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Edit images or objects in a PDF

  1. Acrobat User Guide
  2. Introduction to Acrobat
    1. Access Acrobat from desktop, mobile, web
    2. What's new in Acrobat
    3. Keyboard shortcuts
    4. System Requirements
  3. Workspace
    1. Workspace basics
    2. Opening and viewing PDFs
      1. Opening PDFs
      2. Navigating PDF pages
      3. Viewing PDF preferences
      4. Adjusting PDF views
      5. Enable thumbnail preview of PDFs
      6. Display PDF in browser
    3. Working with online storage accounts
      1. Access files from Box
      2. Access files from Dropbox
      3. Access files from OneDrive
      4. Access files from SharePoint
      5. Access files from Google Drive
    4. Acrobat and macOS
    5. Acrobat notifications
    6. Grids, guides, and measurements in PDFs
    7. Asian, Cyrillic, and right-to-left text in PDFs
  4. Creating PDFs
    1. Overview of PDF creation
    2. Create PDFs with Acrobat
    3. Create PDFs with PDFMaker
    4. Using the Adobe PDF printer
    5. Converting web pages to PDF
    6. Creating PDFs with Acrobat Distiller
    7. Adobe PDF conversion settings
    8. PDF fonts
  5. Editing PDFs
    1. Edit text in PDFs
    2. Edit images or objects in a PDF
    3. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    4. Edit scanned PDFs
    5. Enhance document photos captured using a mobile camera
    6. Optimizing PDFs
    7. PDF properties and metadata
    8. Links and attachments in PDFs
    9. PDF layers
    10. Page thumbnails and bookmarks in PDFs
    11. Action Wizard (Acrobat Pro)
    12. PDFs converted to web pages
    13. Setting up PDFs for a presentation
    14. PDF articles
    15. Geospatial PDFs
    16. Applying actions and scripts to PDFs
    17. Change the default font for adding text
    18. Delete pages from a PDF
  6. Scan and OCR
    1. Scan documents to PDF
    2. Enhance document photos
    3. Troubleshoot scanner issues when scanning using Acrobat
  7. Forms
    1. PDF forms basics
    2. Create a form from scratch in Acrobat
    3. Create and distribute PDF forms
    4. Fill in PDF forms
    5. PDF form field properties
    6. Fill and sign PDF forms
    7. Setting action buttons in PDF forms
    8. Publishing interactive PDF web forms
    9. PDF form field basics
    10. PDF barcode form fields
    11. Collect and manage PDF form data
    12. About forms tracker
    13. PDF forms help
    14. Send PDF forms to recipients using email or an internal server
  8. Combining files
    1. Combine or merge files into single PDF
    2. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    3. Add headers, footers, and Bates numbering to PDFs
    4. Crop PDF pages
    5. Add watermarks to PDFs
    6. Add backgrounds to PDFs
    7. Working with component files in a PDF Portfolio
    8. Publish and share PDF Portfolios
    9. Overview of PDF Portfolios
    10. Create and customize PDF Portfolios
  9. Sharing, reviews, and commenting
    1. Share and track PDFs online
    2. Mark up text with edits
    3. Preparing for a PDF review
    4. Starting a PDF review
    5. Hosting shared reviews on SharePoint or Office 365 sites
    6. Participating in a PDF review
    7. Add comments to PDFs
    8. Adding a stamp to a PDF
    9. Approval workflows
    10. Managing comments | view, reply, print
    11. Importing and exporting comments
    12. Tracking and managing PDF reviews
  10. Saving and exporting PDFs
    1. Saving PDFs
    2. Convert PDF to Word
    3. Convert PDF to JPG
    4. Convert or export PDFs to other file formats
    5. File format options for PDF export
    6. Reusing PDF content
  11. Security
    1. Enhanced security setting for PDFs
    2. Securing PDFs with passwords
    3. Manage Digital IDs
    4. Securing PDFs with certificates
    5. Opening secured PDFs
    6. Removing sensitive content from PDFs
    7. Setting up security policies for PDFs
    8. Choosing a security method for PDFs
    9. Security warnings when a PDF opens
    10. Securing PDFs with Adobe Experience Manager
    11. Protected View feature for PDFs
    12. Overview of security in Acrobat and PDFs
    13. JavaScripts in PDFs as a security risk
    14. Attachments as security risks
    15. Allow or block links in PDFs
  12. Electronic signatures
    1. Sign PDF documents
    2. Capture your signature on mobile and use it everywhere
    3. Send documents for e-signatures
    4. About certificate signatures
    5. Certificate-based signatures
    6. Validating digital signatures
    7. Adobe Approved Trust List
    8. Manage trusted identities
  13. Printing
    1. Basic PDF printing tasks
    2. Print Booklets and PDF Portfolios
    3. Advanced PDF print settings
    4. Print to PDF
    5. Printing color PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    6. Printing PDFs in custom sizes
  14. Accessibility, tags, and reflow
    1. Create and verify PDF accessibility
    2. Accessibility features in PDFs
    3. Reading Order tool for PDFs
    4. Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features
    5. Edit document structure with the Content and Tags panels
    6. Creating accessible PDFs
  15. Searching and indexing
    1. Creating PDF indexes
    2. Searching PDFs
  16. Multimedia and 3D models
    1. Add audio, video, and interactive objects to PDFs
    2. Adding 3D models to PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    3. Displaying 3D models in PDFs
    4. Interacting with 3D models
    5. Measuring 3D objects in PDFs
    6. Setting 3D views in PDFs
    7. Enable 3D content in PDF
    8. Adding multimedia to PDFs
    9. Commenting on 3D designs in PDFs
    10. Playing video, audio, and multimedia formats in PDFs
    11. Add comments to videos
  17. Print production tools (Acrobat Pro)
    1. Print production tools overview
    2. Printer marks and hairlines
    3. Previewing output
    4. Transparency flattening
    5. Color conversion and ink management
    6. Trapping color
  18. Preflight (Acrobat Pro)
    1. PDF/X-, PDF/A-, and PDF/E-compliant files
    2. Preflight profiles
    3. Advanced preflight inspections
    4. Preflight reports
    5. Viewing preflight results, objects, and resources
    6. Output intents in PDFs
    7. Correcting problem areas with the Preflight tool
    8. Automating document analysis with droplets or preflight actions
    9. Analyzing documents with the Preflight tool
    10. Additional checks in the Preflight tool
    11. Preflight libraries
    12. Preflight variables
  19. Color management
    1. Keeping colors consistent
    2. Color settings
    3. Color-managing documents
    4. Working with color profiles
    5. Understanding color management

