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Smarter study and learn faster with PDFelement for students.
Want to be a paperless student but not have an iPad or Apple pencil? Try using a PDF reader on your desktop as an alternative or a supplement to note-taking apps!
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TRY IT FREE
Up to 63% student discount
Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, 32-bit OS, 64-bit OS
Go to Windows >
E-Books vs. Paper Books
Best PDF Reader for Studying
An Expert PDF Editor
Working With Note-Taking Apps
Working With Note-Taking Apps
Inspired By A+ Students
in Various Majors
in Various Majors
CV & Recommendation
Templates for Students
Templates for Students
E-books or paper books, which do you prefer?
E-books still do not match for printed books in 2022. However, the move to remote and hybrid learning has accelerated the adoption of e-books in the classroom these years. Many schools have made the digital shift since 2020, and more college and higher education students prefer various e-books.
| Type | Formats | Pros | Cons | Tips |
| E-book |
.epub / .pdf / .txt / .fb2 / .doc, etc. |
· Easily available anytime, anywhere · Environment friendly ·Shareable content | · Require batteries or internet · Less focused | |
| Paper Book | — | · Enjoyable reading experience | · Bad for the environment · More expensive · Take more space |
Get more ideas about reading in an ebook, paper book, or both!
Which is the best PDF reader for studying?
Find the PDF reader that works out best for you from the discussions about PDF readers on Reddit.
Look at the dilemma of some students in finding a PDF reader for free
We need better PDF readers for academic study!!
We need a way to picture/imagine/graph/table preview while reading paragraphs and pages in academic papers.
Most graphical results/diagrams explanations come in further text, but there is no tool to easily access or view graphical results/diagrams or pinpoint anything related.
Most graphical results/diagrams explanations come in further text, but there is no tool to easily access or view graphical results/diagrams or pinpoint anything related.
@ u/pandadub_xx post on r/academia in Reddit
Look at the dilemma of some students in finding a PDF reader for free
I want to read e-books like printed books.
I just started university, and I have been assigned a lot of books in PDF.
I need a program that allows me to read PDF books in a two-page view, add notes, and do pretty much all the things you can do in a physical book. An extremely useful extra would be able to use the Cloud.
I need a program that allows me to read PDF books in a two-page view, add notes, and do pretty much all the things you can do in a physical book. An extremely useful extra would be able to use the Cloud.
@ u/Last_xx post on r/software in Reddit
Look at the dilemma of some students in finding a PDF reader for free
I need a free PDF reader for students to highlight, underline and comment on e-books!
I am looking for a free PDF reader to use as a student. It must be lightweight and fast; better to have tabs for multiple documents in the same window.
It allows me to highlight, underline (with different colors), copy text and images, and add comments or text to the sides or sticky notes.
It allows me to highlight, underline (with different colors), copy text and images, and add comments or text to the sides or sticky notes.
@ u/u/Monsieur_xx post on r/software in Reddit
Look at the dilemma of some students in finding a PDF reader for free
I want a cross-platform synced PDF Reader/Annotator (for at least iOS/Win)!
My use case is reading PDFs for various university courses. I wish to have a solution that allows me to open a PDF on my desktop, read, annotate ... then, while on a commute, open the same PDF and continue where I left off from the desktop, annotate ... then back at home ... rinse, repeat.
@ u/hced_xx post on r/crossplatform in Reddit
Get out of troubles in PDF reading and editing using PDFelement
Top features of best PDF readers wanted by students:
How to make PDF searchable and copiable using the OCR feature?
Step 1. Open your scanned PDF file.
Launch PDFelement for Windows. On the Home page, click Open PDF and add your file.
Step 2. Perform OCR to make the PDF searchable.
Choose Tools>OCR. Then, select Scan to searchable text in image, specify Page Range, and select Languages.
Step 3. Search keywords to position the desired content.
After the file becomes searchable, you can use Ctrl+F to search the keywords you want.
How to read a PDF and translate it quickly?
Step 1. Open a PDF file.
Drag the PDF to PDFelement for Windows or open the file by clicking Open PDF from the Home page.
Step 2. Read the PDF the way you like.
Click the View tab. Then, you can read your PDF like reading a book with customized settings and multiple modes, such as Two Page View.
Step 3. Translate selected words in the PDF.
Select the sentence you want to translate in the Edit mode and click Translate in the floating bar. Then you can translate the text to the target language you specify.
How to annotate, highlight, and make notes on PDFs with ease?
Step 1. Open your PDF in PDFelement.
Open the PDF file you want to annotate with PDFelement software.
Step 2. Add comments to your PDF file .
Go to the Comment tab and use all the tools to annotate your PDF, such as Highlight, Underline, Sticky Note, etc.
Step 3. View the comments and export the PDF file.
Click the icon of Comment List on the left panel to view all comments. You can also export and import annotations here.
How to share PDFs on the Cloud and manage PDF files across devices?
Step 1. Upload PDF documents to PDFelement Cloud.
Log in to your PDFelement Cloud account using your Wondershare ID, click Upload Files, and choose one or more files you want to upload.
Step 2. Share and send your PDF.
Click Share from the top navigation bar and choose documents from your PC or the Cloud. Then, you can set the deadline and permissions for the shared link and email notification.
Step 3. Archive and organize your PDF files.
Save your important and confidential documents in Cloud storage and share them with your team members.
