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@commonmarmoset@reddthat.com

Post #3193133

2026-06-08 12:10 UTC

I use Adobe Acrobat professionally. I am also on Linux as a daily driver. Bad news, it’s very very difficult. If your gf’s use case involves sharing PDFs with other people at scale, there just isn’t a “low tech” solution. Every workaround I use involves some level of programmatic nonsense. For reading and relatively simple tasks, many of the open source alternatives do wonders, but they aren’t able to replicate some of the heavier features. Even when they are, you loose compatibility; something critical in certain workflows. I am stubborn. I force my gimp files upon my Photoshop using colleagues. I edit videos in Blender instead of Premiere Pro (would recommend). I send open source documents and spreadsheets that work neither with my Google nor Microsoft devoted co-workers. But Adobe Acrobat wins. The FOSS readers are probably better, but for interactive, highly formatted outputs you can’t get around it. I have a lonely second box at my work that I reluctantly boot windows on. I too would love an alternative.

Replies (2)

  • @Stopwatch1986@lemmy.ml 2026-06-09 11:30

    Same situation here. For heavier editing I now use local [Stirling PDF](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF) and [BentoPDF](https://github.com/alam00000/bentopdf). As I say above, both run in docker, but Stirling PDF also comes as Appimage. They are powerful but don't feel like integrated applications. But there is a surprising gap in Linux for PDF editing. Available tools are like toys for the task or geared towards techies. I would expect a PDF reader/editor to be a separate application in the LibreOffice suite. (No, Draw or Inkscape won't cut it, sorry)

    Open ##3286911

  • Thank you.

    Open ##3286912