> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.apryse.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.apryse.com/cli/pdf-cosedit/pdf-cosedit.md).

# PDF CosEdit: Command-Line Low-Level PDF Editor

Discover the power of Apryse's PDF CosEdit, a stand-alone low-level PDF editor for professionals. Automate tasks, gain control over PDF objects, and boost productivity with intuitive features. The Apr

Apryse's **PDF CosEdit** is a stand-alone, low-level PDF editor. It is an essential power tool for professionals working with PDF, FDF, and PJTF. Manual editing of PDF files can be extremely difficult or impossible. PDF is a binary format and traditional text editors are poorly equipped to handle the sophisticated graph structure of a PDF document. Moreover, PDF data streams can be encrypted and compressed in a variety of ways so that manual editing is not possible. CosEdit automates the task of low-level PDF editing.

It allows you to create, browse, and edit PDF and other Cos based documents at object level. This means that now you have unprecedented control over what is going on inside PDF. Analogous to XML editors, CosEdit allows you to create and edit low-level objects such as dictionaries, arrays, streams, numbers etc. You can copy objects from existing documents, establish relationships between objects, modify document security: all within an easy-to-use and intuitive graphical user interface, resulting in vast improvements in productivity.

<a href="/cli/get-started/download.md" class="button primary">Download PDF CosEdit</a>

## Why PDF CosEdit?

**Productivity + Power = Value**

The key features and practical applications of CosEdit equip users with significant productivity gains and power over PDF files and other Cos based documents, making it a valuable tool for every PDF expert. CosEdit is a stand-alone application. Therefore, additional Acrobat licenses are not required.

* Intuitive user interface for browsing, editing and creating PDF/FDF and other Cos based documents
* Support for standard 40 and 128 bit PDF security (and custom security through plugins)
* Support for various compression schemes
* Content extraction (it is very easy to extract images, fonts, contant streams, etc.)

## **Key Functions**

* Security settings editor
* Incremental save
* Document information editor
* Unused object removal (a garbage collector for PDF files)
* Document information editor
* Drag and drop, copy and paste
* Integrated file repair utility that can fix files with broken cross reference table

## **Common Use Case Scenarios**

* Edit documents: modify existing data, create new objects, or import objects from existing documents
* Navigate and explore the low-level object hierarchy of a PDF file (or any Cos based document) for the purpose of debugging, preflighting, etc.
* View or extract stream data such as page description, images, fonts, and embedded files.
* Inspect and modify document information (e.g. title, subject, keywords, etc.)
* Use document rebuild functionality to fix files ( e.g. files with broken cross reference tables).
* Remove unused objects (e.g. objects that are not referenced).
* Create a new document from scratch.
* Perform high-level operations on the document using a small set of atomic operations: insert/delete pages, edit bookmarks, annotations, and other high-level constructs.
* Inspect, add, remove, and modify security and permissions settings for the document.

## **Operating Systems Supported**

* Windows.

## **System Requirements**

* At least 3 MB of free disk space.
* Memory requirement is dependent on source document being edited.


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