this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
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Recommendations on Linux Friendly PDF Software (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by tapdattl@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Hey all,

My father's business requires him to work a lot with PDF forms, combine PDF files, convert scanned pictures to files, etc.

I've found Master PDF editor, but I've found it to be buggy -- specifically when trying to create a new PDF from multiple files the program errors out saying it can't create the file.

I've also tried running Foxxit PDF editor through WINE but that's abysmal.

Any recommendations on Linux native software paid or FOSS, that can fill forms, create/combine PDFs, and do basic edition (rotating pages, etc) that my 70 year old dad can learn to use?

I moved him away from Windows with the Windows 11 debacle, and he's liked Linux so far except for this one issue

Thanks all for your help?

***** EDIT *****

Thanks all for your responses, I'll be trying out StirlingpPDF, PDFSam, OnlyOffice, and re-trying MasterPDF editor over the holidays while I have some 1:1 time with my dad. Tl;Dr: playing family IT and switching your parents to Linux is rough 😂

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[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Does OO do PDF now? Perhaps it's time to upgrade my Nextcloud server again.

[–] gerdesj@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Add the Collabra online built in CODE server and Nextcloud Office apps. Link them up and you have Libre Office in your browser on your Nextcloud. You can get more complicated: https://collabora-online-for-nextcloud.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install/

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

No thanks. OnlyOffice is way better. Better interface and better MS compatibility. Plus it's built for web, while Collabra is a glorified VNC session.

[–] gerdesj@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's always good to have choice.

I'm not sure what better MS compatibility really means. I've been using MS software since before Excel, Word etc even existed and taught a lot of people how spreadsheets, word processors, databases, DTP and the rest work in a former life (do you know what a decimal tab stop is, or how to control leading and kerning?)

I generate, by far, the most complicated documents within my company and I have been using LO since way before before it forked from OO. All software has bugs and peccadilloes.

As I said: it's good to have choice.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 1 week ago

The biggest differences between compatibility are with Word and PowerPoint. Cross-slide animations fail miserably in LO, and line placement and width consistency is always problematic, to name a few. For Word, paragraph formatting and color pallet gets mixed up, too.

Don't get me wrong, LO is great, and it handles large data sets in Excel way better, but if you work in an industry where the document formatting is part of the industry (take marketing, for instance), it doesn't cut it.