Looking for .pdf editing software.

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RonaldMacDonald

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I am looking for software for Mac OSX (panther) that will allow me to open, edit, and save .pdf files.

Can anyone suggest anything reasonable other than Adobe?
 
RonaldMacDonald said:
I am looking for software for Mac OSX (panther) that will allow me to open, edit, and save .pdf files.

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You need to define your terms. What is the nature of these files? What do you mean by edit? How much are you willing to pay in order to avoid the dreaded Adobe?
 
RonaldMacDonald said:
I am looking for software for Mac OSX (panther) that will allow me to open, edit, and save .pdf files.
Click to expand...
Edit is a pretty broad term when it comes to PDFs... telling us what exactly you want to do would help. I could most likely make some good recommendations if I knew what it was you wanted to do.
 
I would be willing to pay up to $100. At the very least, I would like to be able to modify text and be able to save those changes. But to be able to change graphic images, resize graphics and the placement of those graphics would be even better. To be able to create multi-page .psf files from scratch using images, text, tables, backgrounds and whatever, would be most idea.
 
It sounds to me as though you need page layout and graphics applications. Every MacOS X application, which can print, can print to PDF. This is the way that you should go.

PDF is not an object-based format. Editing features for PDF files are intended for minor tweaks to correct mispells, bad grammar, and such like. Adding new graphics or other sophisticated objects is a combination of tedious and painful. This is the most comprehensive suite of non-Adobe PDF editors I am aware of. I don't think it is what you are looking for.
 
I'll second that... the only thing that even comes close to having those abilities is Illustrator... and even then you'll be limited to single pages.

The format really wasn't designed to be read/write... it was designed to be read-only. PDFs are a distribution format, where the original document is in the native format of the original application. Edits and changes are to be done to the original and then re-exported to PDF.

Because PDF is one of Illustrator's native file formats, it has some abilities to make changes... but that mostly depends on what was done while creating the original PDF. Because PDFs are generally created with sharing in mind, some information is dropped and some items compressed to bring the file size down.
 
Ah, now it is becoming clear to me. I guess what I need is some form of page making software. I have Illustrator but I think it only can make one-page .pdf forms. I need something that can make multi-page documents with which I can then save as a .pdf. I have WORD but I hate working with that. I have never used Adobe PageMaker. Is there anything like that but more price friendly? Thanks for helping me find out what I "really" needed.
 
Well, there is a number of page layout apps for Mac OS X... going from most expensive to least:They all have their advantages and disadvantages, so it really is a choice for you to make based on what they offer (and what you think fits your work style).

I, personally, use Stone Design's Create. It was the first page layout app for Mac OS X.
 
The last Mac version of PageMaker is PageMaker 7.0. It is Classic-only. If you have an Intel-based Mac, you are SOL. RacerX has given you an excellent list of layout and graphics apps. Of these, Adobe InDesign is the closest to a successor to Adobe PageMaker. Canvas X can open and edit multi-page PDF files.
 
InDesign. And maybe XPress has added an import filter, but I doubt it... I'd go with InDesign, if you can. It ain't cheap, but it's clearly what you're basically looking for (and I guess that you want to stay clear of Adobe is only price-based?). You already have Illustrator and might qualify for a cheaper crossgrade to the whole Adobe Creative Suite 2, btw.
 
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