How to Edit a PDF for Free (Text, Images, Shapes and Notes)

Edit a PDF online in 4 steps

1. 1

   Open the editor

   Go to Edit PDF and drop your file on Select a PDF to edit. Files up to 40 MB open directly in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.

2. 2

   Pick a tool

   The toolbar shows every tool as an icon. Hover an icon to see its name and shortcut, or press the letter key: T for Text, I for Image, R for Rectangle, D for Draw, H for Highlight, W for Whiteout, N for Sticky note, C for Comment, V to go back to Select.

3. 3

   Click or drag on the page

   Text, images and notes are placed with a click. Shapes, highlights and whiteout boxes are dragged. Use the page arrows or type a page number to move between pages, and the zoom menu (Fit width up to 300%) for small details.

4. 4

   Save and download

   Click Save PDF. The result screen tells you how many edits were drawn onto the pages and how many comments were added. The file downloads with -edited added to its name.

Can you change the existing text in a PDF?

Not directly. The editor adds new content on top of the page; it does not reflow or retype the words already in the file. Clicking existing text with the Text tool starts a new text box rather than opening the old one for editing.

To correct a word, a date or a figure, cover it with the Whiteout tool, then type the replacement on top with the Text tool. Pick a matching font from Helvetica, Times or Courier and set the size so it lines up. The original text is still in the file under the white box, so this is a visual fix, not redaction. See how to white out a PDF for the details.

What each tool saves into the file

Most edits are flattened into the page content when you save. Text, images, shapes, lines, arrows, drawings, highlights, underlines, strikethroughs and whiteout boxes become part of the page itself. They show in every viewer and they print, but another PDF app will not list them as separate annotations you can click and delete.

Sticky notes and comments are the exception. They are written as real PDF comment annotations with an author name and a date, so they appear in the comments list of Acrobat, Preview and browser viewers. The Edit PDF page also shows a Comments panel listing the comments already in the file and the ones you added now.

Common problems when editing a PDF

• "This PDF is password-protected": the editor will not open encrypted files. Unlock it with Remove PDF Password first.
• Characters turn into "?": the three built-in fonts only cover Western European characters. The side panel warns you before saving which characters will be replaced.
• You saved, then spotted a mistake: click Edit again on the result screen. Your objects are still live, so you can move or delete them and save a new copy. Once you close the page, saved edits are part of the page and cannot be selected again.
• Save PDF is greyed out: you have not added anything yet. The counter under the button reads "Add something to the page to save."

Use a focused tool when you need one thing

Edit PDF puts all 17 tools in one toolbar, which is ideal for mixed jobs such as reviewing a contract. If you only need one action, the single-purpose pages open with that tool already active and show its name on the button: Add Text, Add Image, Add Shape, Draw on PDF and Highlight PDF. For fillable fields, use Fill PDF Forms instead; the editor draws over form fields rather than filling them.

Editing existing text in Adobe Acrobat

If you need to rewrite paragraphs in place, with the text reflowing around your change, that requires a full desktop editor such as Adobe Acrobat Pro and its Edit PDF tool. For adding, marking up and covering content, a browser editor is enough.

Frequently asked questions