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Appletise

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 19, 2012
207
7
1. I got a multi page .pdf document, on preview, why is it I cannot take rectangular selections, copy and paste and for it to appear or be on the same page? This works for Jpg or PNG, so fr me to edit the pdf document, I have to take a screen shot of each page, open it with preview then do my editing then export as PDF. Do repeatedly for each page, then join the edited PDF pages by going to preview’s edit, insert.
2. also why does editing or annotating on a pdf that belongs to me require a pw?? i didnt even set it up and my mac pw and others dont work either! pls see screen shot
 

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why is it I cannot take rectangular selections
In Preview, select menu Tools > Rectangular Selection
also why does editing or annotating on a pdf that belongs to me require a pw??
Did you create the PDF? If not, then the original creator of the PDF added permissions to the document. Open the document in Preview and press the little "i" icon next to the document name in the toolbar. In the window that pops up, select the "lock" icon. You can preview the permissions settings. If you're lucky, the "Edit" button appears. Press it and you can change the permissions.
Screenshot 2024-05-03 at 3.46.38 PM.png
 
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In Preview, select menu Tools > Rectangular Selection

Did you create the PDF? If not, then the original creator of the PDF added permissions to the document. Open the document in Preview and press the little "i" icon next to the document name in the toolbar. In the window that pops up, select the "lock" icon. You can preview the permissions settings. If you're lucky, the "Edit" button appears. Press it and you can change the permissions.
View attachment 2374223
thanks , but edit button is clouded out:( tried to put in pw but no luck, l really don't know what happened, it is my .pdf, think it was created from a .pdf and l had annotated, added text etc oher day, but cant add anything now :(

don't think l made myself clear in first question. l try again
'I got a multi page .pdf document, using preview, why is it I cannot copy and paste rectangular selections or if can why doesnt it appear on same page?
l can do this with Jpg or PNG but not pdf.
 
'I got a multi page .pdf document, using preview, why is it I cannot copy and paste rectangular selections or if can why doesnt it appear on same page?
Because Preview is not a PDF editor. It can annotate (layer boxes, text ,arrows, etc. on top), but not edit the underlying PDF. Your choices:
1) Recreate the PDF with the changes you want, or
2) Use a PDF editor (e.g. Adobe Acrobat, PDF Expert, Nitro) - none of these are cheap, they are priced for business use.
 
Other pdf editors include, Adobe Illustrator, Pixelmator Pro, and Affinity Designer.


 
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