List of PDF software
Encyclopedia
This list of PDF software includes links to articles on computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....

 used to manage Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....

 (PDF) documents.

Converters

These allow you to convert pdf files to other formats.
Name License Platforms Description
deskUNPDF
Docudesk
Docudesk offers commercial PDF software for creating and converting portable document format files. deskPDF is used for creating PDF's from Windows applications. The professional version includes PDF merging, Office integration, & 40-bit or 128-bit encryption. deskUNPDF converts PDF's to output...

Proprietary Mac, Windows Converts PDFs to Word, Excel, Text, HTML
GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...

GNU GPL Linux, Mac, Windows Converts PDF to raster images
LibreOffice
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...

GNU LGPL BSD, Linux, Mac, Windows (Java based) Export as PDF, and import from PDF; extension included by default
LuaTeX
LuaTeX
LuaTeX is a TeX based computer typesetting system which started as a version of pdfTeX with a Lua scripting engine embedded. After some experiments it was adopted by the pdfTeX team as a successor to pdfTeX . Later in the project some functionality of Aleph was included...

GNU GPL ? TeX
TeX
TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....

 typesetting system that creates PDF documents
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

GNU GPL Linux, Mac, Windows Export as PDF, and import (with restrictions) after installing an extension
pdfTeX
PdfTeX
The computer program pdfTeX is an extension of Knuth's typesetting program TeX, and was originally written and developed into a publicly usable product by Hàn Thế Thành as a part of the work for his PhD thesis at the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Brno...

GNU GPL ? TeX
TeX
TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....

 typesetting system that creates PDF documents
Prince
Prince XML
Prince is a proprietary software program that converts XML and HTML documents into PDF files by applying Cascading Style Sheets . It is developed by YesLogic, a small company based in Melbourne, Australia.-History:...

Proprietary ? PDF formatter using XML or HTML with CSS and SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
Scalable Vector Graphics is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic . The SVG specification is an open standard that has been under development by the World Wide Web Consortium since 1999.SVG images and their...

 as input
pstoedit GNU GPL ? PostScript to (other) vector file format converter
XeTeX
XeTeX
XeTeX is a TeX typesetting engine using Unicode and supporting modern font technologies such as OpenType or Apple Advanced Typography...

MIT ? TeX
TeX
TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....

 typesetting system that creates PDF documents
SWFTools
SWFTools
SWFTools is an Open Source software tool suite for creating and manipulating SWF files. Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, it may be compiled from C source, to run under Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple Mac OSX...

GNU GPL Linux, Windows, Mac SWF conversion and manipulation suite containing a standalone PDF to SWF converter along with a Python gfx API ( requires Xpdf
Xpdf
Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

 )
QPDF
QPDF
QPDF is a free command-line program that can convert one PDF file to another equivalent PDF file. It is capable ofperforming a variety of transformations such as linearization , encryption, and decryption of PDF files...

Artistic License 2.0 ? Structural, content-preserving transformations from PDF to PDF
pdf-parser
Pdf-parser
pdf-parser is a command-line program that parses and analyses PDF documents. It provides features to extract raw data from PDF documents, like compressed images. pdf-parser can deal with malicious PDF documents that use obfuscation features of the PDF language....

Public Domain ? Extraction and analysis tool, handles corrupt and malicious PDF documents
XEP
XEP
XEP is a commercial XSL-FO layout engine written in Java mainly used to convert XML to PDF. XEP is proprietary software by RenderX.- History :...

Proprietary BSD, Linux, Mac, Windows (Java based) Converts XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....

 and XSL-FO
XSL Formatting Objects
XSL Formatting Objects, or XSL-FO, is a markup language for XML document formatting which is most often used to generate PDFs. XSL-FO is part of XSL , a set of W3C technologies designed for the transformation and formatting of XML data. The other parts of XSL are XSLT and XPath...

 to PDF
Solid Converter PDF
Solid Converter PDF
Solid Converter PDF is commercial document reconstruction software from Solid Documents which converts PDF files to editable formats. Originally released for the Microsoft Windows operating system, a Mac OS X version was released in 2010...

Proprietary Windows, Mac OS X PDF to Word, Excel, HTML and Text; supports passwords, text editing, and batch conversion

Editors

These allow you to modify an existing pdf file.
Name License Description
OpenOffice.org Draw
OpenOffice.org Draw
OpenOffice.org Draw is a vector graphics editor and is part of the OpenOffice.org office suite. It features "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowchart...

GNU GPL PDF import via LibreOffice
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...

 OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

 software, or extensions
Inkscape
Inkscape
Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....

