Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 Review: A Perfect PDF Editor

This complete Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 Review will give you a clear understanding of the features of this powerful PDF editor: 

As someone who encounters a lot of PDF documents in my profession, a PDF editor is a basic necessity for me. I would like my PDF editors to be very simple to use while also offering little more than mundane editing and conversion features.

My quest for an adequately powerful PDF editor that doesn’t compromise with simplicity initially brought me to Wondershare’s PDFelement.

I’ve been using PDFelement for the past three years now and have always found it extremely effective at managing my PDF documents.

So, as a fan of the software, I was obviously optimistically curious when Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 was announced. It promises a revamped interface and a slew of advanced features that allow you to do interesting things with your PDF files.

Now that I’ve finally had the privilege of using the software, I would like to share my honest thoughts on the same.

Wondershare PDFelement V9.0 Overview

So how was my experience with this new version? Are the newly introduced features any good? How much has the new version improved on its predecessor?

These are the questions I’ll give you the answers to in this hands-on review of PDFelement V9.0.

So, without much further ado, let’s get started.

PDFelement is a bare-knuckled PDF editor that has always put heavy emphasis on simplicity above everything else. This isn’t to say the software is lacking in features. In fact, the software comes jam-packed with everything one expects from standard PDF editing software. The tool makes the process of editing, storing, annotating, and converting documents considerably easy.

Although some users like me adore the software for its austerity, there were users who criticized the software for the very same thing. They complained about the software being less powerful than many of its contemporaries. The new version 9.0 seems to be an attempt made by the developers to squash these criticisms once and for all.

After putting all of its features to the test, I can confidently claim that developers have accomplished just that. PDFelement V9.0 is a relatively powerful version of the software that greatly expands on the merits of its previous version, and it does so without sacrificing what made the software so great in the first place – its user-friendliness.

The UI has been completely redesigned. The software’s startup and document loading speed has vastly improved. In addition to that, the new version allows you to manage your PDF documents, thus facilitating team collaboration on the files across multiple desktop and mobile devices.

I’ll now be taking a deeper dive to share how I actually felt while navigating through its UI and perusing its many features.

Specifications

A Reimagined UI/UX

The very first thing you’ll notice about the new Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 will be its completely revamped UI. Right off the bat, let me tell you I really admire this new sleek and modern look. You can tell the developers were going for a very minimalistic aesthetic and I feel like it adds to the software’s visual appeal and functional convenience.

All of its major features are laid out immaculately right in front of your eyes on the home page itself, allowing you to jump straight into the action without delay. The home page will display all the recent files and folders you are working on based on the option you select on the left-hand side of your screen.

You have the option to create a fresh PDF file, upload a file from your system, or drag and drop a file onto the software’s interface to start working on the documents. The interface quickly switches to an intuitive workstation once you’ve uploaded the documents.

There you’ll be able to edit, annotate, mark, merge, redact, scan the document and perform a plethora of other functions with just a few clicks. Furthermore, there are clearly visible icons available right at the top of the interface, which you can click to save your work, export your file, upload files to the cloud or print your documents.

Overall, I feel the new minimalistic look really gives PDFelement an edge over other PDF editors that didn’t exist before. With all features readily accessible from the home page itself, you’ll have no problem navigating through the software.

Top Features

Software is only as good as the features it’s packing. Thankfully, PDFelement is studded with basic and advanced editing features that make it an exceptional document management tool.

Following are some of its most prominent features:

#1) PDF Editing

PDFelement arms you with all the tools you need to edit your PDF document in several interesting ways. The software makes the task of editing text and images on a PDF page quick and efficient. You can quickly add, remove, or modify elements to your PDF page with just a few clicks.

You also don’t have to worry about typos or spelling mistakes as the software automatically corrects them while the document is being processed, thanks to its in-built spell-check.

Editing documents in the software is a simple three-step process. All you have to do is:

• Upload or drag and drop the PDF file you wish to edit.
• Pinpoint the elements (Text, Images, Forms, etc.) on the PDF page you want to modify.
• Click on the elements you want to add to the document from the top bar.
• Make the required adjustments to the setting and select ‘Apply’.

