Free software for editing PDFs is hard to come by, but there are some excellent tools around if you know where to look. PDF documents are designed to look and behave exactly the same way on any device. That makes it a brilliant format for sharing, but editing them is another matter. Most office software and photo editors let you export documents in PDF format, but editing requires a dedicated tool. That's because PDF was initially a proprietary format owned by Adobe, and it still owns some of the technologies associated with it. Other companies can license those technologies, but only for a fee that's usually passed on to you – the user. There aren’t many free PDF editors, and even fewer that won’t leave your documents with unsightly watermarks.

PDF Reader Pro is a powerful PDF tool that can view and annotate PDFs,edit PDF pages, sign PDF files, merge and split PDF documents. A super file solution alternative to Adobe Reader,and get it from Mac, iOS, Windows & Android.

That's why we've rounded up the very best free PDF editing software that's free to use and won't add any unwanted extras to your work. Can create PDFs from scratch There are two options on the homepage: ‘Launch Online’ and ‘Download Desktop’.

Despite appearances, these aren’t the same tools. The desktop software is only a trial of a premium product, and will watermark your edited PDFs.

The tool we’re using here is the online editor, which has no such limitations. Click ‘Launch Online’ and you’ll be prompted to download and run a small launcher app, after which the online editor will launch.

• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS • Maximum file size: 16 TB • Maximum volume size: 256TB • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems. • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X • To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives: • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion) • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability. NTFS (Windows NT File System) • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows. HFS+ ((((MAC FORMAT)))) (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a.

You can edit text (including formatting), add text and images, encrypt documents with a password, convert your PDF to an image file and add comments. You can even create your own PDFs from scratch – a feature you’ll usually only find in premium PDF editing software. Unlike the desktop application, there’s no tool for removing watermarks from PDFs, but that’s a minor quibble. ApowerPDF is a remarkable PDF editor; just make sure you’re using the online edition. Splits and extracts pages If you need to edit the text in a PDF, is ideal. It lets you retype, delete, and reformat text, and adapts well if the document uses a font that isn’t installed on your PC. You can also attach comments, split PDFs, and extract pages.

One of PDF-Xchange Editor’s best features is the ability to use OCR to recognize text in scanned documents – ideal if you only have a printout rather than the original file (a handout from a lecture, for example). Some of the features visible in the menus and toolbars are only available in the premium version of the software, PDF-XChange Editor Plus, but you can easily hover your mouse pointer over an icon to find out if it’s included. If you go ahead and use a premium tool anyway (adding polygonal shapes or new text boxes, for example), your document will be watermarked. Look out for a warning message underneath the main toolbar before saving your work, just in case. Sessions expire after three hours Free online PDF editor offers an excellent range of tools, with just one caveat: if you're still working after three hours and haven't saved your document, it will be deleted automatically.