GNU GPL Open, edit and export documents, but only one page at a time (pages can be later combined using PDF printer); free open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 software
PDFedit
PDFedit
PDFedit is a free PDF editor for Unix-like operating systems . It does not support editing protected or encrypted PDF files or word processor-style text manipulation, however....

GNU GPL Software to view or edit the internal structures of PDF documents, and merge them
Pdftk
Pdftk
pdftk or the pdf toolkit is an open source cross-platform tool for manipulating PDF documents. pdftk is basically a front end to the iText library , capable of splitting, merging, encrypting, decrypting, uncompressing, recompressing, and repairing PDFs...

GNU GPL Command-line tools to edit and convert documents; supports filling of PDF forms with FDF/XFDF data

Development libraries

These are used by software developers to add/create pdf features.
Name License Description
Formatting Objects Processor Apache License Open-source print formatter driven by XSL Formatting Objects
XSL Formatting Objects
XSL Formatting Objects, or XSL-FO, is a markup language for XML document formatting which is most often used to generate PDFs. XSL-FO is part of XSL , a set of W3C technologies designed for the transformation and formatting of XML data. The other parts of XSL are XSLT and XPath...

 and an output independent formatter; main output target is PDF
GNU PDF
GNU PDF
GNUpdf is a GNU project that aims to completely implement the Portable Document Format standards in free software. While many projects, such as Poppler already freely provide support of PDF adequate for most, none provide a complete implementation...

GNU GPL Open-source C library in development; when done, will provide functions to implement all features of PDF 1.7 specification
iText
IText
iText is a free and open source library for creating and manipulating PDF files in Java. It was written by Bruno Lowagie, Paulo Soares, and others. As of version 5.0.0 it is distributed under the Affero General Public License version 3. Previous versions of iText were distributed under the...

AGPL
Affero General Public License
The Affero General Public License, often abbreviated as Affero GPL and AGPL , refers to two distinct, though historically related, free software licenses:...

Open-source library to create and manipulate PDF, RTF, HTML files in Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

, C#, and other .NET languages
JasperReports
JasperReports
Teodor Danciu began work on JasperReports in June 2001, the sf.net project was registered in September 2001 and JasperReports 0.1.5 was released on November 3, 2001.JasperReports Version 1.0 was released on July 21, 2005....

GNU LGPL Open-source Java reporting tool that can write to screen, printer, or into PDF, HTML, Microsoft Excel, RTF, ODT, comma-separated values and XML files
libHaru
LibHaru
libHaru is a free, open source, cross platform library for generating PDF files for applications written in C or C++. It is not intended for reading PDF files. libHaru can be used as a static library or as a dynamic library. It is the only free, open source C or C++ library for PDF generation...

ZLIB/LIBPNG
Libpng License
The libpng license is a permissive free software license, which defines the terms under which the libpng software library can be distributed.-Origin and history:...

Open-source, cross-platform C library to generate PDF files
Poppler
Poppler (software)
In computing, Poppler is a free software library used to render PDF documents. It is used by the PDF viewers of the open source GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and its development is supported by freedesktop.org....

GNU GPL Open-source multi-backend C++ library derived from Xpdf
Xpdf
Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

; no bundled viewer
ReportLab
ReportLab
ReportLab is the name of a London-based company that created and maintains the ReportLab Toolkit , a Python-based PDF generation toolkit, and related software, such as PyRXP...

BSD license Open-source, Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...

-based PDF creation library
TCPDF
TCPDF
TCPDF is a free and open source software PHP class for generating PDF documents. TCPDF is currently the only PHP-based library that includes complete support for UTF-8 Unicode and right-to-left languages, including the bidirectional algorithm....

GNU LGPL Open-source PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...

 library to create PDF files
XEP
XEP
XEP is a commercial XSL-FO layout engine written in Java mainly used to convert XML to PDF. XEP is proprietary software by RenderX.- History :...

Proprietary XSL-FO
XSL Formatting Objects
XSL Formatting Objects, or XSL-FO, is a markup language for XML document formatting which is most often used to generate PDFs. XSL-FO is part of XSL , a set of W3C technologies designed for the transformation and formatting of XML data. The other parts of XSL are XSLT and XPath...

 layout engine written in Java; output formats: PDF
Qoppa PDF Libraries
Qoppa PDF Libraries
The commercial Qoppa PDF libraries are a suite of Java class libraries and Java bean components developed by for developers to incorporate specific PDF document manipulation capabilities into their programs and applets. PDF is a widely used standard for presenting information with a consistent...

