How to use Edit PDF
- Choose a PDF. The editor opens with every page ready to work on.
- Click Edit to change text that is already there or to move an image, or use the toolbar to add text, images, a signature, shapes, highlights and whiteout.
- Press Download PDF. The saved file keeps the original page size, rotation and content, with your changes exactly where you placed them.
About this free online Edit PDF tool
EditPDF Online's edit pdf is a free online PDF tool for edit pdf online, pdf editor free and edit text in pdf. It works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, needs no software, signup or watermark, and keeps your files private because nothing is uploaded.
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Your files stay private
EditPDF Online runs entirely in your browser using open-source libraries. Your documents are never uploaded, stored or seen by us.
What you can do in the editor
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit | Click any line of existing text to retype it in the PDF's own font, or click an image to move, resize, flip or delete it. The original is taken off the page, so nothing is left hidden underneath. |
| Text | Add new text in the PDF standard fonts, any of more than 1,800 Google Fonts, or (in Chrome and Edge) the fonts installed on your computer, with size, colour, bold, italic, underline, alignment and line spacing. Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cyrillic and Greek are saved as real, searchable text. |
| Recognise text | Turn a scanned page into editable lines, and save it as a searchable PDF. Recognition runs in your browser. |
| Image | Place a JPG, PNG, WebP or SVG image, or paste one from the clipboard. Phone photos keep the right way up. |
| Signature | Draw your signature once and place it anywhere. It is saved as a vector drawing, so it stays sharp when printed. |
| Pen, highlight and shapes | Draw freehand, highlight text, and add rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, check marks and crosses. |
| Whiteout | Cover anything with a box that picks up the page colour. Text completely under the box is removed from the saved file. |
| Links and notes | Link any area or line of text to a website, an email address or another page of the document, and leave comments that open in any PDF reader. |
| Manage pages | See every page in a grid. Select several, drag to reorder, rotate, duplicate or delete them, add blank pages, other PDFs or images, and download a selection as a file of its own. |
| Search and print | Find words anywhere in the document, including text you added or recognised. Print exactly what will be saved, each page on a sheet of its own size. |
| Protected PDFs | Open PDFs with editing restrictions or a password. They are unlocked on your device and edited like any other file. |
Why the saved PDF matches what you see
Many online editors flatten each page into a picture, or rebuild the document, so text stops being selectable and pages change size. This editor writes your changes into the original file instead. Every page keeps its size, rotation, links and sharp vector text. Added text is stored as real text, broken into lines exactly where the editor broke it, and edited images reuse the original image data, so their quality does not drop.
How editing existing text works
Text in a PDF is a list of drawing instructions rather than flowing paragraphs. When you click a line, the editor finds the instructions that drew it, matches the font size and colour, and turns the line into an editable text box at exactly the same baseline. On saving, those instructions are replaced by an equal amount of empty space, so the rest of the line stays put and the old words are gone from the file. The new text is written with the font embedded in the PDF, each letter placed exactly where the editor shows it. Embedded fonts usually contain only the letters the author used; when you type one that is missing, the line moves to the full version of the same font if your computer or Google Fonts has it, or to a font with the same letter widths.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| V, E, T | Select, Edit existing content, Add text |
| I, S, P, H, W | Image, Signature, Pen, Highlight, Whiteout |
| R, O, L, A | Rectangle, Ellipse, Line, Arrow |
| U, N | Link, Note |
| Ctrl+F, Ctrl+P | Search, Print |
| Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y | Undo, Redo |
| Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+D | Copy, Paste, Duplicate |
| Arrow keys (with Shift) | Nudge by 1 point (10 points) |
| Ctrl+S | Download the edited PDF |
To change only the pages of a document, Organize Pages is quicker. To stamp the same text on every page, use Watermark or Page Numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change text that is already in the PDF?
Yes. Choose Edit, click a line of text and type. The original characters are removed from the file rather than hidden under a white box, including text inside grouped graphics such as headers and logos.
Will my edits keep the original font?
Usually, yes. A PDF normally contains only the letters its author used, so the editor keeps the embedded font while you type those letters. If you type a letter the file does not contain, that line switches to the same font installed on your computer (with your permission), the same family from Google Fonts, or a font with identical letter widths, such as Carlito for Calibri, and the editor tells you which.
Will the downloaded PDF look the same as the editor?
Yes. The original pages are kept as they are, at the same size and rotation, and your changes are written on top at the positions you see, with the same line breaks and letter spacing. Text you add stays selectable and searchable, in any language.
Can I edit a scanned PDF?
Yes. Choose Recognise text in the page panel. The words are read in your browser, then you can click any line to change it. The old words are replaced by a patch rebuilt from the paper around them, and the page can be saved as searchable text.
Can I edit a password-protected PDF?
Yes. Files with editing restrictions open straight away; for a file that needs a password to open, you type it once. Decryption happens in your browser, and the edited copy is saved without the protection.
Can I add pages from other files?
Yes. Open Manage pages and choose Insert PDF or image, or drop files onto the page grid. Pages from another PDF stay editable, and each image becomes a page of its own. You can also download just the pages you select.
Do links and notes work in other PDF readers?
Yes. They are saved as standard PDF links and comments, so Adobe Acrobat, browsers and phone apps open them. A link to another page keeps pointing at that page if you reorder pages later.
Is Whiteout a secure redaction?
Whiteout removes text that sits completely under the box from the saved file, but images and drawings underneath are only covered. For legal redaction, use a dedicated redaction tool and check the result.
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It is free with no signup, no watermark and no daily limits.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All processing happens in your browser, so your files never leave your device.