Create new PDF files of access and edit the existing ones by changing the contents of the texts, adding or removing images and graphics, adding comments and notes, importing tables and structures performing spellchecking, and converting the files to and from XMP, BMP, GIF, ICO, JBG, PBM, PGM, TGA, PCX, DCX, PNG, JPG, TIFF, EMF, RTF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, PPT, TXT.
Until not so long ago, finding a PDF editor with nearly all the features that you may find in Adobe's official products was not an easy task. PDF-XChange Editor comes with all the features you would expect to find in a non-Adobe professional tool and then everything else. This includes OCR capabilities, accessibility features, text and image editing tools, forms recognition, and much more.
Without cross-checking the list of features available in both Adobe Acrobat and PDF-XChange Editor, I would say that users of the former will find it hard to spot a feature on the list that is not available in the latter. All the editing options are there — add and edit text, images, and objects; add and modify links; create bookmarks using a full-featured bookmark generator; add sticky notes, comments, and stamps, etc.
Apart from the more obvious features, this comprehensive tool offers you full OCR capabilities, allowing you to add tags to scanned or otherwise non-tagged PDF files. Tags are essential for non-visual access to any PDF file, as they can provide persons with a print disability with the structure, the correct reading order, and — what is more — the text behind the visual representation of the pages needed for them to "read" the PDF file using assistive technologies.
These tags, however, are usually a chaotic mess when generated automatically, and that is why it is so important that the PDF editor in question includes accessibility features that allow editors to produce a truly accessible and readable PDF document. Unlike many of its competitors, PDF-XChange Editor comes with a full-fledged accessibility section, though — regrettably — most of these features are part of the 30% of functionality not available for review in the free demo version.
Other functions worth mentioning include PDF protection, PDF document comparison and review, form recognition, PDF conversion, and several others. This wealth of features and options, together with the significantly lower price tag, when compared to "official" PDF editors, are enough to put PDF-XChange Editor on top of the list of alternative editing tools to produce professional and accessible PDF files.
v10.2 [Jan 9, 2024]
- NEW: Added new options to tune the appearance of the Comments pane. Changes were made that make items more compact and to display comment text in a uniform style, and more. We also added other minor improvements to the pane's content appearance.
- NEW: Added an option to make comment popups on pages more compact. Look to Preferences > Commenting > Display compact comment popups.
Bugfixes and Improvements
- Fixed an issue where IE or MS Edge in 'IE Mode' became unresponsive when opening PDF files.
- Fixed an issue with restoring the last session when the application starts with a file argument (added an option to the Preferences/Documents).
- Fixed an issue where it was possible to get an incorrect bookmark root name when using drag&drop of files in the thumbnail panel.
- Fixed angle snapping for polyline/polygon tools. Holding the "Shift" key as a modifier limits the positioning of the line to pre-defined angles.
- Fixed "nudge object" moves with the Ctrl+Shift combination. Previously the Ctrl+Shift key combination was not responding, this has been corrected. (41259)
- Fixed issue with the undo/redo when adding checkmarks for comments.
- Fixed an issue with then Comments pane.
- Fixed an issue when 'checkmarking' comments when the UI language is set to something other than English.
- Fixed an issue with the comment popups on pages: in some cases they may become light grey, even for colored comments.
- Fixed an issue with resetting/importing settings after performing commands through the Quick Launch feature.
- Fixed an issue that was present only in some very rare cases that resulted invalid shading.
- In the Comments pane the ability to add/remove checkmarks and change status for multiple selected comments, rather than just one selected comment was restored.
- Improve the PRC model handling.