Proprietary, shareware Portable Java libraries to view, print, manipulate PDF files
JPedal
JPedal
JPedal is a Java library for viewing and manipulating PDF files. It aims to provide Java developers with complete PDF reader functionality as well as PDF content extraction...

Proprietary, GNU LGPL Java developer library for view, extract, print PDF files

Creators

These create files in their proprietary formats, but then allow you to export them to pdf formats.
Name License Description
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...

Proprietary Desktop PDF authoring suite
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

GNU GPL All OpenOffice.org applications allow PDF export; supports also PDF/A-1a; since many import formats are supported (e.g., doc, docx, rtf, xls, ppt) conversion is also possible
Ghostscript
Ghostscript
Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...

GNU GPL Viewer, creator, converter; supports also PDF/X-3; used by PdfCreator, WinPdf, BullzipPdf, CutePDF freeware version and others
LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...

/TeX
TeX
TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....

LaTeX Project Public License
LaTeX Project Public License
The LaTeX Project Public License is a software license originally written for the LaTeX system. Software distributed under the terms of the LPPL can be regarded as free software, however it is not copylefted....

/Permissive
Permissive free software licence
A permissive free software licence is a class of free software licence with minimal requirements about how the software can be redistributed. This is in contrast to copyleft licences, which have reciprocity / share-alike requirements. Both sets of free software licences offer the same freedoms in...

Mark-up language and tools to write technical reports, books, magazines, almost any publication type
PageStream
PageStream
PageStream is a desktop publishing software package by Grasshopper LLC , currently available for a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Amiga...

Proprietary Cross-platform desktop publishing application to open, edit, export
Scribus
Scribus
Scribus is a desktop publishing application, released under the GNU General Public License as free software. It is based on the free Qt toolkit, therefore native versions are available for Linux, Unix-like operating systems, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and OS/2...

GNU GPL Cross-platform desktop publishing (DTP) application; supports also PDF/X-3
FineReader
FineReader
ABBYY FineReader is an optical character recognition application developed by ABBYY.FineReader was designed as a professional-level application for converting scanned images, photographs of documents and PDF files into editable and searchable formats such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,...

Proprietary OCR tool; can save as PDF, and recognize text from PDF

Viewers

These allow you to view (not edit/modify) any existing pdf file.
Name License Description
Adobe Reader Proprietary, freeware Adobe's PDF reader
DigiSigner
DigiSigner
DigiSigner is a tool for viewing and digitally signing portable document format files.There are free and professional DigiSigner versions....

Proprietary, freeware PDF viewer with added function to digitally sign PDF documents
Evince
Evince
Evince is a document viewer for PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF and DVI designed for the GNOME desktop environment.The developers of Evince intended to replace the multiple GNOME document viewers with a single and simple application. The Evince motto sums up the project aim: "Simply a Document...

GNU GPL Universal viewer for GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

.
Foxit Reader
Foxit Reader
Foxit Reader is a multilingual PDF reader. Both the basic and full version readers can be downloaded for free.Foxit Reader is notable for its short load time and small filesize, and has been compared favorably to Adobe Reader...

Proprietary, freeware PDF viewer, text conversion limited to easily extracted postscript text, does no optical character recognition
Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...

Proprietary, freeware View, search PDF files
GSview GNU GPL A legacy
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...

 graphical interface for Ghostscript
Okular
Okular
Okular is the document viewer for KDE SC 4 . It is based on KPDF and it replaced KPDF, KGhostView, KFax, KFaxview and KDVI in KDE 4.Its functionality can be easily embedded in other applications....

GNU GPL Universal viewer for KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...

; replaces KPDF
KPDF
KPDF is a free PDF reader based on Xpdf. It is integrated with the KDE platform, so it embeds very well in Konqueror as KPart. Nevertheless, KPDF has been replaced in KDE SC 4 by Okular.- Features :Feature highlights:...

, available on versions of KDE from 4.1
Xpdf
Xpdf
Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

Free and proprietary versions Legacy
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...

, a multi-platform viewer; based on Xpdf codebase


Converters

  • Antiword
    Antiword
    Antiword is a free software reader for proprietary Microsoft Word documents, and is available for most computer platforms. Antiword can convert the documents from Microsoft Word version 2, 6, 7, 97, 2000, 2002 and 2003 to plain text, PostScript, PDF, and XML/DocBook .-Overview:The Word format is...

    : A free Microsoft Office Word reader for various operating systems; converts binary files from Word 2, 6, 7, 97, 2000, 2002 and 2003 to plain text or PostScript; available for AmigaOS 4
    AmigaOS 4
    AmigaOS 4, , is a line of Amiga operating systems which runs on PowerPC microprocessors. It is mainly based on AmigaOS 3.1 source code, and partially on version 3.9 developed by Haage & Partner...

