The Photoshop PDF Editor offers a decent PDF management experience. However, is it as feature-rich as other options in the market? Find out in this article.

Is the Photoshop PDF Editor Good Enough?

We know Adobe Photoshop to be the industry-standard graphics editing software for manipulating all forms of visual content, including photos, 3D, and even videos.

However, the software offers a great deal of versatility in that it can also perform editing tasks in PDF documents.

The Photoshop PDF editor enables users to manipulate PDF files, performing such tasks as annotating, signing, and filling forms in the PDF document. In addition, it has strong Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities that allow users to extract textual data from the image-based file.

One of the strongest offerings of the online Photoshop PDF editor is in image editing within a PDF document. While several other PDF editor software enable you to modify images, the Photoshop Online PDF editor takes it a step further.

Because of its strong imaging capabilities, the Photoshop PDF editor online allows users to carry out maximum manipulation of PDF files. These include retouching, changing colors and textures of images, and several other functions.

However, this focus on image editing is a major downside for the PDF editor on Photoshop online as it doesn’t offer much functionality for text-based files. Furthermore, users will find the software interface difficult to navigate as the online PDF editor on Photoshop was majorly designed for graphics experts.

Considering the above, one would agree that there is a need to seek an alternative to the Photoshop PDF editor, and the choice should fill all the shortcomings of the online Photoshop PDF editor. Having conducted thorough research, we concluded that the best alternative to the Photoshop PDF editor is the UPDF software.

The Best Alternative to the Photoshop PDF Editor

Available for both mobile and PC, the UPDF enables users to carry out all editing functions they wish on a PDF document.

First, users can create a new PDF file. Then, upon creation, they can read and view the file on a neat, easy-to-navigate interface.

In case you receive a PDF file and want to make modifications to it, the editing features on the UPDF provide ample opportunity to alter the document as you wish. In addition, it has strong text alteration features to add, delete, and replace words.

Although not as sophisticated as the Photoshop PDF editor, the UPDF still does a lot in enabling image editing. Users can add or replace images, and crop and rotate them. If you want to use the image elsewhere in another part of the document or other files, you can activate the “Extract” button to get that done.

There is the ability to annotate PDF documents with provisions for highlighting sections of a document, underlining them, and striking out selected parts. You can also make additional notes, which can come in handy if you’re studying the text.

Then, if the document was a form or a contract, the signature tool allows users to include their signature. First, you can do that digitally by drawing your signature within the document. Alternatively, you may append the signature on a hardcopy surface (preferably paper) and then scan it for uploading into the PDF file.

If you wish to alter the structure of the PDF document, the UPDF app makes it possible to extract an entire page and place it somewhere else. You can also insert new pages in any part of the PDF document or replace existing ones.

Other functions include converting documents from any configuration into PDF format and vice versa.

How to Use UPDF to Edit PDF

With the above, you will agree that the UPDF is a must-have. As such, we have provided a guide to follow whenever you need to edit a PDF on the UPDF app:

STEP 1: Activate the Editing Mode on the App

Upon launching the app and opening the document you wish to edit, put the document in editing mode.

You will find the “Edit” button next to the “Markup” sign in the middle of the menu bar, which is placed at the top of the page. Clicking the button makes the PDF document editable.

STEP 2: Perform Editing Functions in the Document

The editing interface is similar to that which you find on most word processing applications such as Microsoft Word, as shown in the image below.

You can perform such editing functions as changing the font configurations on the app, including the size, type, and color. You can also bold and italicize the words and change the page formatting.

All you need is to highlight the entire document or the section of the document you wish to alter. Then, take your cursor to any of the options in the menu bar at the top and perform your desired changes.

STEP 3: Change the Text

Oftentimes, the editing may require changing the words in the document, a feature that is normally allowed in the PDF file format. However, UPDF presents Word-like editing capabilities that enable you to write in the documents freely.

In the editing toolbar, you will find two signs labeled “T,” one huge and the other smaller. The first giant “T” represents the Text Box. Clicking it enables you to add text to any part of the document. All you need to do is activate it drag the text box to that document segment, and start typing in your desired changes.

STEP 4: Edit Images

You can also manipulate images found in a PDF document. Select the image by double-clicking on it.

How to Use Photoshop PDF Editor to Edit PDF

The Photoshop PDF editor can also perform some editing functions on your PDF document. These are the steps to take to edit your PDF in the online Photoshop PDF editor:

1. Import the PDF into Photoshop

Open the PDF on Photoshop by going to the “File” section at the uppermost left of the page. Locate the PDF document and click on it.

2. Perform Preliminary Adjustments

Do you like the current size of the document and the resolution of the images therein? If not, you will find an interface that gives you the option to edit these.

3. Set the PDF up for Editing

You will come across a “Select” button that requires you to choose between editing the PDF file in “Pages” or “Images” format. If you choose the “Pages”, you will need to edit each page individually. If you wish to edit multiple images at a go, you need to hold down the “Control” (for Windows PC) or “Command” (for Macs) and select each page you wish to edit.

On the other hand, clicking on the “Images” option means you only get to edit the images in the PDF and not the text.

4. Start Editing the PDF

Whichever you choose, the next page that opens is the proper editing page. Here, you can add shapes, images, annotations, and adjustment layers.

Note that you can’t, however, remove any texts or images. If you wish to remove anything, you may need to hide it behind a white shape layer. Then, you can append the words or images on the new white surface.

Final Thoughts

While the Photoshop PDF editor can perform several amazing editing functions, it is mostly limited. The major downside is that Photoshop is largely limited to editing image-based PDFs. This is where the UPDF comes in, as it features all of these and more.

Should you need to edit your PDF in UPDF, follow the guidelines provided here.