Open, edit, or delete PDFs

You want advanced editing available in Adobe Acrobat

While the free Adobe Acrobat Reader lets you view PDFs, you require Adobe Acrobat for advanced editing tasks, including the following:

• Editing text

• Combining PDFs

• Scanning to PDF

• Creating forms (Reader can fill out existing forms)

For more information, see this detailed comparison of Acrobat and Reader features.

The PDF is password-protected and has editing restrictions

If you receive a password-protected PDF, use the designated password to open the document. Some secured documents have restrictions that prevent you from printing, editing, or copying content. If a document has restricted features, any tools and commands related to those features are grayed out in Reader.

If you have trouble opening a PDF, or if you are restricted from using certain features, contact the author of the PDF.

You receive the error, one or more Adobe PDF Extensions are disabled.

To fix the problem, complete the following steps:

More troubleshooting tips

For more troubleshooting tips, see these TechNotes:

• Can't open a PDF

• Can't view a PDF on the web | Quick fix

Combining PDFs

The free Adobe Reader cannot combine multiple PDF files, however, Adobe Acrobat can. For more information, see Combine or merge files into a single PDF in Acrobat Help.

Deleting PDFs

PDF files are stored in various folders on your computer, depending upon whether you received the PDF in email, from the web, or via another source.

To quickly find a PDF, search for the filename in Windows or macOS. Then navigate to the found folder, right-click the PDF file, and choose Delete (Windows) or Move to Trash (macOS).