My thesis is due Friday and I need to fix some typos and swap a couple of figures in the 90-page PDF. Torn between PDFgear and Acrobat, which one keeps the formatting intact when editing text?
I had the same problem with a long client PDF, and Acrobat kept the text flow and figure placement more reliably than PDFgear. For a thesis due Friday, I would make a copy, use Acrobat, and check the page count and figure captions afterward before submitting.
If you still have the original Word or LaTeX file, it is much safer to fix the typos there and re-export. Editing text directly on a 90-page PDF almost always breaks the line spacing or font matching in both tools. If you must edit the PDF, test one paragraph first to see how it behaves.
I’d skip both of those. Acrobat wants an account and I’ve seen text reflow on long PDFs.
PDFcap is the easiest, just open the file at pdfcap.com and use edit to fix typos then drop in the new figures.
Avoid overwriting until you preview a few pages. Not sure if it’s the same on Mac.
If it’s mostly typos and swapping a couple images, I’d just go back to your original Word file, fix it there, and re-save as PDF. Keeps formatting way more reliable than editing text directly in a PDF.
Honestly, editing text inside a finished PDF is where formatting tends to go sideways, whichever tool you pick. If you still have the original Word file, fix the typos there, swap the figures, then re-export the PDF. Keep a backup of the current version before you touch anything. Ninety pages is a lot of reflow to risk on a Friday deadline.
For a deadline that close, I’d edit the original Word or LaTeX file if you still have it, then export a fresh PDF. Direct PDF text edits can reflow a line or alter embedded fonts, especially in a long thesis.
If the PDF is all you have, make a copy first and test one typo plus one figure swap on a noncritical page. Check the result at 100% and print preview before doing the rest.
Had the same sort of rush with a family report. Acrobat has been more reliable for me at keeping text formatting intact, especially when the original fonts are embedded, though no PDF editor is foolproof. If you still have the thesis source file, fix it there and export a fresh PDF. Otherwise, make a backup and test the text and figure changes on a few copied pages first.
honestly for text edits acrobat is safer with formatting, pdfgear can be hit or miss on longer docs. swapping figures though, you might need to touch the original word file and re-export if you have it. that’s what i’d try first, way less risky than editing a 90-page pdf directly.
@gaa_miami When I had the same problem with my thesis, I tried editing the text directly. My old laptop completely froze up and ruined my page numbers. Going back into Microsoft Word to make the changes and saving it again was the only thing that worked. I would definitely fix the source document instead of gambling on edits.
@distracted_hunter honestly you are right about text reflowing. going back into word to fix things is so much safer anyway. i always do that for my restaurant menus instead of trying to change the pdf itself.
@orla_ward yeah laptop freezing mid edit on a 90 page file is the nightmare scenario. i stick to word for anything over like 20 pages now, PDF text edits are fine for a quick note but not worth the risk this close to a deadline.
@orla_ward same thing happened on my old laptop, learned that the hard way. Tip: keep the auto-recover copy open in Word before re-exporting, it saved me once. Avoid editing page numbers directly in the PDF, that’s where formatting falls apart.