This document explains how to add, resize, move, or replace images and objects in a PDF using Acrobat. (If you are looking for information on how to edit or format text in a PDF or edit a scanned PDF, click the appropriate link above.)

Place an image or object into a PDF

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then choose Tools > Edit PDF > Add Image .

    Edit text & image tool

  2. In the Open dialog box, locate the image file you want to place.

  3. Select the image file, and click Open.

  4. Click where you want to place the image, or click-drag to size the image as you place it.

    A copy of the image file appears on the page, with the same resolution as the original file.

  5. Use the bounding box handles to resize the image, or the tools in the right hand panel under Objects to Flip, Rotate, or Crop the image.

Move or resize an image or object

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then select the appropriate tool depending on what you want to move:

    Image: Choose Tools > Edit PDF > Edit . When you hover over an image you can edit, the image icon appears in the top left corner.

    Interactive Objects: To edit form fields, buttons, or other interactive objects, choose Tools > Rich Media > Select Object .

  2. Do any of the following:
    • To move the image or object, drag it to the desired location. You cannot drag images or objects to a different page (you can cut and paste them to a new page instead). To constrain movement up or down, or right or left, press and hold the Shift key and then drag the object.
    • To resize the image or object, select it, then drag a handle. To retain the original aspect ratio, hold the Shift key and then drag the handle.
    Note:

    If you select multiple objects, you can move or resize them together. To select multiple objects, press and hold the Shift key and then click the objects one-by-one.

Rotate, flip, crop (clip), or replace an image

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then choose Tools > Edit PDF > Edit .

  2. Select the image (or images) - click the image to select it.

  3. Under Objects in the right hand panel, click one of the following tools:

    Flip Vertical Flips the image vertically, on the horizontal axis.

