April 11, 2024

Pixelmator Pro brings text editing in PDFs and adds a collection of bento grid templates

Pixelmator Pro 3.5.8 has just been released, now letting you edit text in PDFs just like regular text layers, including in Apple PDFs exported from Safari, Keynote, or Pages. The update also adds the ability to create freely customizable outlines around text layers and adds a new collection of bento grid templates, ideal for showcasing product updates or new app features.

Text Editing in PDFs

In one of the recent Pixelmator Pro updates, we’ve added support for vector PDFs, letting you import image, shape, and text elements as separate layers. Now, we’re expanding this support even further by making it possible to edit the imported text elements as regular text layers. This means you can now easily replace, format, and style any existing text in PDFs using all your favorite Pixelmator Pro tools.

Typically, text in PDF documents is not directly editable. Instead, it’s stored as vector shapes to keep documents looking consistent across various platforms and apps. To make text editable again, Pixelmator Pro extracts the different types of data embedded in the original PDF which then lets it recover the original text content, fonts, and formatting. Even if some of these elements are missing, for instance, if the original font is not installed on your Mac, you can still import the text, select a different font, and continue with your edits.

Extended Support for Apple PDFs

The new text editing capabilities in PDF files now allow for even more seamless integration between macOS iWork apps and Pixelmator Pro. Whether you are creating a presentation in Keynote, writing a document in Pages, or working in Safari, you can export your work to PDF and continue editing it in Pixelmator Pro. All of the text in your project will remain fully editable and keep its original fonts, including the SF Pro font that is used throughout the Apple ecosystem.

Take a look at how much smoother importing PDFs created using Keynote works now compared to the previous Pixelmator Pro version.

Customizable Text Strokes

The Style tool in Pixelmator Pro has also been improved, bringing an easy way to create custom outlines around text layers. You now have the option to add strokes inside, center, or outside of the text, choose from various stroke ends and corners, and even add dashed strokes to your text. With these new features, you can experiment with different style combinations to create beautiful typography designs in your projects. The nondestructive styling options also make it easy to stack multiple different strokes of different styles together and rearrange them at any point, while keeping your text fully editable.

Bento Grid Templates

In the fresh new Bento Grid templates collection, you’ll find 12 eye-catching templates for web, social media, and more — all featuring the wildly popular Japanese lunch box-inspired design. The templates are perfect for highlighting exciting new product features, announcing app updates, or showcasing other creations in a neat and organized way. Each template also includes a variety of alternative color palettes to perfectly match your product or a specific theme.

And that wraps up all the new features. If you’d like to try them out yourself, head over to the Mac App Store to download the latest update. As always, it’s free to all existing Pixelmator Pro users.

Open in App Store