Hi! I hope this is the correct section?
If you need an office suite/ word processor that has integrated PDF editing (not merely "save as PDF" - capability), I recommend OnlyOffice. Especially if you are used to Micro$oft Office, the setup will be very familiar.
Love ya!
OnlyOffice is an attractive option for Windows refugees, due primarily to its remarkable similarity to MS Office. It takes just the programs most people use, and offers the same ribbon interface most are used to, and offers it free of charge. What's not to like? That's why many use it and its popularity seems to be growing. However, there are some caveats:
OnlyOffice was built for the web first. Though its desktop app can be used offline, it architecture is still that of a Chromium web engine. It covers this with a wrapper to show a desktop interface. It is more resource-intensive as a result. No problem on fairly up to date hardware, but on older hardware it is noticeable. The native C++ architecture of LibreOffice by contrast is light on its feet. This makes a difference to many Linux users because many of us run older hardware, Linux being fairly parsimonious with its use of resources.
Also, although OO does a generally good job with the ribbon, some settings and preferences have been reported as missing or buried in unexpected places.
P.S. LibreOffice Writer is a very capable PDF editor.
LibreOffice Writer is an awesome word processor, but it cannot edit already exported PDFs. It was possible with earlier versions (I'm talking years ago), but for some reason, that ability to import PDFs into Writer was removed.
As for Draw? I tried to edit a PDF with it once. I willingly chose to never do it again.
All available versions:
I don't like OnlyOffice because it reminds me too much of Office365.
There is an opensource pdf editor but it is in Turkish:
I do have the very first version of MasterPDF Editor in the Cloud but I might be breaching Copyright if I shared the link. (and it only works in Zorin 12 32-bit!)
I don't knock LibreOffice Draw. When my hard drive failed that corrupted a Physics AS Level mock paper I was working on using pdfStudio Pro, LibreOffice Draw helped me re-use the diagrams I had originally created in Inkscape to save starting all over.
I've never used Draw for graphics (on Windoze I loved Xara, but it seems to be incompatible with Linux, even with WINE, WINEtricks, Proton and Bottles), but I tried using it to edit a .PDF once and decided to never torture myself like that again.
And I understand about the Copyright break concerns, it looks like MasterPDF propriety software.
Don't misunderstand me, I've never used Draw for editing, only to recover my images that I had created before the pdf got corrupted. Draw can also be used to view MS Publisher files but not do anything with them as such.
Interesting. Not sure I've ever dealt with Publisher, but it's good to know in case it comes my way.
I only know about MS Pubisher due to when I worked as a Vision Support Technician. An external body wanted some modifications for a student and they sent an MS Publisher document that could not be opened ... because we did not have MS Publisher on any of the machines. However, I did some homework at home and discovered that LibreOffice Draw can open MS Publisher files.
I just recently switched to OnlyOffice from Free Office .... it seems I was using version 2022 and when I updated it it went to 2024 and all my settings changed and not for the better for me ....
I found OnlyOffice on line and so far I have no problems with it but then I only use the DOCX part of OnlyOffice and still use the Plan Maker spreedsheets from Free Office .....
I used LibreOffice years ago on Windows and also when I first started using Linux but switched to FreeOffice and finally now to OnlyOffice
I installed Stirling PDF a while ago - its a complete toolkit for working with PDFs. The downside is it is meant to be run on a server within docker, but its straightforward enough to do this in Zorin.
The free (self-hosted) version gives you all the same tools as the Pro, just minus support.
There was a thread in this forum on installing it:
But you are better (once you have installed docker...) to go here:
https://docs.stirlingpdf.com/Installation/Docker%20Install/
I see on the website that it's a Web app. I need something that works offline without a need to connect to the .net every few weeks (why I decided to leave my favourite graphics program, Xara - the "every 30 days connect" for the STANDALONE version was the deal breaker).
I've heard good things about JOPDF.
But I wonder: why does everyone have to edit PDFs? Shouldn't it be a data transfer format?
If you need to add a signature, use a drawing app, but if you need to fill out a form, maybe the person sending it to you chose the wrong format.
I'm not sure who you are replying to - Stirling is a local app, just needs docker so your PC is acting as a server. Its a web app in that sense.
I replied to you. Thanks for clarifying.
Sadly, there are employers that use editable PDF for applications and termination/ retirement. With my contract expiry at my employer, some of the documents I had to fill out were PDF.
A commercial comparison of OnlyOffice:
www.onlyoffice.com/blog/2026/04/linux-pdf-editors
I discovered that OnlyOffice Document doesn't copy the title of your work when you get ready to save it but instead just lists it as Document .... first time I have encountered that when saving a document file ....
I like to have never found a doc I wrote on keyboard bindings .... I had spent several hours typing the game commands and as usual I just chose save document on the pop-up screen ..... then save on the next screen at the right bottom of the screen .....
Does anyone know if the auto feature of saving the doc title as your doc name so you don't have to type it manually each time ????? .... thanks