    , MorphOS
    MorphOS
    MorphOS is an Amiga-compatible computer operating system. It is a mixed proprietary and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC processor based computer, PowerUP accelerator equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi firmware, including the...

    , AROS
    Aros
    Aros may refer to:*Aros , a river in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium*AROS Research Operating System, a free software implementation of AmigaOS* Aros, the original Viking name of Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark...

     x86
  • dvipdfm: a DVI to PDF translator with zlib support

Viewers

  • Xpdf
    Xpdf
    Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

     a multi-platform viewer for PDF files, Amiga version uses X11 engine Cygnix

Annotation functionality

  • Okular
    Okular
    Okular is the document viewer for KDE SC 4 . It is based on KPDF and it replaced KPDF, KGhostView, KFax, KFaxview and KDVI in KDE 4.Its functionality can be easily embedded in other applications....

    : Supports a range of annotation types. Annotations are stored separately from the unmodified PDF file.
  • Xournal
    Xournal
    Xournal is a notetaking application written for Linux and other GTK+ platforms. It bears some similarity to Windows Journal, Jarnal and Gournal. It is designed to be used with either a stylus or a mouse...

    : Allows for complex and customizable annotations by freehand drawing, a shape recognition tool, multiple colours and text fonts. In addition, there is a rule tool for straight lines, highlighting and underlining. Annotations may be copied, pasted and easily moved. Annotations may also be in complex scripts such as Tibetan through SCIM input. Annotations are stored separately from the unmodified PDF file.

Converters

  • CUPS: supports exporting to PDF formats
  • Pdftk
    Pdftk
    pdftk or the pdf toolkit is an open source cross-platform tool for manipulating PDF documents. pdftk is basically a front end to the iText library , capable of splitting, merging, encrypting, decrypting, uncompressing, recompressing, and repairing PDFs...

    : can merge, split, en-/decrypt, watermark/stamp and manipulate PDF files
  • Inkscape
    Inkscape
    Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....

    : Imports and export PDFs
  • SWFTools
    SWFTools
    SWFTools is an Open Source software tool suite for creating and manipulating SWF files. Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, it may be compiled from C source, to run under Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple Mac OSX...

    : pdf2swf component converts PDF to SWF

Creators

  • OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

    : an open source office suite with built-in PDF creation.
  • Xournal
    Xournal
    Xournal is a notetaking application written for Linux and other GTK+ platforms. It bears some similarity to Windows Journal, Jarnal and Gournal. It is designed to be used with either a stylus or a mouse...

    : an open source program that creates PDFs.
  • Inkscape
    Inkscape
    Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....

     Vector drawing program that imports and exports PDF files

Development libraries

  • Xpdf
    Xpdf
    Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

    : an open source multi-backend library for viewing and manipulating PDF files. Bundled with a viewer with the same name
  • Qoppa PDF Libraries
    Qoppa PDF Libraries
    The commercial Qoppa PDF libraries are a suite of Java class libraries and Java bean components developed by for developers to incorporate specific PDF document manipulation capabilities into their programs and applets. PDF is a widely used standard for presenting information with a consistent...

    : portable Java libraries for viewing, printing and manipulating PDF files.

Editors

  • PDFedit
    PDFedit
    PDFedit is a free PDF editor for Unix-like operating systems . It does not support editing protected or encrypted PDF files or word processor-style text manipulation, however....

    : An open source program for viewing or editing the internal structures of PDF documents
  • PDF Studio
    PDF Studio
    PDF Studio is a commercial software program for end-users to create, review, annotate, and edit PDF documents. Platform-independent, it will run on any Java-enabled platform, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and AIX....

    : Proprietary software for viewing and editing PDF documents

Viewers

  • Adobe Reader: Adobe Reader also has a freeware version for Linux
  • Evince
    Evince
    Evince is a document viewer for PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF and DVI designed for the GNOME desktop environment.The developers of Evince intended to replace the multiple GNOME document viewers with a single and simple application. The Evince motto sums up the project aim: "Simply a Document...

    : The default PDF and file viewer for GNOME
    GNOME
    GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

    ; replaces GPdf
  • GPdf
    GPDF
    GPDF is an acronym for:* Gambela People’s Democratic Front, a former political party in Ethiopia .* Gurage People’s Democratic Front, a political party in Ethiopia* PDF viewer for GNOME...

    : A PDFviewer for GNOME
    GNOME
    GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...

