If you’re a student or an employee, you’ll likely work with PDF documents constantly at some point. You might need to copy-paste PDF to Word, edit, convert, or watermark your files. Regardless, your goal is to deliver good-looking files and make your data accessible.
While many computers have PDF readers, you’ll need to pay for another software solution for editing, signing, and more capabilities. Luckily, there are a number of useful ways you can use to manage your PDF files and stay organized for optimal productivity.
Here are insightful tips you can use to manage your PDF better.
Editing
This is a common headache with PDF files — you have to pay for a software solution to edit your file. The free tools for editing that are available don’t get the job done quite well. Sometimes, users have to copy-paste PDF to Word to edit a text.
Instead, you can simply convert the PDF to Word using Google Docs, which is fast and free. You can then make edits using Word or Google Docs. Note that the converted doc will likely have formatting and spacing issues that you’ll need to correct.
Merging
Merging is an uncommon task, but at some point, you might need to merge PDF files for impressive presentations. In this case, there are two great tools you can use: PDFMerge and Foxyutils. These are online services, but if you prefer software, then PDF Combine can help.
Merging allows you to create stellar documents featuring pie charts, text, spreadsheets, and graphics to create a single document for presentations or other tasks. You’ll need to convert each file into PDF before merging them.
Signing
Traditionally, people had to print a PDF file, sign it, and then scan it before sending it back to the sender. Such a process can be quite time-consuming and costly, especially when handling legal documents or financial paperwork.
There are tools you can use to sign PDFs, including PDF Element, DocHub, and DocuSign. Bear in mind that there are different ways you can sign a PDF, including a handwritten signature in the comment, a digital signature, and an electronic signature.
Converting
You might want to turn your PDF file into an image or other formats for different projects. Also, in some cases, PDFs can be challenging to send as it is if the file is huge. Converting it to other formats can help to compress the file size.
Converting the PDF into an image is also helpful if you want to share it on your website. Traditionally, users were forced to install the Adobe app if they wanted to view PDFs on the website. Today, you can use online tools like Small PDF and ILovePDF to convert PDF to JPG.
Extracting Text
Working with a large PDF file can be exhausting. Instead, it’s better to break it into several parts or extract particular text to make your work easier. In a standard PDF file, you can use the text selection tool to extract text.
If the PDF file has scanned assets, you can upload it to Google Docs, which will convert the scanned assets into a form that you can copy the text. Other tools you can use include FreeOcr and OnlineOcr.
If you want to extract pages, right-click the PDF file in your folder and select “Open with,” then select “Google Chrome.” Hit “Ctrl + P” to open print options and then tap “Change” and select “Save as PDF.” Under pages, pick the pages you would like to extract and then click “Save”.
Compressing PDF
If you’re working with a large PDF file, you might find it difficult to send it to your colleague via email due to the attachment size restrictions. In this case, compressing the file can help to meet the maximum size requirements.
Tools like 7-Zip, PDF2Go, and PDFaid can help you compress the file for free. If you have an Adobe subscription, you can open the “Optimize PDF” tool, pick your file, and select “Reduce File Size” in the top menu to compress your file.
Using iPhone
Depending on your work demands, you might need to edit or access PDF files on the go. So, it makes sense to know how to use and manage PDF files on mobile devices, particularly iOS devices.
If you have been sent a PDF file via email, you can open the email and long press the file to open it. Press “Share” to save the file in Dropbox, Google Drive, or whatever service you prefer. If you select “Save File,” the file will be automatically saved on your phone.
Once the file is saved, you can share it from the location you saved it, or you can also print it wirelessly from your phone. There are also other basic operations you can complete, such as adding markup to the file. You can install the Acrobat Reader app for viewing files.
Manage your PDF Files Better
PDFs are commonplace in today’s work environment, so employees need to know how to use and manage PDF files. Some large organizations pay for Adobe subscriptions to make their operations easier, but this isn’t a luxury for everyone, as the cost can quickly add up.
Plus, paying the fee doesn’t make sense if you only use PDF files a few times a month. Instead, you can achieve the same results with free online tools and basic computer skills. You don’t need to waste time completing tasks manually, including copy-paste PDF to Word.
We’ve shared tips and tools for managing, customizing, and securing PDF files. Whether you work with PDFs a few times a month or daily, these tools and tips are pretty handy. Hopefully, they can help to simplify your work and get the job done without spending heavily on subscriptions.
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