Editing PDF on Mac is a bit complicated if you are habitual in working with Windows PC. But here in this tutorial, we made this task easy for you and you can easily able to edit a PDF on Mac. We are going to start it from basic so that everything clears on your mind.

How to Edit a PDF on Mac

What is PDF?

PDF is Portable Document Format that is most widely used format. It looks like a professional and not editable format. Suppose if you have a document in Word format, it may appear as different structure layout. But if you are having PDF then everything is properly layout.

Mostly PDF is used in CVs, Resume, Invoices, Bills, Company letters, Assignments, and much more. PDF is convenient option than all other formats.

How to make your paper work easier?

There are many productivity software that makes your PDF or paperwork easier. They offer many features which are more than we get from the basic PDF editors. At the end of this tutorial, we are going to show you the best PDF software for Mac that offers a free trial period.

How to Edit a PDF on Mac?

There are two ways by which you can Edit PDF on Mac.

  1. Using Preview (in-built Mac)
  2. Using PDF Software

Here we are going to discuss both of them how you can use them. Preview is a default mode on Mac to view PDF where you can make some basic editing. If you have regular work then switching to PDF software is the best option as you can have more control over your PDF.

Edit PDF using Preview

Unfortunately, you can not edit or delete text on your Mac using Preview and for that, you have to go for PDF software. But if you still need to remove some content then you can follow some steps. NOTE: This is a trick!

1: Deleting Text

  • Open PDF on your Mac. By default it open in Preview if you have not installed any software.
  • Go to Markup Tool icon to see all the available tools. Directly click on icon or if not seen then navigate to View> Show Markup Tool.
markup tool
  • Choose the white color to draw shape or the color you are having on your background.
  • Choose the shape as rectangle and place over the text or paragraph you want to remove and adjust the size.

By this way you can remove the paragraph or text you don’t require anymore and add the text there.

2: Add/Delete PDF pages

  • Add Page to PDF: Go to the page where you want to add the page before it. Navigate to Edit > Insert. Choose the page to insert. You can also use the blank page here.
insert pdf page
  • Delete PDF page: Navigate to View > Thumbnails or View > Contact Sheet and go to the page which you want to delete and hit the delete button.
preview delete pdf

3: Copy text from PDF

  • Click on the Text Selection button on the top. Drag the text to copy and choose Edit> Copy option.
copy text preview
  • If you want to copy any image then choose the Rectangular Selection button and drag to the place to copy by Edit> Copy option.

4: Annotate PDF

Annotate means to give a particular notification, adding a comment, highlighting text, adding different shape, and much more. There are many features you can add.

  • Click on Markup tool and all your annotation commands appears.
  • Choose from Text, Shape, Draw, Note, Highlights, and much more.
mac preview annotate

5: Adding Signature

You can easily create the handwritten signature using a trackpad or using the camera by drawing the signature on a white sheet.

  • Click on Sign icon. Use trackpad to create your signature and drag to the place where you want to add.
sign pdf
  • Or if you want to add a sign from paper then click on the camera and hold the paper having a sign in front of a camera. Click done when your signature appears on a screen.

Still not satisfied with Preview mode? With to PDF editor software which helps you to work more productive. Let us check what it offers extra and how to work on PDF software.

There are many PDF software but here we suggest you use PDFelement as it is on the top of our recommendation. PDF Expert is also a good choice in a similar price range. Both offer a free trial version so you can use before purchasing to test them better.

In this tutorial, we are working with PDFelement and you can check how easy it is and what features it offers.

DOWNLOAD PDFELEMENT (TRIAL VERSION)

The reason we always suggest using PDF software is to make things easier. As working on PDF software makes PDF editable as Word format. Let us have a quick look at how you can edit PDF on Mac using PDFelement.

1: Edit & OCR PDF

edit pdfelement

Editing PDF is very common nowadays and if you are having Preview mode then you can not edit the text. But, with PDFelement it works as simple as you think. You have full control on text sizing, text colour, font type, and the layout your PDF using. You can edit/ remove text, add/ remove the image, add watermarks, Links, Add/ Remove header and footer, change the background, and much more.

Along with these features PDFelement offers OCR feature that recognise the text on PDF and highlight whatever you have searched.

2: Forms & Data Extraction

pdfelement extraction

Turn your non-fillable form into fillable form. With PDFelement you can have better access to transform Form data into Excel sheet. Along with this you can import your data from scanned PDF and use them on the new format.

There are about 8000+ template designs of the form to create your own PDF form from scratch. These are simple to create with just drag & drop option.

3: Create and Combine Files

combine pdf

PDFelement allows you to easily create and combine multiple files from a different form. All process of creation is quick and simple. This software also allows you to combine, split, reorder multiple PDF files with simple drag and drop option. All the PDF are listed on the same screen which makes easy to rearrange.

With all these features, it also offers Bates Numbering which offers you to add particular symbols, digit numbering to identify the PDF pages.

4: Convert and Extract

pdfelement convert

Convert your PDF file into different formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, Text, HTML, and many other formats and vice-versa. You can also use Batch converting feature which allows you to convert multiple PDF files to other formats at once. This saves your time a lot.

5: Secure & Share

pdfelement protect

PDFelement provides AES-256 bit encryption which is the highest grade security standard. You can secure your file with a password which is als=most impossible to crack. For your document verification, invoices you can add a digital and electronic signature to make them legal and authorised. You can either draw your own signature by using a trackpad or by writing your name on the signature box.

There is also a Redact feature which permanently blackout sensitive contents with your different colours.

Once you have done your work you can directly share your document to the Dropbox or attach them to email directly from PDFelement platform.

6: Review and Comment

pdfelement comment

You can add different shapes and drawing tools such as lines, arrows, circle on your PDF. Markup feature allows you to highlight, cross, underline the text wherever required.

Use Annotate feature to apply stick notes at the margins, columns, for easy navigation to PDF pages. Along with this, there are custom stamps to insert on your PDF document.

Check out the special discount offers on PDFelement Pro here (discount page). You can also try the free trial period.

I hope you like this tutorial How to Edit a PDF on Mac? on Preview and using the third party software PDFelement Pro.

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I am the founder and author of MadeStuffEasy. I have more than 8 years of experience in website development. I am a tech and SEO enthusiast and early adopter. Besides, I love to understand how things work. My other passion is outdoor activities.

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