PDF-XChange Editor is a PDF application for Microsoft Windows that opens, reads, edits and creates PDF documents. It handles the common tasks people need from a PDF tool: changing text and page content, marking up documents with comments, and filling and building forms. Other tasks include converting pages to and from other file types, running optical character recognition on scanned material, and signing or securing files. You can download and use it free, with most of its functions unrestricted. A paid license unlocks the remaining tools.
Editing text and page content
The Edit Content tool lets you work directly on a page rather than only annotating over it. You can change existing document text, adjust vector objects and other base content, and run a find-and-replace across the document. You can add images, backgrounds, watermarks and barcodes to pages. Rulers, grids, guides and snapping help place content precisely. PDF-XChange Editor also supports document layers. You can open content in a third-party application for editing when that application can handle a page element better.
Scanned documents and OCR
Optical character recognition turns the images in a scanned PDF into selectable, searchable text. PDF-XChange Editor can run OCR on a whole document, on a selected region of a page, or on several images at once through the context menu. It uses recognition when converting scanned PDFs into Microsoft Office formats so the exported file contains real text. The default engine is built in; Editor Plus replaces it with an Enhanced OCR Engine that the vendor describes as more accurate.
Stamps, callouts and other annotation tools
A full set of annotation tools covers reviewing and marking up documents without altering the underlying content. You can highlight, strike through and underline text, and add sticky notes, typewriter text, text boxes and callouts. You can also draw shapes such as rectangles, circles and freehand lines, and apply standard or custom stamps. You can also insert links, file attachments and sound annotations. The Select Comments tool edits many annotations together. Saved styles in the Comment Styles palette keep markup consistent, and you can summarize, export or flatten comments into the page.
Form filling and form building
PDF-XChange Editor fills in existing forms and, with a license, creates and edits fillable forms of its own. Field types include text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, dropdown lists, digital signature fields and others. Forms can calculate and validate the values entered in them. You can import and export form data so responses move between files. Building and editing fillable forms, along with the Identify Forms tool, is part of Editor Plus rather than the free functions.
Organizing pages
You can reshape documents at the page level by inserting, deleting, extracting, replacing, moving, rotating, cropping, resizing, numbering and splitting pages. You can also combine several files into a single PDF. You can split documents by file size, and view and edit a portfolio of files. A set of navigation panes – including Thumbnails, Bookmarks, Named Destinations, Layers, Comments, Attachments and Fields – gives direct access to each part of a document while you work.
Converting and exporting
PDF-XChange Editor converts between PDF and other formats in both directions. It can create a PDF from image, text, RTF and Markdown files or from a local scanner. It can export documents to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plain text, image formats including WebP, and the PDF/A and PDF/X archival and print standards. You can also export bookmarks, links and measurements.
Signatures and security
You can protect documents and apply security policies, and permanently remove content through redaction and sanitization. For authentication, the program adds and certifies digital signatures, applies trusted timestamps and verifies signatures already present. The FreeSign tool adds handwritten-style signatures and initials. PDF-XChange Editor also connects to SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive so you can open files from those services and save files to them.
Measuring and reviewing
Measuring tools report distance, perimeter and area directly on a drawing or plan. The Calibrate Measurement feature sets a scale so on-page measurements match real-world units, and you can export results to CSV. The Loupe tool and the Pan and Zoom pane assist close inspection, and Read Out Loud speaks selected text aloud. Spell checking and JavaScript automation through a built-in console round out the reviewing and scripting features.
Free version and Editor Plus
PDF-XChange Editor is free to download, and the majority of its features work without a license. A paid license removes the restrictions on the remaining tools. The Editor Plus license adds the Enhanced OCR Engine, creation and editing of fillable forms, the Identify Forms and Add Placeholder tools, customizable dynamic stamps and the Compare Documents feature. The program runs on Windows and ships in installer and portable forms, including an ARM64 build.