    ; replaced by Evince
  • Okular
    Okular
    Okular is the document viewer for KDE SC 4 . It is based on KPDF and it replaced KPDF, KGhostView, KFax, KFaxview and KDVI in KDE 4.Its functionality can be easily embedded in other applications....

    : The document viewer for KDE desktop environment; replaces KPDF.
  • Xpdf
    Xpdf
    Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif.Xpdf runs on practically any Unix-like operating system. Xpdf can decode LZW and read encrypted PDFs. The official version obeys the DRM restrictions of PDF files, which may prevent copying, printing, or converting some PDF files...

    : A PDF viewer for the X Window System
    X Window System
    The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...

  • Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader is a multilingual PDF reader. Both the basic and full version readers can be downloaded for free.Foxit Reader is notable for its short load time and small filesize, and has been compared favorably to Adobe Reader...

    : A PDF viewer from Foxit Software
  • xournal
    Xournal
    Xournal is a notetaking application written for Linux and other GTK+ platforms. It bears some similarity to Windows Journal, Jarnal and Gournal. It is designed to be used with either a stylus or a mouse...

    : A GTK2 PDF viewer and annotator using Poppler
    Poppler (software)
    In computing, Poppler is a free software library used to render PDF documents. It is used by the PDF viewers of the open source GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and its development is supported by freedesktop.org....


Converters

  • deskUNPDF for Mac: proprietary application from Docudesk
    Docudesk
    Docudesk offers commercial PDF software for creating and converting portable document format files. deskPDF is used for creating PDF's from Windows applications. The professional version includes PDF merging, Office integration, & 40-bit or 128-bit encryption. deskUNPDF converts PDF's to output...

     to convert PDF files to Microsoft Office
    Microsoft Office
    Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...

    , OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org
    OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

    , image, and data file formats

Editors

  • Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...

    : Proprietary PDF authoring suite
  • PDF Studio
    PDF Studio
    PDF Studio is a commercial software program for end-users to create, review, annotate, and edit PDF documents. Platform-independent, it will run on any Java-enabled platform, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and AIX....

    : Proprietary software to view and edit PDF documents
  • PDF Signer
    PDF Signer
    PDF Signer is a PDF editor for Mac OS.This simple PDF editor was specifically designed to fill and sign PDF documents such as agreements and forms without having to print and scan them...

    : Proprietary; fills forms and embeds image signatures in PDF documents.

Viewers

  • Adobe Reader: Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...

    's reader which is also available for Macintosh; Safari plug-in available
  • Preview: Mac OS X
    Mac OS X
    Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

    's default PDF viewer (in Mac OS X v10.5
    Mac OS X v10.5
    Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...

     it also can annotate, rearrange pages, and merge PDF files)
  • Skim
    Skim (software)
    Skim is an open-source PDF reader. It is notably the first free PDF reader for Mac OS X. It is written in Objective-C, and uses Cocoa APIs. It is released under a BSD license. It is also cited as being able to help annotate and read scientific papers....

    , an open source (BSD licence) PDF reader and note-taker for Mac OS X

Converters

  • Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...

    : Can convert files into PDF or convert PDF files into other formats
  • ABBYY FineReader: Commercial PDF converter which converts PDF into Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), PowerPoint (ppt), and more
  • deskUNPDF
    Docudesk
    Docudesk offers commercial PDF software for creating and converting portable document format files. deskPDF is used for creating PDF's from Windows applications. The professional version includes PDF merging, Office integration, & 40-bit or 128-bit encryption. deskUNPDF converts PDF's to output...

    : PDF converter to convert PDFs to Word (.doc, docx), Excel (.xls), (.csv), (.txt), more
  • GSview: File/Convert menu item converts any sequence of PDF pages to a sequence of images in many formats from bit to tiffpack with resolutions from 72 to 204x98 (open source
    Open source
    The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

     software)
  • gDoc Fusion: Proprietary, shareware; PDF views, edits, converts documents into PDF, XPS or Microsoft Word document; after 30 days a watermark is placed on documents in shareware version
  • SaveasPDFandXPS: Freeware add-in for Microsoft Office 2007; converts documents in standard Microsoft Office formats, e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, into PDF format.
  • Print2PDF: Proprietary PDF converter
  • SWFTools
    SWFTools
    SWFTools is an Open Source software tool suite for creating and manipulating SWF files. Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, it may be compiled from C source, to run under Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple Mac OSX...

