PDF writer and creator
Free PDF Editor by FreePDFEditor.net is a PDF writer and creator for Windows XP/Vista/7/10. At less than 1 megabyte, this lightweight freeware can be run from its EXE file. The main draw of this program is that it enables you to see what the printout will look like while the document is being created. From the phrase ‘what you see is what you get,’ this WYSIWYG editor uses a specific printer configuration to simulate the appearance fonts and line breaks on the final pagination. It is also capable of inserting, resizing, and moving images and shapes onto the page.
User interface
The main window of Free PDF Editor is made up of three parts: menu bar, toolbar, and workspace or viewing window. You will see that the menu bar offers standard menu options, namely: File, Insert, Edit, Page, Help. The toolbar, on the other hand, displays 24 tools. They appear similar to the ones offered by word processing programs but they’re not as straightforward. For example, the Insert Text icon appears as several parallel lines.
Other word processing programs use this icon to denote Justify Text. The program makes up for this allowing your cursor to hover over the tool to display the tool’s name. Another note to make regarding the program’s layout is that the icons are small; Free PDF Editor uses 16x16 icons while its competing word to PDF processor, Microsoft Word, uses 96x96 pixels. Providing small and limited icons provides more space for the workspace. At launch, the window is taken up by a blank page.
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It appears like the blank page in MS Word but without the text cursor. The page is synonymous with a canvas in that you will create the layout from scratch. In addition to the Insert Text tool, Free PDF Editor allows you to add media, change the font size, and format the file. The Document Options tool allows you to add the title, subject, and author of the document. Under these are the creation date, modify data, and program used to create the file.
Customization options
In addition to formatting the file properties, you can define a page’s width, height, and margins. You will find that the default settings are set to A4 paper size with 210 x 297 mm. As for the layout, the program offers the following: Single Page, One Column, Two Colum Left/Right. Page modes are different from the page layouts as it modifies how you view the document on your screen.
Modes include Full Screen, Use Thumbs, Use Outlines, and Use None. Should you need to repeat the same definitions, layouts, and modes for several documents, the program saves these into one XML file with the extension .fpe. These settings will be stored at the same time your document gets saved or when you click Create PDF.
Substantial tool for administrative work
Free PDF Editor is a good alternative to paid word processing programs as it allows you to write and save documents as PDFs. You can also open the same file on the program and edit it again. While the program has a plain layout and limited tools, its WYSIWYG properties allow you to view your work as it would on paper or displayed on other users’ screens.
