The PDF file system is one of the simplest way to manage digital documents. Created in 1993 by the code ninjas over at Adobe, the PDF has made it super easy for everyone to view and edit documents, whether you’re a Mac or PC user.

Today, the PDF is one of the most versatile file formats. Not only is it happy with text and images, but it supports links, multimedia, forms, and even 3D models – not bad for a file system that’s over 25 years old.

But to work with PDFs, you need a PDF program, and sadly, not all are created equal. We’ve been playing around with the best of them to find one that truly outshines the others, a nd we think we’ve found it in Ashampoo’s PDF Pro .

PDF Pro is an all-in-one program to view, create, edit, and convert PDF files. Let’s take a look at what it can do for you.

Ashampoo PDF Pro - $29,99

1. Full editorial control

PDF Pro lets you edit PDFs as easily as if they were MS Word documents. Is that a big deal? Absolutely, because most PDF programs don’t offer such flexibility without conversion or exporting to another program. This makes copyediting an article, story, magazine, or academic paper a piece of cake, and saves hours of messing around with different formats.

PDF has all the tools you’d expect of a document editor, including a spell checker, a built-in change log so you can keep track of your changes, and a find and replace tool which also has the option of changing content across multiple documents. These tools let you work on your PDF natively, without ever leaving the program.

Ashampoo PDF Pro - $29,99

If want to collaborate with others on your PDFs, either at work or school, PDF Pro supports annotations and comments, so you can share your opinions within the PDF rather than in a separate file. And if you’re working on a bunch of PDFs at once, PDF Pro will merge them together for you, and give you full control over page ordering and orientation. For big projects like dissertations, legal documents, or academic papers, this feature is a real time-saver.

2. Super easy file conversion

While PDFs are great, sometimes you need different output formats for specific tasks – if you’re writing an ebook, for example, or want to code a webpage. PDF Pro makes it quick and easy to convert your source PDF into different formats, including EPUB, HTML, JPEG, and RTF, without losing detail or structure.

This works the other way round, too. PDF Pro’s powerful OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine means you can scan just about anything for fast, flexible editing using PDF Pro or your favourite office tools.

3. Security against fraud and intellectual property theft

With so much of our work done online, it’s even more tempting for cybercriminals to steal our data. PDF Pro secures your documents with 128-bit AES encryption, the same level of security used by the US National Security Agency (NSA). You decide what your recipients see, which helps protect you against fraud, theft, and data tampering.

Ashampoo’s PDF Pro combines everything you need to read, edit, and manage PDFs in one tidy package. For a limited time, you can enjoy the program for just $29.99 – over a 60% discount on the retail price. With that much PDF power at your fingertips, we think it’s a steal.

Ashampoo PDF Pro - $29,99