    : pdf2swf component converts PDF to SWF - command line with GUI wrapper

Creators

  • deskPDF Standalone PDF creator available for both client and terminal servers.
  • PrimoPDF
    PrimoPDF
    PrimoPDF is a freeware program that creates a PDF file from Microsoft Windows documents. It works as a virtual printer. It does not present the user with advertisements. PrimoPDF is developed by the same company that develops the commercial Nitro PDF software....

     Standalone freeware PDF creator.
  • Bullzip PDF Printer
    Bullzip PDF Printer
    Bullzip PDF printer is a proprietary freeware application for converting documents into Portable Document Format from any application running on Microsoft Windows operating systems that can print, similar to the free software PDFCreator..-Features:...

    : freeware PDF creator application
  • CC PDF Converter
    CC PDF Converter
    CC PDF Converter is a free open source program that allows users to convert documents into PDF files on Microsoft Windows operating systems, while embedding a Creative Commons license....

    : create a PDF with embedded Creative Commons
    Creative Commons
    Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...

     license from any software
  • CutePDF
    CutePDF
    CutePDF is a proprietary Portable Document Format converter/editor for Microsoft Windows developed by Acro Software.The developers also produce CutePDF Writer , a plug-in application which acts as a "printer subsystem" to enable Windows applications that have print capability to output documents in...

    : Freeware and Professional versions, also has proprietary PDF editor
  • doPDF
    DoPDF
    doPDF is a freeware Portable Document Format printer developed by Softland, that allows any program that can print to create a PDF file. The resolution of the created PDF files can be set manually, or done automatically.-Features:...

    : Freeware standalone PDF creator that doesn't use Ghostscript
    Ghostscript
    Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...

  • eCopy PaperWorks: Proprietary PDF Creator
  • gDoc Creator: Shareware enterprise-level creator to create, review, edit, share or archive PDF and XPS documents. After 30 days shareware version places a watermark on documents.
  • NovaPDF
    NovaPDF
    novaPDF is a PDF Creator for Microsoft Windows developed by Softland.With it you can create PDF files from any document that supports printing. There are 3 editions available: Lite, Standard and Professional. It is distributed as Shareware and has an evaluation version that watermarks the resulting...

    : Commercial virtual PDF printer for Windows
  • SaveasPDFandXPS: Freeware add-in for Microsoft Office 2007
  • PagePlus
    PagePlus
    PagePlus is a desktop publishing program developed by Serif. The first version was released in 1991 as the first commercial sub-£100 DTP package for Microsoft Windows...

    : Proprietary desktop publishing suite with PDF viewing, editing and creation features
  • PaperPort
    PaperPort
    PaperPort is a computer software program designed to help organize digital documents and files, published by Nuance Communications. PaperPort uses the .MAX file format natively, while newer versions of PaperPort can also use .PDF. PaperPort also supports the stacking and unstacking of documents,...

    : Proprietary desktop publishing suite with PDF viewing, editing and creation features
  • PDFCreator
    PDFCreator
    PDFCreator is an application for converting documents into Portable Document Format format on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It works by creating a virtual printer that prints to PDF files, and thereby allows practically any application to create PDF files by choosing to print from within...

    : Virtual printer for Windows licenced under GPL. Uses Ghostscript
    Ghostscript
    Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...

     includes adware
    Adware
    Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...

    .
  • Solid PDF Creator
    Solid PDF Creator
    Solid PDF Creator is proprietary document processing software which converts virtually any Windows-based document into a PDF. Suitable for home and office use, the program appears as a printer option in the Print menu of any print-capable Windows application....

    : proprietary PDF creation application

Development libraries

  • Qoppa PDF Libraries
    Qoppa PDF Libraries
    The commercial Qoppa PDF libraries are a suite of Java class libraries and Java bean components developed by for developers to incorporate specific PDF document manipulation capabilities into their programs and applets. PDF is a widely used standard for presenting information with a consistent...

    : portable Java libraries for viewing, printing and manipulating PDF files.

Editors

  • Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat
    Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...

    : Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...

    's proprietary desktop PDF authoring suite
  • gDoc Fusion: proprietary/shareware desktop product to create, review, edit, share or archive PDF and XPS documents. After 30 days a watermark is placed on documents in shareware version.
  • Infix PDF Editor
    Infix PDF Editor
    Infix PDF Editor is a word processor-like application for viewing and editing Adobe PDF documents. This software uses sophisticated algorithms to reconstruct the fragmented text as stored within PDF documents...

    : a proprietary PDF editor with word processor features
  • PDF Studio
    PDF Studio
    PDF Studio is a commercial software program for end-users to create, review, annotate, and edit PDF documents. Platform-independent, it will run on any Java-enabled platform, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and AIX....

