Tools / Edit PDF
Edit PDF
Change the words on the page, add text, cover, sign.
- This tool has no upload step
- This browser-only engine does not send your file
- Every tool driven in a browser each release
Choose a PDF
or drop them here
How it works
- Add the PDF, then move to the page you want.
- Click a line to change its words, or choose text, a cover or an image and click where it should go.
- Save. A new PDF is written and your original is left exactly as it was.
What changing a PDF's words actually does
A PDF is a finished page rather than a document with sentences in it, so changing the words means rebuilding a line, and that shapes what to expect.
A changed line is rebuilt, not reflowed
The old words are covered and the new ones written on the same baseline. A longer sentence is shrunk or wrapped to fit its space, and the text below it stays where it was.
Hidden is not deleted
The original words stay in the file under the patch and still come out of a copy and paste. For anything that must actually go, use Redact.
Place a signature as an image with a transparent background
A photograph of a signature on white paper arrives as a white rectangle sitting on the form.
Flatten it afterwards if it must look the same everywhere
Added layers can be moved or removed in some readers. Flatten PDF draws them into the page.
Where this is the wrong tool. Changing a line hides the old words under a patch matched to the page and writes new ones on top, so the originals are hidden, not deleted: they can still be copied or found by search. To remove text for privacy, use Redact PDF. A scanned page has no words to change, only space to add to.
When the browser is not enough
Scanly for Android
Take document-scanning workflows to your Android phone with Scanly. See the Google Play listing for current features, requirements and data-processing information.
Questions
Can I change the words that are already in the PDF?
Yes, one line at a time. Click a line and type. On export the old words are covered with a patch in the colour sampled from behind them, and your new words are written in their place as real, selectable text on the same baseline, at the same size unless you change it. A PDF stores letters at coordinates rather than paragraphs, so this rebuilds the line instead of reflowing the page: a longer sentence is shrunk or wrapped to fit, and nothing below it moves.
Are the old words really gone after I change them?
No, and this is the most important thing on this page. The original words are hidden under the patch, not deleted, so they still come out of a copy and paste, a search or any text extractor. If something must genuinely be removed, use Redact PDF, or choose to flatten every page to an image on export.
If I cover something, is it really gone?
No, and this is the most important thing on this page. A cover is a white box drawn over the text. The text is still in the file and still comes out of a copy and paste or any text extractor. If something must genuinely be gone, choose to flatten every page to an image on export. That turns each page into a picture of itself and destroys what was underneath, along with the selectable text on every other page.
Do my files get uploaded?
No. The PDF is opened, drawn and rewritten in this page, in your browser. There is no upload step, and there is no server here that could receive one.
Does it change my original file?
No. Nothing on your device is modified. A new PDF is written and handed to you.
Can I sign with my finger or a photo of my signature?
Place an image, and choose a photo or a scan of your signature. A PNG with a transparent background sits best on the page. This is a picture of a signature, not a cryptographic one, which is what almost every form actually asks for.
What font does the new text use?
Each line can be set in Helvetica, Times or Courier, with its own size, colour and alignment, and Match the original chooses among the same three. None of them is your document's own font: a PDF usually carries only part of its font, so it cannot be reused for new letters.
Can I change the words on a scanned PDF?
No. A scan is a picture of a page, so there are no words in it to click. You can still add text, covers and a signature on top of it.
Looking for a particular form?
- Official tax and government forms 22 forms from the IRS, the CRA and Revenue, checked against their source
- Fill a PDF form when the PDF has real fields, filling them beats typing over them