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J
Jason34378178chxw
Participant
December 20, 2023
Question

Adobe Acrobat alternative

  • December 20, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 9421 views

We recently needed to fill out a PDF form .   We had to include an an image on the form and digitally sign.  The Adobe raeder would not allow her to attached an image or sign the document.  We had to sign up for a trail account to just complete the form.  Adobe is charing $240 / year for the Pro version of Acrobat.  Another version is $150 / year.  The subscription to get an entire office Suite for a fmily of five is $99 / year.

 

Can someone at Adobe please explain why this product costs so much for basic functionality to edit and sign PDFs?

 

Can a member of the community suggest an alternative product to accoplish editing and signing of PDFs?

 

 

    3 replies

    S
    skilled_videography6461
    Participant
    October 23, 2025

    I got sick of this too so I just built one. It does the basics. https://flipperfile.com/pdf-tools/editor/

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    December 20, 2023

    Probably the PDF was incorrectly made by the original author with settings that block users from signing and adding images. Contact the original author and complain.

     

    Adobe Acrobat Reader is the original software program developed for opening, reading, printing, and doing other PDF tasks and it's still the best by our testing of dozens of competing products. Just Google "PDF Readers" and you'll have a lot to choose from.

     

    But I really believe that problem you had was because the author didn't set the PDF file correctly, not Reader or any other brand of PDF reading program.

     

     

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
    try67
    Community Expert
    try67Community Expert
    Community Expert
    December 20, 2023

    This should be possible with the free Reader. What prevented you from doing so?

     

    And this is not really the place to discuss alternatives for Acrobat/Reader...

    J
    Jason34378178chxwAuthor
    Participant
    December 20, 2023

    So it's possible to sign PDFs with the free Adobe reader?

     

    please provide the URL the free download from the Adobe site.

     

     

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    December 20, 2023

    You know, you could just Google "Acrobat Reader" and you could get the URL is a second, certainly quicker than posting to this all-volunteer user-to-user forum. (We are not paid employees, although sometimes you'll spot one here in the forums...they'll have the Adobe logo with their name.)

     

    Here's a screen capture from Reader's homepage https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdf-reader.html

    There's a big blue DOWNLOAD button at the top of the page.

     

     

    Adobe also has a lot of free tutorials on performing the tasks you mentioned earlier.

     

    Warning: If you did indeed give Adobe a credit card to download any of the other paid versions of Acrobat, contact them immediately to cancel the order. If you keep the software live past the 7 day free trial, it's difficult (nearly impossible) to get your money back. Just a warning...

     

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
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