    Flip Horizontal Flips the image horizontally, on the vertical axis.

    Rotate Counterclockwise Rotates the selected image ninety degrees in the counterclockwise direction.

    Rotate Clockwise Rotates the selected image ninety degrees in the clockwise direction.

    Crop Image Crops or clips the selected image. Drag a selection handle to crop the image.

    Replace Image Replaces the selected image with the image you choose. Locate the replacement image in the Open dialog, and click Open.

Note:

To rotate the selected image manually, place the pointer just outside a selection handle. When the cursor changes to the rotation pointer ,  drag in the direction you want it to rotate.

Move an image or object in front or behind other elements

The Arrange options let you move an image or object in front of or behind other elements. You can push an item forward or back just one level, or send it to the front or back of the stacking order of elements on the page.

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then choose Tools > Edit PDF > Edit .

  2. Select the object (or objects) - click the object to select it.

  3. Under Objects in the right hand panel, click Arrange and choose the appropriate option.

    Alternatively, you can right-click the object (or objects), and point to Arrange and then choose the appropriate option.

    Note:

    For complex pages where it is hard to select an object, you may find it easier to change the order using the Content tab. (Choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Content.)

Align images or objects

The Align Objects    options in the right-hand panel let you precisely align multiple objects on a side - left, vertical center, right, top, horizontal centre , and bottom.

When you align objects relative to each other by their edges, one of the objects remains stationary. For example, the left option aligns the left edges of the selected objects with respect to the left edge of the leftmost object. The leftmost object remains stationary, and the other objects are aligned relative to it.

The horizontal center option aligns the selected objects horizontally through the centre of the objects, and the vertical center option aligns the selected objects vertically through the centers of the objects. The objects are aligned along a horizontal or vertical line that represents the average of their original positions. An object can remain stationary if it is already aligned with the horizontal or vertical line.

Depending on the alignment option you select, objects move straight up, down, left, or right, and might overlap an object already located there. If you see an overlap, you can undo the alignment.

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then choose Tools > Edit PDF > Edit .

  2. Select the object (or objects) - press and hold the Shift key and then click the objects one-by-one.

  3. Under Objects in the right hand panel, click Align Objects and choose the appropriate alignment option.

    Alternatively, you can right-click the object (or objects), and point to the Align Objects option from the context menu and then select the desired alignment option from the submenu.

Edit an image outside Acrobat

You can edit an image or graphic using another application, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or  Microsoft Paint. When you save the image or graphic, Acrobat automatically updates the PDF with the changes. The applications that appear in the Edit Using menu depend upon what you have installed and the type of image or graphic you have selected. Optionally, you can specify the application you want to use.

  1. Open the PDF in Acrobat, and then choose Tools > Edit PDF > Edit .

  2. Select the image or object.
    Note:

    Select multiple items if you want to edit them together in the same file. To edit all the images and objects on the page, right-click the page, and choose Select All.

  3. Under Objects in the right hand panel, click Edit Using and then choose an editor.

    To choose a different editor than offered on the menu, select Open With, locate the application, and click Open.

    Note:

    If a message asks whether to convert to ICC profiles, choose Don’t Convert. If the image window displays a checkerboard pattern when it opens, the image data could not be read.

  4. Make the desired changes in the external editing application. Keep in mind the following restrictions:
    • If you change the dimensions of the image, the image may not align correctly in the PDF.
    • Transparency information is preserved only for masks that are specified as index values in an indexed color space.
    • If you are working in Photoshop, flatten the image.
    • Image masks are not supported.
    • If you change image modes while editing the image, you may lose valuable information that can be applied only in the original mode.
  5. In the editing application, choose File > Save. The object is automatically updated and displayed in the PDF when you bring Acrobat to the foreground.

    Note:

    For Photoshop, if the image is in a format supported by Photoshop 6.0 or later, your edited image is saved back into the PDF. However, if the image is in an unsupported format, Photoshop handles the image as a generic PDF image, and the edited image is saved to disk instead of back into the PDF.

Export images in a PDF to another format

You can save every page (all text, images, and vector objects on a page) to an image format using the File > Export To > Image > [Image Type] command. You can also export each image in a PDF to a separate image file.

For more information, see Convert or export PDFs to other file formats.

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