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Sep 03,2019 • Filed to: Choose Right Mac Software • Proven solutions
It can sometimes be difficult to edit PDF files or documents on Mac, leaving users frustrated. If you are looking for open source PDF editors for Mac, then there are plenty of free PDF editor Mac tools that will allow you to modify your files quickly and easily. Here, we've listed the top 5 Open Source PDF Editors for Mac (macOS 10.14 compatible) currently on the market that you can use to convert, edit or work with PDF documents. This list will help you figure out which tool is best for you.
The Best Open Source PDF Editors for Mac
1. Formulate Pro for Mac (Best Open Source PDF Editor for Mac)
Formulate Pro for Mac is one of the best open source PDF editors for Mac users. It is a stable program with great features. This PDF editing tool lets you redact PDF files, and provides cloud services for more space to store documents. You can also merge and combine PDF files. You can also use it for creating, signing and analyzing PDF forms, and for protection of PDF files.
Features:
- This tool will convert PDFs to other output formats and vice versa
- You can add, delete and modify text, improve images, and rearrange pages
- It supports OCR technology in multiple languages
- It has password protection abilities
Free Pdf Reader For Mac
Pros:
- Includes a wide variety of tools that can be used to create excellent PDF files and presentations.
- Has a tremendous PDF conversion program that can convert PDF documents into different file formats
- This software is very easy to use
Cons:
- It does not convert documents to EPUB formats
2. PDFpenPro (Mac PDF Editor Open Source)
PDFpenPro offers various editing functions that will let you edit PDFs as you'd like. Their features include the ability to export PDF content, correct text content, and sign PDF files electronically and with hand-written signatures. This program lets you handle PDFs easily.
Features:
- Export PDF content to Microsoft Word documents
- Correct typos in PDF text
- Sign PDF files with handwritten signatures
- Make text in image-based PDF files editable by performing OCR
- Store PDF files in the Cloud
- Create PDF forms
Pros:
- PDFpenPRo supports adding signatures to encrypt your PDF documents
- You can use PDFpen to edit PDF documents
- OCR technology is embedded in PDFpenPro, which allows you to work with scanned PDF files for better editing and printing
Cons:
- Pen pad is not supported by PDFpenPRo
- It is difficult to write when a mouse is used
3. Skim (Open Source PDF Editor for Mac)
This free note taker and PDF editor is made for macOS. It functions similar to Preview. This program lets you review PDFs with comment features allowing you to make snapshots for easy reference, highlight important text, and navigate pages easily using a table of contents with a visual history.
Features:
- Views PDFs
- Add and edit notes
- Highlight important text, including one-swipe highlight mode
- Makes snapshots for easy reference
- Give powerful presentations using built-in transitions
- Use smart cropping tools
Pros:
- There are many options available to annotate PDFs
- You can choose from over five text colors
- Great for reading and editing PDFs
- Easily highlight text, navigate with TOCs, and more
- Integration with LaRex, PDFSync
Cons:
- Not as advanced as Adobe Acrobat X
- Some of the basic features are not as intuitive as they should be
4. Preview (Built-in Open Source PDF Editor for Mac)
Preview is the default PDF viewer and editor for Mac and one of the top Open Source PDF Editor tools for Mac on the market. It functions more like a PDF viewer that allows users to annotate PDF files as well. Preview is acceptable for reading and signing PDF documents. It is basically a limited PDF editor that is available to all Mac users for free. There is no download required. This simple PDF editor for Mac since enables you to create, merge and split PDF files as well.
Features:
- Transfer web pages and images as PDF format
- Split your PDF file by dragging thumbnails
- Merge multiple documents by dragging thumbnails together
- Rotate PDF pages
- Annotate PDF files with different tools
Pros:
- Add and Edit hyperlinks in a PDF file
- View and edit PDF metadata
Cons:
- No multicolor highlighting is available from the tool bar
- Inserting new pages is sometimes difficult
Shortcomings of Open Source PDF Editor for Mac
Many open source programs face problems in opening PDF on Mac. There are varieties of reasons for this, including the ones below:
- 1. The web browser needs updating: This is a common problem. Try updating your browser before trying anything else.
- 2. Your browser is not compatible: This is an issue when your OS is not working properly. If your browser is not compatible with your OS try using a different browser.
- 3. Check the Adobe Reader plug-in: Try using Adobe Reader as stand-alone program, rather than running it through your browser or a plug-in. It can be reinstalled easily if necessary.
Best Solutions for Open Source PDF Editor for Mac
PDFelement is a professional tool that is affordable, easy to use, and one of the best open source PDF editor tools for Mac on the market. It provides full editing features for Mac users that allow them to create, edit, and convert PDF documents, as well as fill out PDF forms on Mac. This tool is fully compatible with macOS, including the latest OS 10.14 Mojave. It is compatible with macOS which supports over 20 languages.
Adobe Pdf Reader For Mac
Full PDF Editor
- Edit and fill out PDF form effortlessly
- You can add or remove batch watermarks, or delete all annotations from PDF
Smart Form Filler and Creator
- Combine and create text files, images, web pages, and more
- Edit PDF text, images, pages, and watermarks
Best Pdf Reader For Mac
Powerful PDF Converter and Creator
- Merged and spilt PDF files
- Convert PDF documents to Office documents, EPUB eBooks, and HTML pages
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