    : Proprietary software for viewing and editing PDF documents
  • pdftk
    Pdftk
    pdftk or the pdf toolkit is an open source cross-platform tool for manipulating PDF documents. pdftk is basically a front end to the iText library , capable of splitting, merging, encrypting, decrypting, uncompressing, recompressing, and repairing PDFs...

    : free (GPL) command-line tools to manipulate, edit and convert documents; supports filling of PDF forms with FDF/XFDF data

Viewers

  • Adobe Reader: Adobe's freeware PDF reader.
  • DigiSigner
    DigiSigner
    DigiSigner is a tool for viewing and digitally signing portable document format files.There are free and professional DigiSigner versions....

    : Freeware PDF viewer with additional function to digitally sign PDF documents.
  • Evince
    Evince
    Evince is a document viewer for PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF and DVI designed for the GNOME desktop environment.The developers of Evince intended to replace the multiple GNOME document viewers with a single and simple application. The Evince motto sums up the project aim: "Simply a Document...

    : a free (GPL), open source
    Open source
    The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

     PDF reader. Part of the GNOME desktop environment. Windows port available since version 2.28.
  • Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader is a multilingual PDF reader. Both the basic and full version readers can be downloaded for free.Foxit Reader is notable for its short load time and small filesize, and has been compared favorably to Adobe Reader...

    : Freeware reader, supports FDF import/export, saving filled forms; other extended functionality available via purchasable plugins.
  • gDoc Fusion: Proprietary/shareware to view PDF, XPS, Microsoft Word document, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or image files, included in the evaluation version of the product. Shareware version places a watermark on documents after 30 day eval.
  • GSview: Open source software and Ghostscript
    Ghostscript
    Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and Portable Document Format page description languages.- Features :...

    's viewer for Windows
  • Nitro PDF Reader: Free, proprietary PDF reader and creator. Supports PDF creation, saving filled forms (AcroForms), text typewriter, markup/collaboration, and stamp signature.
  • Nuance PDF Reader
    Nuance PDF Reader
    Nuance PDF Reader, developed by Nuance Communications, Inc., is software designed to view, manipulate and manage files in Portable Document Format . The software is available as a free download from Nuance’s Web site in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish...

    : Freeware PDF reader, supports saving filled forms, partial support for XFA forms; enables the capability to convert PDF files to MS Word or Excel files through Nuance website.
  • PDF-XChange Viewer
    PDF-XChange Viewer
    PDF-XChange Viewer is a free PDF reader for Microsoft Windows. The basic reader, which can be downloaded free, includes extended/markup capabilities, such as typing, highlighting, callouts, notes, and more. An advanced paid version is also available....

    : Freeware viewer, supports FDF/XFDF import/export, saving filled forms, extended markup and export to image capabilities.
  • Qiqqa
    Qiqqa
    Qiqqa is freeware and freemium reference management software that allows researchers to work with thousands of PDFs. It combines PDF reference management tools, a citation manager and a mind map brainstorming tool. It integrates with Microsoft Word XP, 2003, 2007 and 2010 and BibTeX/LaTeX to...

    : Freeware PDF reader, indexer, tagger and annotator. Supports OCR and export of PDF text and images.
  • Sumatra PDF
    Sumatra PDF
    Sumatra PDF, also known simply as Sumatra, is a free, open source, lightweight PDF, DjVu, XPS, CBZ and CBR reader for Microsoft Windows, written by Krzysztof Kowalczyk....

    : A free (GPL), open source
    Open source
    The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

     PDF reader. Supports automatic reloading of PDF files.
  • STDU Viewer
    STDU Viewer
    STDU Viewer is a compact viewer for PDF, WWF, DjVu, Comic Book Archive , FB2, XPS, TCR, multi-page TIFF, TXT, PalmDoc , EMF, WMF, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PSD, PCX, DCX files...

    : A freeware for non-commercial usage PDF reader. It also supports DjVu, Comic Book Archive (CBR or CBZ), XPS, TIFF, TXT and image file formats.

Mobile

  • Adobe Reader LE: PDF viewer from Quickoffice for S60
    S60 (software platform)
    The S60 Platform is a software platform for mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS. It was created by Nokia, who made the platform open source and contributed it to the Symbian Foundation. S60 has been used by mobile device manufacturers including Siemens mobile, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic...

     3rd edition devices. Published by Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems
    Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...

    . It is shareware
    Shareware
    The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...

    .
  • Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader
    Foxit Reader is a multilingual PDF reader. Both the basic and full version readers can be downloaded for free.Foxit Reader is notable for its short load time and small filesize, and has been compared favorably to Adobe Reader...

