to edit a PDF then most people are coming from a place where they need to because they cannot obtain access to source material. Acrobat (when I had it) was extremely powerful and made it very easy to convert back and forth and edit.

Great explanation of what a PDF really IS versus what many people WANT it to be. The comparison to a printed document is perfect. Thank you!

I think this depends on how much you want to edit. I use PDF Edit to do some quick text editing, especially if I don’t have the originally Word file. At Work, I often don’t have the original documents and use Adobe Pro to export to Word. Saves a ton of time.

Adobe Acrobat Pro can export Word docs or text files, which can then be edited, from PDFs. That said, I'm fully in agreement with you that the best practice is to edit the original. Exported Word docs will not necessarily be a reproduction of the original; I have encountered strange artifacts or content sequence issues.

Thanks Gary always coming through!😊

Great video! I love the graphics/animations you used in this one. Is that an app or just your creativity shining through? Thanks for what you do.

Thanks, Gary. Good advice as always. Personally, if I want to edit a PDF I open it in Affinity Designer. You can then edit the PDF to your heart’s content and export it as a PDF or any other format the app offers.

That’s what I thought, but I was hoping there was a magical solution! Thanks for another good video, Gary!

Nice explanation, but it could be said that there are real tools, which can be used to edit PDF's in case it's not possible to get the source document. My most favorite, completely free one, is Libre Office.

Thanks, knew somethings, but you told them all in detail with really good video illustrations

Hi Gary! Thank you so much for another great informative video. So when is part two? The part where you talk about the myriad of services that are out there that will take a PDF and turn it into a word document? Or about some of the apps like PDF Expert that will allow you to modify PDF content? I feel like this is a good start, but there are more options for someone who doesn’t have the original, is not stealing ideas, and needs to modify the document. Will you please do a part two covering this?

Adobe Illustrator PDF format is fully editable in another copy of Illustrator. Illustrator and Affinity Designer can open PDFs for editing, with some loss of formatting. Adobe Photoshop can rasterise PDFs as graphic files, so if you needed to make a small change that might be faster than rebuilding a whole document.

I have successfully made edits to PDF files using apps like Adobe Acrobat Pro and Readdle PDF Expert. These were minor charges or spelling fixes. If you need to make many changes then getting the source doc or recreating the doc as explained by Gary is the way to go.

It seems like I can find any solution from your channel! You are the BEST!!

Hi Gary, love your videos! I have had such a similar situation with getting docs from attorneys in pdf format, then using that text in the final document. It NEVER pastes correctly, and I have tried using all kinds of paste special, and fiddled with all the choices. Do you have any suggestions if I receive one in pdf, then should i create a brand new doc? Is it better to receive these in Word, and taking that text will be easier? Thanks very much?

Great video...finally a lucid explanation of what a PDF document actually is. PDF Expert (a commercial application) claims, I think, to be able to edit pdf documents...what are they really doing?

Very useful. Thanks, Gary

I love your videos. Can you do videos going over each of the applications in the Other folder and how they may or may not be useful and what they do?

A great acrobat plug in called Enfocus Pitstop allows a lot of editing of most PDF files. Very useful for ,e when I am supplied a lot of average PDFs and I have to make them print ready.

Note that the 'Save as PDF' submenu IS in the 'Print' dialog. One of the primary skills I was taught in my graphic design class was to "recreate the document." People keep bringing you finished flyers or brochures and wanting changes made to it, like updating the date or location. No, they don't have the original, this was created months ago by another freelance designer and now the information has changed. In some situations it's easier than others. Something with a lot of graphics is obviously more complicated. The main tricks would be to match the size and typeface of the fonts that are used and also the size and color of any lines or other graphic details like tables. With practice you can usually come pretty close. I wowed a new supervisor when she passed out a lookup sheet that had been Xeroxed so many times that it was almost unreadable. I came in the next day with a clean version of the same lookup sheet with copies for everyone else there.

Good explaination!

Canva does have a Beta version that allows for modification on the pdf itself.

Great explanation ! Thank you for this concise and rich content.

Good video and advice as per usual. Apple Preview is good but lacks an OCR function unfortunately. Preview is still my default because of its simplicity.

Thank you for the reply. Is there a way to tell preview to not put the protection on Fillable documents? It just does it automatically for ever document I save. It must be a setting that I have incorrect. Must have happened during on of the updates.

Gary, thanks for this. Do you have a tutorial to create a fillable form in pages then have the ability to edit if sent in pdf? hope this makes sense

Hi, I've been trying to change the default size font of the text box feature in Preview. I haven't been successful. Do you know how?

To save anyone 5 mintues, you can't edit PDF in preview.

Gary, so if I get a 3 page form from the doctor’s office to fill out and bring in, can I scan it as a pdf and then fill out the blank spaces on the document (like a form filler), using preview? Thanks!

