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How to add text to a PDF

Type notes, answers, addresses or labels anywhere on a PDF page. The text is saved as real, selectable text in the font you choose — not as a picture.

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Add text to a PDF in four steps

  1. Open the PDF editor and choose your PDF. When you start from this guide, the Text tool is already selected.
  2. Click on the page where the text should start and type. Press Enter for a new line and Esc when you are done.
  3. Change the font, size, color, bold, italic or alignment in the bar above the page. Drag the text to move it, or drag a corner to make it bigger.
  4. Click Download to save your PDF.

Formatting your text

When a text box is selected, the bar above the page shows its style. Every change applies immediately, and the same style is used for the next text you add.

  • Font — sans-serif and serif families for documents (including look-alikes of Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri and Cambria), monospaced fonts for numbers and codes, and three handwriting fonts.
  • Size — type any size from 4 to 200 points, or drag a corner handle and the font size follows.
  • Bold and italic — available for every font that has those styles.
  • Alignment — left, centered or right; useful for multi-line text such as an address block.
  • Color — pick one of the preset colors or any custom color.

Moving, copying and lining up text

Switch to Select (or press Esc) and drag a text box to move it. Pink alignment guides appear when its left edge, center or right edge lines up with other items or with the center of the page; hold Alt to move it freely. The arrow keys nudge the selected text by one point, or by ten with Shift.

To reuse a text box, press Ctrl+D to duplicate it, or Ctrl+C and then Ctrl+V on any page. Shift+click several boxes, or drag a selection rectangle around them, to move or delete them together.

Editing text you already added

Double-click a text box, or select it and press Enter, to change its words. Click outside the box when you are done. If you remove all the text, the box disappears.

Typing over existing content

To replace something printed in the PDF, the fastest way is the Edit text tool, which matches the original font, size and color for you. For areas that are not text — a stamp, a scribble, part of an image — cover them with Whiteout first and type on top.

Rotated pages and special characters

On rotated or landscape pages the text is typed upright, the way you see the page on screen, and stays upright in the saved file. Accented letters such as ą, č, é, ö, ł and ñ are supported, and so is Cyrillic in most fonts — the fonts are embedded in the PDF so the text looks the same in every reader.

Frequently asked questions

How do I type on a PDF?

Open the PDF in the editor, choose Text, click on the page and start typing. Download the PDF when you are done — the text is saved as real, selectable text.

Which fonts can I use?

26 fonts: the common document fonts as metric-compatible versions (Arimo for Arial and Helvetica, Tinos for Times New Roman, Carlito for Calibri, Caladea for Cambria, Gelasio for Georgia, Cousine for Courier New), popular families such as Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Inter, Noto Sans, Source Sans, PT Sans, Montserrat, Poppins, Raleway, Nunito, Noto Serif, PT Serif, EB Garamond, Lora and Playfair Display, Roboto Mono, and three handwriting fonts (Caveat, Dancing Script, Great Vibes). They support accented Latin letters and Cyrillic.

Can I change text that is already in the PDF?

Yes, with the Edit text tool: click a line of the original text and retype it. See the guide to editing PDF text.

Can I paste text from another app?

Yes. Copy text anywhere, click on the page in the editor and press Ctrl+V. It is added as a new text box in the middle of the visible page.

Is it free and private?

Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark, and the PDF is edited in your browser without being uploaded.

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