    : Supports Symbian UIQ 3, Windows CE
    Windows CE
    Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...

     4.2 and 5.0.
  • Evince
    Evince
    Evince is a document viewer for PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF and DVI designed for the GNOME desktop environment.The developers of Evince intended to replace the multiple GNOME document viewers with a single and simple application. The Evince motto sums up the project aim: "Simply a Document...

    : Ported to Maemo
    Maemo
    Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...

     platform
  • iBooks
    IBooks
    iBooks is an e-book application by Apple Inc. It was announced in conjunction with the iPad on January 27, 2010, and was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in mid-2010, as part of the iOS 4 update. At that time, it was described by Apple as being available only in the United States...

    : PDF viewer for iOS (iPhone, iPad)

Converters

  • Cometdocs
    Cometdocs
    Cometdocs is a web application which provides free online file conversion. It supports more than 50 file types including PDF, ODF, DOCX, HTML, RTF, XPS, and a variety of image formats. With this application it is also possible to recover a lost extension of almost any file type....

    : Online PDF conversion
  • Software602
    Software602
    Software602, Inc. is an international software vendor providing technology for businesses. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, USA with customers in many countries. Over the last 8 years, Software602 has focused on PDF conversion and secure messaging solutions...

     Print2PDF 9.0: interactive web conversion from IIS or XML-SOAP web service
  • Zamzar
    Zamzar
    Zamzar is a web application to convert files. It was created by brothers Mike and Chris Whyley in England. It allows user to convert files without downloading a software tool. Users can type in a URL or upload one or more files from their computer, Zamzar then converts the file to another format...

    : Online file converter

Editors

  • PDFescape
    Pdfescape
    PDFescape is a free of charge web-based PDF editor program written in JavaScript, HTML, CSS and ASP. It features PDF editing, form filling, page arrangement, printing, saving, etc.PDFescape offers online storage of PDF documents for a limited time....

    : a free web service to view, create forms, fill out forms, and edit PDF documents from a web browser (requires JavaScript to be enabled)
  • PDFVue
    Pdfvue
    PDFVue is an online PDF viewer and editor that is currently in beta release.Current features include viewing, commenting, annotations, page deletion or rotation and adding fillable form fields to PDF's. Supported browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari...

    : a free web application that allows the user to view PDF's, comment and fill PDF forms from a web browser. Generates a watermark.
  • Qoppa PDF Libraries
    Qoppa PDF Libraries
    The commercial Qoppa PDF libraries are a suite of Java class libraries and Java bean components developed by for developers to incorporate specific PDF document manipulation capabilities into their programs and applets. PDF is a widely used standard for presenting information with a consistent...

    : Java beans for viewing and annotating PDF files to be integrated in an applet.

Viewers

  • A.nnotate
    A.nnotate
    A.nnotate is a web service for storing and annotating documents. Documents are either uploaded by the user or fetched from a web address supplied by the user. Uploads are accepted as PDF, Microsoft Word, office formats supported by OpenOffice and common image formats. When a URL of a web page is...

    : a web service which views PDF documents as HTML in the browser, with annotation features.
  • Crocodoc
    Crocodoc
    Crocodoc is a website that allows users to collaboratively review, mark up and comment on documents. Document types that are supported include PDF, Word and Powerpoint documents, PNG and JPEG images, and web pages...

    : a free web service which allows annotating PDFs and saving them
  • DigiSigner
    DigiSigner
    DigiSigner is a tool for viewing and digitally signing portable document format files.There are free and professional DigiSigner versions....

    : free online PDF viewer java applet with additional function to digitally sign PDF documents.
  • Docstoc
    Docstoc
    Docstoc is an electronic document repository and online store, aimed at the business community.Although Docstoc operates in a way that is superficially similar to other online document retailer sites such as Scribd, its emphasis is on technical, legal and business documentation...

    : a web service which allows viewing PDF documents online
  • Google Docs: a web service which views PDF documents as JPEG images in the browser
  • Scribd
    Scribd
    Scribd is a Web 2.0 based document-sharing website which allows users to post documents of various formats, and embed them into a web page using its iPaper format. Scribd was founded by Trip Adler, Tikhon Bernstam, and Jared Friedman in 2006...

    : a web service which renders PDF documents as HTML5 in the browser
  • vuzit
    Vuzit
    Vuzit is an online document distribution platform for securely publishing documents in a web browser using AJAX technology. The Vuzit Viewer is free for limited use, and commercially available for integration within other products or services...

    : a web service which views PDF documents (and 40 others) as HTML in the browser via AJAX.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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