UPDF - Read, Scan & Sign PDF

What is UPDF app?

UPDF is a cross-platform app for working with PDFs. Everything you could want to do with a PDF is possible using the tools in this collection of apps.

As you are looking to edit your PDF documents, there is a need to have an editing tool that offers everything. With simple functionality and operations, UPDF provides an editing toolkit that makes it easy for users to manage their tasks efficiently. Rather than restricting across word processing software, UPDF provides an editing system that can help users edit the text, images, and links within a PDF.

UPDF is also a good PDF annotator. The annotation tools offered by UPDF will be very helpful for students and teachers. You can highlight, underline, and strikethrough text in PDF documents. You can also add sticky notes, text boxes, stamps, and stickers as per your requirements. It also offers a free-hand drawing tool to help you draw any shapes you like.

You can convert PDFs to other popular formats, such as Word, HTML, PowerPoint and images. Combined with this app, your mobile device's camera becomes a scanner for digitising paper-based documents.

Scanning documents and converting existing PDFs is more effective when using optical character recognition (OCR) to turn images of text into editable text. A free plug-in is available to UPDF users to add OCR. The app offers you the download when you first use the OCR feature.

You can share PDFs easily with colleagues and students from within UPDF by sharing through email or via a link, which can also have an expiration time.

UPDF's tools and interfaces differ across each device. PC and Mac are the most fully featured as the larger screens work better with some creative functions. iOS and Android devices are roughly comparable, with iOS having some key extras such as a Security Space for protecting sensitive files behind FaceID or TouchID.

What we love about UPDF app.

You're probably looking for a PDF tool because, for all of their convenience, PDFs are not the most straightforward files to edit or compile. You can export them from your other apps, but it becomes much more difficult when you want to work with ones other people have sent you or combine PDFs from different sources.

UPDF distinguishes itself from other PDF apps with cross-platform flexibility and a clean and elegant interface that makes working with PDFs a joy.

A subscription to UPDF covers all major mobile and desktop platforms. The multi-device compatibility is baked into your subscription. You don't have to predict whether you might need other devices in the future or whether it is worth paying for the flexibility to use a different device occasionally.

What skills does it teach?

Teachers use PDFs to collaborate with colleagues and prepare files to support students. Students often need to combine lesson materials or prepare assignments to hand in digitally using the PDF format.

UPDF does not have a direct educational role but supports teachers and students by making working with the common PDF file format easier.

What age is it appropriate for?

UPDF's toolset is most likely useful to school staff and students at high school/secondary/college levels and above.

Is UPDF app easy to use?

The tabbed user interface on desktop versions of the app provides an intuitive method of working with and consulting multiple documents. You can also keep a tab open for accessing the file system. 

UPDF's careful design makes it easy to complete your PDF-based work, and its elegant visuals make it a stress-free experience. The app has supporting videos that walk you through some tasks, and the supporting website has a user guide and FAQs.

Most tasks follow user expectations. On desktop machines, you can drag and drop directly into UPDF, while on mobile, you'll follow the typical import process from the cloud or device-based storage systems.

How will students benefit?

Students want to ensure that their assignments look the same for their teachers as they do for them, and PDFs are the best way to ensure consistency. UPDF makes it easy for students to lock in their assignments' formatting and combine pages from multiple sources ready to upload for teachers to mark. Alternatively, they can just give their teachers a link to get the files.

UPDF will also be very helpful for extracting and compiling study and revision guides from different sources and teachers. A diagram from one pack and a flow chart from another might work perfectly with an example essay they downloaded for study. With UPDF, kids can put together custom study files easily. UPDF is one of the best student software.

How will parents benefit?

Individually, many people don't need to convert files too often unless they have specific work needs, such as teachers. However, many of us need to do it occasionally, making having a multiplatform PDF app useful. Parents who subscribe to it for their kids to use when producing assignments and study guides will also be able to use it when needed.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers work in many different places. They might complete some tasks at home in their home office and others in their living room. They might work in an office, one or more classrooms, or meeting rooms at school. The multi-device flexibility of a UPDF subscription lets teachers access its tools on the device most suitable for the location and task. UPDF can benefit teacher a lot as one of the best apps for teachers.

On iOS, the app has a protected section called Security Space which is a helpful area to keep anything with sensitive information, such as learning plans for individual kids. Security is always a trade-off between convenience and strength but the extra protection here is optional per document.

You can have access to the Security Space controlled by FaceID or TouchID, which minimises the slowdown caused by the extra security.

What can UPDF app improve on?

UPDF has an excellent user guide which addresses each platform separately. However, when you use the keyword search, there is no way to filter by platform, making it a bit more difficult to find the most relevant solution.

The feature set is not consistent across all platforms. This is not a criticism in itself, as some features make less sense on smaller screens while portable devices lend themselves to different tasks.

However, we feel that cloud storage should not be one of these. We were surprised that we could not use the included storage as a central repository for PDFs across all of our devices signed into the same account. Users can only upload and download to the UPDF Cloud storage from Mac and PC.

This could take users unaware and leave them without access to a file on mobile devices.

The ideal situation would be to have the UPDF Cloud service work with all devices and include a safe area not only usable on all devices. The current iOS-only restriction could leave users without access to files they expect to have on all devices.

How much does UPDF app cost?

Newly registered UPDF users can convert five files for free.

You can subscribe to an annual plan for ongoing access and continual updates. Both provide a similar feature set and include 10GB of cloud storage.

Alternatively, those who prefer to pay for their software outright can choose the perpetual or lifetime plan. This option attracts no further costs and gets minor updates and bug fixes.

However, when you buy a perpetual plan, you get a snapshot of what you will have going forward, and you won't receive any major updates that annual subscribers enjoy. During this review of UPDF, the app received updates adding new features showing that it is undergoing active development.

We consider these options to provide a very fair choice, with the perpetual plan reflecting a purchase model that some users wish would return for other apps but still giving the flexibility of the annual plan for those who like their software to be on the cutting edge.

Students and teachers should look on the website for the educational discount, which grants those eligible a 50% discount.

The plans described here are from the UPDF website for direct subscribers. Variations in the subscription terms, including quarterly, are available if you buy via the apps.

Is UPDF app safe to use?

UPDF comes with cloud storage. Schools should ensure that the privacy terms and standards for documents sent into the cloud meet their region's or school's policies.

None of the apps displays advertisements.

Overall rating of the app.

The experience of using UPDF to work with PDF documents during this review was pleasant. It produced consistently good results with minimal effort. Apart from this, UPDF offers a fully featured and easy-to-use PDF editor and reader at an excellent price point.