Adobe PDF is just about the best format for sending and receiving documents. For example, as a classical music lover I can tell you that most music scores available online are in PDF, because PDFs are small and are easy to upload and send via email. But what if you need to create or edit a PDF document, or fill in a PDF form? That could be a problem if you don’t have Adobe’s software installed. Well, not really. There is a number of free tools to create and edit PDF documents that don’t need to be downloaded or installed – you can use them from any computer that has an Internet connection. Here are 5 top tools to create and edit PDFs online.

1.

I know, this is a pretty obvious choice. But really, all you need to do is upload the file you with to transform into PDF, edit it, click  Save As, and save it in PDF format. No need to install any software.

2.

This free PDF editor lets you:

• Combine PDF. Create single polished PDF files by merging multiple files together.
• Edit PDF pages. Quickly rearrange, reorder and delete the pages from existing PDF files.
• Secure PDF. Protect the contents of PDF files with password-based security.
• Update PDF metadata. Make PDF files more useful and usable by setting the document information (metadata) fields, including author, title, subject and keywords.

3.

PDFescape is a great free online editor. No need to download anything, no need to register, no watermarks. It’s really handy for filling in a creating PDF forms. With PDFescape you can fill in PDF forms, add text and graphics, add links, and even add new form fields to a PDF file. Other features include:

• Open PDF Files from your local computer
• View PDF Files discovered on the web
• Fill Out PDF Forms using PDF form fields
• Forget Hand Writing with the typewriter style tool & complete non-fillable forms
• Edit PDF files & forms
  • Add Text & Shapes to PDF files, allowing customization & markup of PDF
  • Move & Delete Pages in PDF files
  • Insert Links other websites & pages in your PDF files
  • Create New Form Fields, allowing others to easily fill our your PDF forms
  • Edit Existing Content using whiteout tools
  • Rotate Default Page Views using page rotation tool
• Save PDF files to your local computer or your online account

4.

PDFVue Beta is a free online service that lets you upload PDFs or open them from a URL, edit them, and then download the edited document. You will be able to fill in and create PDF forms, add text, images, and links to PDF files, rotate and delete pages, and more. There is a very straight forward Quick Start Guide on the website, so you won’t have a problem finding your way around.

Another great thing about PDFVue is that you can download a Firefox add-on, that will let you view and edit PDFs even if you don’t have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. Unlike Adobe’s products, PDFVue is very light on system resources, which makes it ideal for less powerful computers.

5.

With PDF converter you can convert commonly used files (MS Office, Open Office, graphic images, vector graphic and other formats) to PDF. Example: you need to convert a Power Point (PPT) file into PDF. Use the “Browse” button to locate the source file on your local PC, select it and click the “Convert” button. Done!

If you know of other free online PDF editors/creators that don’t need to be downloaded and installed, please let us know in your comments!