PDF = Portable Document Format - which is the file, embedded fonts and graphics that can print anywhere and have consistent formatting.

how to export all the highlights in a preview doc in mac. I want to have them in a google doc or pages and print all highlights for future reference and reading

When editing a pdf file pasted in Notes app on mac, it always forces you to save as a copy somewhere on a drive, unlike on the iPad which can be edited without saving outside on the Notes app. Could you please suggest me the reason, Gary? I am really curious why most of the Apple's products are not implemented in line.

this is very useful

I’m even more confused now.

Hi, I work with fillable PDF’s that are not protected or encrypted but every time I complete a form it password protects it for the people I send it to. For some reason preview is encrypting the documents that are designed to be fillable. What can I do? Thank you so much. I really enjoy your videos. Scott P

I knew several ways of editing the PDF file without getting the original file from the app the other person used.😎

Actually Word can open PDFs and convert it back to a Word Document, works best if it also was created in Word and not Pages and of course Illustrator or other vector graphic software can modify PDFs

I had a PDF from the government that was Protected. I could not edit it in Preview. So I took two screenshots of the document. I zoomed in so the only half a page was visible on the screen at a time. I pasted each half into Pages and adjusted them to match. I used text boxes with white backgrounds to "edit" text by creating a new paragraph and pasting it over the existing text. Then I exported that into a PDF. That's how you "edit" a PDF.

Gary, I took a PDF plot plan that was sent to me. I marked it up in Preview, however, my mark-ups are not printing very well. How do I improve the quality of my "mark-ups"? It was a tremendous amount of work, so I really cannot do it over. Can I enhance the resolution of the mark ups? Can you help?

Thanks bunches

Can you direct me to a resource on how to save a Word 16.16.27 for Mac doc as a PDF, retaining bookmarks and/or hyperlinks? Thanks! I really enjoy your videos.

Best EVER!

When I merge several PDF’s into one and save it, all of the pages accept the first one become blank. Any idea why?

The number of times I've tried to explain to people in work, that you can't edit a PDF, as such, only to be told "I'm being unhelpful".

I am running Monterey Beta and I am not able to export pdf in preview at the moment. They also seem to have updated the permissions on field and some files won’t let me highlight without the password of the original owner which is not the case before updating. Guess I shouldn’t be running a beta anyway.

Actually with a few exceptions, editing text and even images in a .pdf file is possible the full version of Adobe Acrobat

[May 2024] PDF files can be edited in Preview 11. Don't know when that capability began, but running on macOS Ventura 13.6.7 or on macOS Monterey 12.7.5, it has the same editing features as it has long had for jpegs. This version also allows selection of text directly from a Preview document. (!!)

Hi, watched quite videos from you which are so helpful, thank you very much. At the moment, when I want to carry on annotating a PDF, I can’t drag or reshape the ‘speech bubble’ 🗯 to the right place. It’s was working perfectly yesterday but not today. Would you please help me?

A common use case is to fill in a .PDF form. You can absolutely do this with preview.

How do you add or change a thumbnail on a PDF file in a folder?

Can Mac Preview add a link to an existing PDF?

⚠️ guys! If you want to edit a pdf but you don’t have the original document, you can do it with Microsoft Word. You simply have to drag the pdf on the Word icon and it will do anything by itself! I do this everyday and it works perfectly even when I turn it into a pages document.

How can i delete the notes in pdf

The original reason for PDFs was to protect the document from others trying to change it, especially the contents and layout. Why would you want to alter someone else’s product? Yes, you may want to take some of the contents for some other purpose (like a quote properly referenced), but be careful of plagiarism and intellectual property rights. If you want to edit your own work, that’s a different matter.

The worst PDF is the one that is locked. PDF seems more easily editable on iPad.

What about online PDF editors?

Adobe has long lost its control on PDF. So other than adobe’s own software, you actually can edit PDF with a few PDF editors.

PDF Expert?

You can edit a PDF with Adobe, though. The trouble is that it is clunky AF.

I agree that editing the original is better, but if the original is from or was created by a former employee, an estranged or deceased individual, there may be no way to obtain it and thus I feel editing the PDF in a 3rd party editor becomes the only (or last resort) option.

Excellent! Just plain Excellent!

why i can't copy even with preview

No comment about Adobe Acrobat ?!

pdf exchance left the video.

very useful info but if you're looking to edit, use PDF Expert.

It’s a feature, not a bug.

Your comment section tells me the answer is PDF Expert. I have it and didn't know how to use it so I found a RU-vid video that shows me how. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0HdLXeTh2hw.html You DEFINITELY can edit all of the elements of the PDF without having the original document.

Foxit

But adobe acrobat is able to do that!

PDFPen

foxit pdf editor.... these three words will solve your problem. dont waste 5.23 minutes of your life watching this video

Try say this to your boss. You aren’t helping anyone in this video.

It’s very difficult to understand his accent

Get to the point

disliked, there is a way, you just don't know how

So the MAC is useless.