Master PDF Editor (alternative to Acrobat)

steve626 wrote:

…I use pdfExpert and it has many capabilities, including signing forms and more. One very useful feature, it can shrink the size of pdfs with virtually no quality lost, unlike some of the other tools which often degrade the visual quality to shrink the size. I just received an email from them today announcing a new capability that translates entire pdf documents into most any language ... I have not tried it out yet.

I appreciate you sharing your experience with pdfExpert. Last night, I tried pdfExpert and although they say it's a 7-day free trial, I could NOT do any simple thing such as annotate without the payment window…. Also, although it states being compatible with macOS 12 and later, I'm finding many apps are not yet compatible with macOS 26. Are you using it with macOS 26 Tahoe?

Thanks, leroydougleas!

Decades ago, I used PDFpen, Foxit, and Wondershare. But many macOSs later… Last night, I tried pdfExpert and although they say it's a 7-day free trial, I could NOT do any simple thing such as annotate without the payment window…. Also, although it states being compatible with macOS 12 and later, I'm finding many apps are not yet compatible with macOS 26. So, when I saw Master PDF Editor in Kurt Lang's post, I checked it out and felt it fit with my decades experience with Acrobat Pro and exporting to postscript format (though the latter is probably only an Adobe issue).

Could please elaborate on your point as there are different definitions of "editor"?

In my usage, it is to alter the PDF such as moving items closer together, and not specifically the context of the written text.

Thanks!

Thanks Old Toad!

Even though I couldn't get the free trial of PDF Expert to do anything without paying, I'm keeping on my list for future.

Thanks again, leroydouglas!

I'm going to try PDFgear too.

Kurt Lang wrote:

As I recall, Master PDF Editor has a trial period, so you have some time to test it.

Yes, it's a bit clumsy compared to Adobe Acrobat, but it's also a (mostly) one-time payment. After purchase, you get any updates within a year of purchase for free. After that, you have to pay an upgrade cost (for another year's worth of updates as they're released). But, it also doesn't stop working just because your year of time ran out.

I haven't paid for another upgrade/update in over two years now. Still works just the way I have it.

Terrific info. Thank you, Kurt!

I remember some Acrobat versions that had me scratching my head and constantly wondering where did they move… So, clumsy me will try the demo version…

Recently, I've notice other software that have one-time payments and include all updates for a year… For example, GoodLinks which replaced the ended Pocket/Read It Later app.