Comparison between 3 best PDF editors for students with the above features you need
Here’s a quick review of the best PDF readers and editors that most college students care about.
| Top features wanted by students |
Discount for students (*Need Students Verifying) |
Supported OS | Two-page view |
Read 2 PDFs at the same time |
Annotate PDFs and export notes |
OCR images or tables |
Translate PDFs to different languages |
Cloud Storage |
|
PDFelement
|
$47.99/yr
Get Discount Now
$99.99/one-time |
Windows / Mac / iOS / Android |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adobe Acrobat Pro
|
$239.88/yr for
Creative Cloud All Apps |
Windows / Mac / iOS / Android |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
PDF Expert
|
$29.95/yr, $99/one-time
|
Mac / iOS | |
|
|
|
|
|
Type or write notes: Can students use a PDF editor
together with a note-taking app?
Let’s start with a quick look at the best note-taking apps for students: EverNote, OneNote, GoodNotes, Notability, Notion, and Flexcil.
| Features | GoodNotes | Notability | Flexcil | OneNote | EverNote | Notion |
| Supported OS | iOS/Mac | iOS/Mac | iOS/Android | iOS/Android/ Windows/Mac/Web |
iOS/Android/ Windows/Mac |
iOS/Android/ Windows/Mac |
| Better experience at | Handwriting notes | Handwriting notes | Handwriting notes | Typing notes | Typing notes | Typing notes |
| Supported export format for notes |
· GoodNotes document · PDF(editable/flattened) · Image |
· PDF · Note · Image · RTF |
· OneNote(.one) · Word(.docx, .doc) · PDF(.pdf) · XPS (.xps) · .mht |
· ENEX · HTML |
· HTML · Markdown · CSV |
|
| Annotate PDF | Comment on PDFs with handwriting notes or typing notes |
Record lectures using Note Replay and annotate textbook PDFs |
Mark up PDFs and take notes in 1 window |
Take notes on PDFs by typing or sketching |
Draw and write on PDFs and images |
Not supported |
| OCR PDF | Convert handwriting to text written in-app, unable to OCR image-based PDFs |
· Convert handwriting to text, · Images that take up 1 /3 of the page or more can be searchable |
Supports text OCR and not handwriting OCR. |
Copy text from images and file printouts |
Scan and search handwritten notes |
Not supported |
| Student Discount | Free for schools who use Apple School Manager, no student discount for individual |
Free for schools who use Apple School Manager, no student discount for individual |
Free for schools, not free provided for individual |
Free after the educational email verification |
50% off for students | Free after the educational email verification |
| Drawbacks | · No Windows Version · Cannot create hyperlinks · Cannot OCR image-based PDFs · Crash when you export large PDF files |
· No Windows Version · Cannot show notes on PDFs with annotations · Failed to open PPT correctly |
· No Windows/Mac Version · Cannot OCR handwriting |
· Cannot edit a PDF | · Cannot extract text from images/PDFs |
· Cannot take notes on PDFs · No OCR features |
| Best Solutions | GoodNotes+a PDF Editor | Notability+a PDF Editor | Flexcil+a PDF Editor | OneNote+a PDF Editor | Evernote+a PDF Editor | Notion+a PDF Editor |
Note-taking apps & a PDF editor for Windows/Mac:
The amazing combo for students to improve productivity!
The amazing combo for students to improve productivity!
Use a PDF editor with a note-taking app, and then you will be free from the trouble of
being unable to read, annotate, copy, and export PDFs within note-taking apps.
being unable to read, annotate, copy, and export PDFs within note-taking apps.
"Why did my notes on PDFs disappear on Notability?"
"Can I create my own digital planner with hyperlinks?"
"Why GoodNotes takes so long to open big PDF files?"
Use a PDF editor for students on Windows/Mac to supplement your note-taking apps, and maximize your study efficiency by taking full advantage of both.
· To show the annotations on a PDF, use a PDF editor to flatten PDF and then open it in your note-taking apps.
· Use a PDF editor to convert your lecture PPTs/PDFs to PDFs with margins. Then, take notes with your note-taking apps.
· Export your notes as PDFs from note-taking apps. Then, use a PDF editor to create categories for your notes to organize them.
· Compress large PDFs with a PDF editor. Take notes and manage PDFs in your note-taking apps.
How to use PDFelment as an alternative note-taking app for students on Windows/Mac?
As we know, there still is no Windows or Mac version of GoodNotes, Notability, or Flexcil. Regarding note taking and
organization, OneNote and Evernote can be good alternatives to them on desktop.
But when it comes to PDFs, we recommend PDFelement for students.
organization, OneNote and Evernote can be good alternatives to them on desktop.
But when it comes to PDFs, we recommend PDFelement for students.
Get inspiration from A+ students in various majors!
See how they use PDFelement as one of the productivity study apps and study success.
PDF Editor for Students: Edit, Annotate, Sign PDF on iOS
The Best-in-class Tool for Educators and Students
What is an Easy-to-Use PDF Editor? (Student Review)
Real time-Study With Me (Tape One)
Real time-Study With Me (Tape Two)
Best PDF Editor to Improve Your Productivity and get A+ Studying
Tips for exam: Convert paper documents to editable and searchable PDFs on iPad
Get free PDF templates for students
Research Poster Template
Math Course Note
School Timetable Template
Research Proposal Template
Student Resume Template
New Year's Planner
Template
Template
Study Planner Template
Daily Planner Template
Get More Free Templates for Students
Tips: You can also get those templates by clicking Create PDF From Template. (The Templates function only built-in Windows version now.)
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Choose the PDFelement plan that works for you.
PDFelement for Desktop
Edit, print, eSign and protect documents. 100GB cloud storage for collaboration.
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$129
$79.99
$129
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$129.99
$159
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Edit, print, eSign and protect documents. 100GB cloud storage for collaboration.
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Edit, print, eSign and protect documents. 100GB cloud storage for collaboration.
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$199.99
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