How to edit a PDF for free: what you can change and what you can't
Updated 2026-09-30
- Open Edit PDF and add your file. It opens as a full document with a toolbar.
- Pick a tool, then click or drag on the page: text, picture, shape, highlight, drawing, tick, link or signature.
- Move things by dragging, resize them with the corner squares, and change colours and fonts in the panel on the right.
- Press Finish and download. Open the file once to check it.
Why you can't retype the words that are already there
A PDF does not keep paragraphs. It keeps marks placed at exact positions on the page, and the words you see are not joined into sentences you can edit. Programs that let you retype PDF text have to guess how the marks fit together, and they often get it wrong. The Edit PDF tool does not guess: it adds your changes on top of the page.
Fixing a typo
- Choose Whiteout and drag over the wrong word to cover it.
- Choose Text and click on the white box. Type the right word.
- Match the size: set the font size in the panel until it looks like the text around it.
Whiteout hides the old word but does not delete it. Anyone who selects the text or edits the file can still find it. Do not use whiteout to hide private information.
Other jobs
- Fill in a form: Fill PDF form.
- Add a signature: how to sign a PDF without printing.
- Put pages in order or remove some first: Organize PDF pages.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it really free?
- Yes. There is no account and no watermark.
- Is my PDF uploaded?
- No. The editor runs in your browser.
- Can I edit a scanned PDF?
- You can add text, pictures, highlights and a signature on top of a scan. The scan is a picture, so its words can't be changed, and there is no text recognition (OCR) yet.