PDFs aren’t the headache they once were, but they can still be a hassle sometimes, especially if all you need to do is make a quick edit. Not everyone wants to download dedicated desktop software for signing the occasional document and their web apps can present their own jank. In a move that feels long overdue, Adobe is releasing Acrobat Chrome and Edge extensions that allow you to access its PDF tools directly through your browser.
If you mostly need something that allows you to sign documents, the good news is you don’t need an Acrobat Pro DC subscription to access that functionality within the extension. Free access also allows you to add comments to PDFs, in addition to allowing you to download and print them. It’s when you get to things like trying to convert a PDF into a Microsoft Word document that you’ll need to pony up.
To be clear, the extensions are separate from Acrobat web, which Adobe recently updated to bring to clear feature parity with its desktop client. If your work involves editing PDFs frequently, you’ll probably continue using Adobe’s dedicated app. For everyone else, the extensions should do just fine in a pinch.