#2) File Conversion

Another area where Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 shines is in the document conversion department. The software allows you to quickly convert PDF files into editable MS Word, Excel, PPT, etc., and vice versa.

The conversion process this time around is relatively fast. You’ll find no quality issues in the converted file. In fact, you’ll find no formatting or font issues in your converted file as well. The process of conversion itself is also very simple.

All you have to do is upload the PDF files, select ‘convert’, select the ‘format’ you want the file to be converted into, and initiate the conversion process.

#3) Organize PDF Files

Aside from editing and conversion, you also have a plethora of tools at your disposal to split, merge, delete, add or rotate PDF pages. You have the privilege to rearrange, replace, and merge multiple PDF documents together. You can perform most of these actions with a single click, which is something I really appreciate about this tool.

#4) OCR

OCR or Optical Character Recognition is a tech-driven feature that I believe all document management software should possess. PDFelement benefits from arguably having one of the fastest and most powerful OCR engines in the industry.

The OCR that the PDFelement comes equipped with can scan a document in over 20 different languages. Furthermore, it does so with precise quality and accuracy.

The best aspect of PDFelement’s OCR technology is its ability to convert image-based PDF documents into editable pages. In addition, you can extract data from the selected area of the documents in the PDF after performing an OCR scan.

To make things even more convenient, the software allows you to turn multiple scanned files into editable formats with just one click.

#5) Comment/Annotate

The software also makes reviewing documents as effortless as possible by granting you the ability to annotate or add comments to a document. You can highlight specific text on the PDF page, add a sticky note, and draw shapes or diagrams on the document to facilitate seamless team collaboration on the concerned document.

You can add comments to your document in 4 very unique ways to stand out from the crowd. You also get the ability to calculate perimeter, measure distance, and area for PDF files pertaining to architectural or CAD drawings.

You will also get the option to add stamps and digital signatures to your document as well. You can further customize the stamps by pairing them with appropriate images and text.

#6) PDF Form Creation

PDFelement boasts an adequate ready-made template library to help you create editable forms in no time. The software allows you to automatically create editable forms with its ‘Recognize Form’ feature.

You can also add fillable fields to a document manually like check boxes, labels, text fields, etc. Simply put, PDFelement allows you to fill out both fillable as well as non-interactive forms in a hassle-free manner.

#7) PDF Reading

PDFelement also comes with a Read mode that enhances your experience of reading a PDF document. For instance, you can freely adjust the font, text, page layout, and text size to make the reading more comfortable. You can switch between light and dark mode to avoid straining your eyes when reading such documents.

#8) PDF Protection

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, the security of your sensitive documents isn’t an issue one can take lightly. Fortunately, Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 gets you covered with advanced security features to ensure the integrity of your private information remains intact at all times.

It does so in three ways:

a) Password Protect

The software allows you to set a password that prevents unauthorized access to your files and folders. The software offers three levels of encryption ciphers. They are AES-128, AES-256, and 128-bit RC4.

b) Adjust User Permissions

The software also allows you to set certain user permissions that allow you to control the actions of certain individuals. For instance, you can set permissions to only allow people access to your documents in low-quality. You can set view-only access to documents, thus preventing unauthorized parties from making changes to your documents.

These restriction settings can be further adjusted to only allow certain types of editing to take place, like adding a sign or stamp.

c) Redaction

This feature allows you to blackout or completely delete sensitive information from a document. This is a very useful feature to hide crucial private information like address, credit card number, etc. To redact, Select Protect -> Redact, then simply highlight the text or information on the page you want to hide. That section will be blacked-out automatically.

#9) Document Cloud Management

A newer feature, Document Cloud Management, allows you to store your processed PDF Files in the cloud. From here, the documents can be accessed from anywhere, at any time, from all types of mobile and computer devices.

Currently, you can store at least 1 GB worth of files in the document cloud with a yearly subscription plan. The perpetual license of the software allows you to store 100 GB worth of files.

