PDF export with selectable text (= not as an image)

What features would you like to see in Pixelmator Pro?
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2020-10-04 14:02:45

Hi, I'm a Pixelmator user who just upgraded to Pixelmator Pro.
I just made a new version of my resume but when I export it to PDF, the text are not selectable in the output file.

Is there a parameter to enable this?

PDF should keep text as text to allow copy/paste or highlights.

Thanks.
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2020-10-06 10:19:50

As Pixelmator Pro (like the original Pixelmator) is primarily an image editor, we export PDFs as images. I do see how that's not ideal and we'd love to support this, it's just not something we've prioritized until now. We'll keep it in mind for the future, though!
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2020-10-06 11:35:49

Thanks Andrius, I really think additions to Pixelmator Pro compared to non-pro version + text export will help people to fully moved out from Adobe Photoshop.

You can move it to Feature Request.
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2020-11-16 18:42:56

YES! One-man nonprofit marketing shop here! This issue has been a big pain to me, both for digital distribution (can't even copy and paste a link) and mass mailings that rely on editable .pdf text to fill in names and addresses. This feature would really put Pixelmator over the top for me. I've tried using 'Swift Publisher 5,' which is fine, but not as intuitive as Pixelmator. Please get this goin'!
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2020-11-20 13:03:39

Noted, Stephen! To my knowledge, we might see some action in this area in the future. No concrete promises and timelines, but things are happening.
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2021-11-05 22:26:00

by Andrius 2020-11-20 12:03:39 Noted, Stephen! To my knowledge, we might see some action in this area in the future. No concrete promises and timelines, but things are happening.
Hi @Andrius, any update on this?

Thanks.
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2021-11-09 00:40:25

I have to comment on this thread. I discovered a Mac tool that grabs text from any image with text - it's called textsniper. I have seen problems textsniper, it does make mistakes - I've noticed particularly with mathematical symbols - but plain text is awesome; great for grabbing any text to your clipboard. It has nothing to do with PixPro but I thought it could be an invaluable tool until PixPro meets the need for separate text from images. $7 in the App Store. Well worth it.

It works like this:
Image

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mccoytest
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2021-11-10 15:52:33

Indeed, OCR tools are pretty awesome (most of the time). Textsniper looks like a super handy tool! Though, I'm not sure if that's what tvial and others are looking for exactly. I believe the support for vector PDF import/export is what they're after and I'm afraid we haven't had the chance to start looking into it just yet.
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2021-11-11 17:19:14

I know Aurelija, I just had to show that tool. PDFs are pretty easy to collect text with textsniper and obscure; textsniper allows you just to edit and replace text as desired. I know that's not what they want, but easy to simulate.

Love the feature requests.
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2021-11-12 14:53:43

by mccoytest I know Aurelija, I just had to show that tool. PDFs are pretty easy to collect text with textsniper and obscure; textsniper allows you just to edit and replace text as desired. I know that's not what they want, but easy to simulate.

Love the feature requests.
:red_heart:
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2022-04-04 16:10:33

by tvial 2020-10-04 17:02:45 Hi, I'm a Pixelmator user who just upgraded to Pixelmator Pro.
I just made a new version of my resume but when I export it to PDF, the text are not selectable in the output file.

Is there a parameter to enable this?

PDF should keep text as text to allow copy/paste or highlights.

Thanks.
Just want to lend my voice to say this is a feature I would appreciate.
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2022-04-07 12:19:48

Also note that .PDF and .AI files are essentially interchangeable. Improving PDF export would also allow for Adobe Illustrator export, which is helpful for the vector workflows that Pixelmator Pro supports.
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2022-05-20 15:52:25

Hello, is there a plan to add this function? I have been using the trial version for a few days and this function is essential for me. Indeed, if I create PDFs on Pixelmator Pro, I want to be able to modify them afterwards.

Thank you.
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2022-06-01 14:45:40

Hi Anthony, yes, this is on our to-do list, though I'm afraid we probably won't get to it very soon as there are other planned improvements that we see as a higher priority right now. :pray:
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2022-11-04 23:04:08

Same request here! I would see this as an essential feature as well – at least for me!

Thanks for moving things along (hopefully…)!
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2022-11-07 09:37:27

by Andrius Noted, Stephen! To my knowledge, we might see some action in this area in the future. No concrete promises and timelines, but things are happening.
Hi Andrius, any update on this? This feature request is 2 years old.
Thank you!
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2022-11-08 10:51:56

by tvial
Hi Andrius, any update on this? This feature request is 2 years old.
Thank you!
Hi there! I don't quite remember what exactly we were working on at the time I posted that message but I think it might have been the beginning of our work with PSD engine improvements and we had plans to move to SVGs, then PDFs soon after. But after PSD and SVG, we also worked on Motion support, which pushed back the PDF timeline. The good news, however, is that I can see we've actually started working on a dedicated PDF engine for much-improved PDF support. These things take time, though, and the project started fairly recently, so, as ever, I can make no promises about timelines. But improved PDF support is now most certainly on the way. :raised_hands:
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2022-11-08 13:37:06

That's still good news. Thanks for the update Andrius.
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2023-04-15 19:30:18

A proud Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro owner here.

I recently realised how much I have needed this features as I make game cards and for best print results the text really needs to be in vectors

Happy to read that there may finally be movement on this front.