PDF Online Editors for Sheet Music
There are many online PDF editors available on the market. The question, can they match Adobe Acrobat in terms of power and usability?
To help answer that question we have chosen to compare two of the most established online PDF editors: iLovePDF and Smallpdf, by reviewing their most relevant features.
Explanation of the Main Features
Merge and Split
Both iLovePDF and Smallpdf allow users to combine different PDF files or to break apart one PDF document into separate files.
In terms of the interface, Smallpdf has the advantage as users can choose between two display modes: File mode (view only the first page of each file) and Page mode (view all the pages of all the files)
Both editors allow users to access files from a computer library and from a cloud library (such as Google Drive or Dropbox). iLovePDF, however, also has the option of generating a direct download link, allowing for greater versatility.
Rotate
Both editors are able to rotate entire files in 90 degree intervals. However, Smallpdf is the only one of the two that also allows users to rotate each page individually.
Single page rotation is an important feature for music librarians as pages are sometimes inconsistently scanned. The fact that iLovePDF does not offer this feature is a big drawback.
Content Edition
Online PDF editors do not offer nearly as many editing options compared with Adobe Acrobat. Still, they have some useful features, which we’ve listed in the table below.
Overall, we found that Smallpdf offers a more complete suite of editing features compared with iLovePDF. Smallpdf’s main drawback is that it does not allow users to insert page numbers, whereas iLovePDF does.
File Conversion
Both Smallpdf and iLovePDF allow users to convert PDF to JPG (image file) and vice versa.
Comparison Table
| FEATURES | ILOVEPDF | SMALLPDF |
|---|---|---|
| INTERFACE & DESIGN | Simple interface, flat design | Intuitive and easy to use, attractive design |
| COMMON FEATURES | Merge, split, rotate, compress, convert | Merge, split, rotate, compress, convert |
| THE + | Edit page numbers, add watermarks | Insert text, images & shapes, markings |
| THE - | No multiple-page rotation | No direct file download link |
| SOFTWARE | No | Yes |
| FREE ACCOUNT LIMITS | Advertising | Limited amount of tasks (2 per hour) |
| COST | $5 per month | $6 per month |
Online PDF editors can be very useful as a quick and simple editing solution for PDF files. However, users looking for a fuller suite of editing features should turn to Adobe Acrobat software.
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