New Features Introduced with PDFelement 9.0

Aside from the above features, the new version of PDFelement introduces a handful of new features that make the software delightful to use. Just remember that most of these features are only available on the Windows version of the software. Hopefully, we’ll see these features make their way into the Mac version as well in the near future.

The following are the new features you can now use in the Windows version of PDFelement 9.0:

• Create shareable links and store PDFs via the cloud.
• Translate the highlighted text into the desired target language.
• Switch freely between editable text, images, and links on the page.
• Capture a screenshot of the current window without any hassle.
• Easily set the reading background by switching between multiple eye protection modes.
• Complete 90-degree page rotation.
• Automatically recognize tables on a PDF Page.
• Depict the cover page on its own dedicated line while employing a two-page view.

Price

The pricing structure of Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 is quite competitive and flexible. You have the option to choose between the yearly license that costs $79.99 and the perpetual license that you can get with a one-time payment of $129.99.

If you have money to spare, then I would highly recommend going for the perpetual plan. You’ll get access to all of its features and free tech support. In addition, you also get 1-year access to Document Cloud, which you can use to store files with a 100 GB size limit.

There’s also a team plan on offer here, which you can avail of for a starting price of $109/user/year. If you are seeking a custom business plan, then I would recommend you contact the representatives at PDFelement directly for a quote.

Both of the above plans are suitable for businesses with large manpower.

There is a free trial version of the tool available here as well. However, you won’t have access to advanced features. There will also be a watermark on all the documents you export using the free version of this tool.

Pros and Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

Q #1) What can PDFelement do?

Answer: PDFelement is a PDF editor that does what you would expect software like this to do. It allows you to edit the content of a PDF document. Where PDFelement really excels is in the slew of other features it offers.

You can use this software to convert PDF files, turn image-based PDF files into editable documents, redact, merge and split PDF documents, among many other things. It also helps that this software is very easy to use.

Q #2) Is PDFelement safe to use?

Answer: Yes, I can confidently claim that PDFelement is safe software to use. The developers have taken great care in making the software immune to malware and virus attacks.

There are also stringent security protocols in place to prevent data loss and theft. You also have the option to set a password or redact content on a PDF document to protect sensitive information.

Q #3) Is PDFelement Free?

Answer: Not really. However, there is a free trial version you can use to perform basic editing functions. This comes with a set of limitations imposed.

First, all documents processed will have PDFelement’s watermark on them. Second, you’ll only be able to convert the first two pages of a document when using the conversion feature. You also won’t be able to use advanced features like OCR with the free trial version.

Q #4) Should I opt for the annual or perpetual plan of PDFelement?

Answer: As I mentioned before, PDFelement offers a subscription-based pricing plan. You can either opt for the annual plan or go for the perpetual plan, which you can avail of by paying a one-time fee of $129.99. In my opinion, you’ll be better off buying the one-time subscription plan as you get access to all of its features and don’t have to worry about recurring payments.

Q #5) How good is PDFelement’s OCR feature?

Answer: PDFelement boasts a very fast and powerful OCR engine. OCR can help you search for specific text in the system in no time. Where this feature truly shines is in its ability to turn paper-based scanned documents into a format that is totally editable.

In other words, the software’s OCR will capture images on the scanned document and convert it into real text that can be searched, copied, and edited.

Conclusion

As a fan of PDFelement, I upgraded to the software’s latest version i.e. Wondershare PDFelement 9.0 with a healthy dose of optimism. I am glad to report that I wasn’t disappointed at all. The software is much faster than the previous versions. There are a ton of new features introduced, each useful in its own right. You now also have the privilege of managing your processed files on the cloud.

By far, the most noticeable change is in its interface. The new sleek design gives this software the makeover it needs without compromising its functionality. The software is still user-friendly, even more so than before. You really don’t need to be a tech wizard to use this software.

Everything from editing and conversion to organizing pages and redacting content is incredibly simple in Wondershare PDFelement 9.0. The software is now available for purchase at a competitive and reasonable price. I highly recommend you opt for its perpetual plan. That way, you’ll be able to avail all of its features with a one-time payment.