Guide
How to Edit a PDF for Free: Add Text, Images and Fix Mistakes
You can edit most PDFs for free in your browser: open the file in a PDF editor, use the Text tool to type anywhere on the page, Whiteout to cover something you want to replace, Image to add a logo or photo, and Highlight or Draw to mark it up. Then save and download. What you can’t easily do for free is rewrite the original text layer, but covering and retyping handles most small fixes.
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Edit PDFs free: add text, images, shapes, highlights, drawings and signatures.
Runs in your browser. No upload, no sign-up.
What you can (and can’t) change in a PDF
PDFs were designed to look the same everywhere, not to be edited. Text is positioned letter by letter, so changing a word inside a paragraph means re-flowing everything after it, which is what paid tools like Acrobat do. Free browser editors work differently: they add a new layer on top of the page.
| Task | Free editor? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Add text or fill a form | Yes | Text tool: click and type |
| Fix a typo | Yes | Whiteout over the word, then type the correction |
| Add a logo, photo or stamp | Yes | Image tool |
| Highlight, underline, draw | Yes | Highlight and Draw tools |
| Sign | Yes | Sign tool or Sign PDF |
| Delete or reorder pages | Yes | Delete PDF Pages or Organize PDF |
| Rewrite a whole paragraph | Not really | Edit the original Word/Docs file and export again |
Step by step: edit a PDF in your browser
- Open the PDF Editor and add your PDF.
- Pick Text, click where you want to type, and enter your text in the panel. Choose the font, size and color to match the document.
- To replace something, choose Whiteout, drag over it, then add new text on top.
- Use Image for logos and stamps, Highlight for passages, and Draw or Shape for marks and boxes.
- Switch to Select to move, resize or delete anything you added. Press Ctrl/⌘+Z to undo.
- Click Save edited PDF and download.
Matching the original font
Most business documents use a sans-serif font like Arial or Helvetica. Choose Sans and set the size by eye; 10–12 pt is typical for body text.
Whiteout is not redaction
Whiteout hides content visually, but the original text is still inside the file. Anyone can copy it or remove the white box with the right software. Never use whiteout to hide passwords, account numbers or personal data. Proper redaction tools permanently delete the underlying text.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a scanned PDF?
Yes, you can add text, images and signatures on top of scanned pages. To edit the scanned words themselves you’d first need OCR, for example with Image to Text.
Why can’t I type special characters?
The standard PDF fonts support Latin letters, numbers and common punctuation. Emoji and non-Latin scripts aren’t supported yet.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. FaaTools edits PDFs entirely in your browser, so your document never leaves your device.
Tools used in this guide
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