It is based on the PostScript programming language, a PDF being a compiled – and thus no longer editable – version of the PostScript code. Individual PDF pages can also be edited in Inkscape.PDF was originally designed as a print format for forwarding and exchanging documents without allowing changes. New documents may be created in Writer and then exported as a PDF. Or maybe there is: Even though LibreOffice is not a PDF specialist, it can be used to edit PDFs by opening them in Draw.

A full-blown, up-to-date open source PDF editor is not available. In the Open Source department, there is of course Ghostscript, a comprehensive command line tool including an API for PDF and Postscript, but the available GUI programs are outdated and rudimentary. On the download page of the manufacturer you can find deb packages for 32 and 64 bit, which can be easily installed after downloading: sudo dpkg -i master-pdf-editor-*.deb Alternatives

The Russian manufacturer Code Industry provides detailed online documentation for Master PDF Editor – but only in English and Russian. The version for newer 64-bit operating systems uses qt5 as graphics library, the version for older operating systems is based on qt4 and is also available in 32-bit. Master PDF Editor is available in two versions. If you want more, you have to unlock the paid features. Moreover, the Linux version of Master PDF Editor is available free of charge for private use with a limited feature set this will get you quite far. There we have it: A commercial program for editing PDF files that is not as expensive as Adobe’s Acrobat and is available not only for Windows and OS X, but also for Linux.

Master pdf editor linux