Ali PDF EditorAli PDF Editor vs Apple Preview for PDF forms
Every Mac comes with Preview, and for many PDF jobs it is all you need: reading, highlighting, a quick signature, rotating a page. So when is it worth having something else? Mostly when forms are involved, when a document has to be redacted properly, and when you also work on Windows.
Side by side
| Ali PDF Editor | Apple Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 once (7-day free trial) | Free with macOS |
| Windows | Yes, same features | No, Mac only |
| Scanned forms | Finds the blanks, straightens crooked scans, names each field from its caption, skips blanks already filled in | Recent versions can find fields on some scanned forms |
| Answers | Dates, phone numbers, amounts and ID numbers formatted; your details in one click; check-one groups; writing shrinks to fit | Typing; on recent macOS, AutoFill from your contact card |
| Missed blanks | Add Field: drag a box; move and resize any field | Text box tool |
| Edit existing text | Yes, in the document's own font | No |
| Pages | Reorder, delete, insert blank pages or pages of another PDF | Reorder, delete, insert, rotate |
| Saved answers | Real form fields, editable later anywhere; or a flattened copy | Depends on the form |
Where Preview is enough
Reading, annotating, signing a simple document, rotating or deleting a page, filling in a form that already has fillable fields: Preview handles these well, and it is already on your Mac.
Where Ali PDF Editor goes further
- Scanned and flat forms. Detect Forms is made for forms that are only a picture: it finds boxes, table cells, writing lines and check boxes, also on crooked, faint or dark scans, and on a form that is half filled in it offers only the empty blanks.
- Answers that look right. Social security numbers, phone numbers, amounts and dates are written the way the form expects, writing shrinks to fit its box, and ticking one box of a “check one” row unticks the others.
- Fixing the document itself. Change a wrong word or number in the PDF’s own font, or white out a stray mark with Erase.
- Redaction you can trust. Redacted content is taken out of the file when you save, not just covered.
- Windows too. The same app, the same license (up to three computers), on a PC.
Questions
Can Preview fill out scanned forms?
Recent versions of Preview can find fields on some scanned forms. Ali PDF Editor adds field names from the printed captions, formatted answers, straightening of crooked scans, skipping of blanks already filled in, and runs on Windows as well.
Do I need to stop using Preview?
No. Many people keep Preview for reading and use Ali PDF Editor for forms, editing and redaction.
Is Ali PDF Editor a subscription?
No. It is $8.99 once, with every update included, after a free seven-day trial.
Try it on your own forms. The download is the full app, free for seven days, no card. Then $8.99 once, for life, on up to three computers.
Download for Mac or Windows