Edit text in a PDF
Fix a typo, a wrong date, a misspelled name or an old address in the PDF's own text. Tap the line, retype it, download. No Word conversion, no sign-up.
Runs in your browser. Your PDF is never uploaded. No sign-up, no watermark.
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How to change existing text in a PDF
- Open the PDF above. "Edit existing text" is already selected.
- Tap the text you want to change. The line it belongs to opens for editing with its words selected.
- Type the correction. Size and position are copied from the original; adjust font or colour in the toolbar if needed.
- Tap elsewhere to finish, then Download PDF.
Nothing happens when you tap? That page is probably a scan (a photo of paper). Use Whiteout + Text, or extract the scan's text with AI.
What this can and can't change
| Change | Works here? |
|---|---|
| A word, number, date or name in a line | Yes: tap and retype |
| A whole line or heading | Yes |
| Adding a sentence that makes the paragraph longer | Partly: the rest of the paragraph won't move down |
| Re-flowing paragraphs, changing columns or layout | No: edit the source file and export again |
| Text in a scanned page | Cover + retype, or scan to text |
| Removing confidential text for good | Redact, not edit |
The reason for the limits: a PDF stores each run of text as glyphs at fixed coordinates rather than as a flowing paragraph. The guide to editing PDFs shows those layers in an interactive demo.
Tips for an invisible correction
- Keep the length similar. A replacement much longer than the original runs past the white cover; shorten it or reduce the size by one step.
- Match the colour. Body text is usually black (#111); headings in branded documents may be a colour. Pick it before you type.
- Zoom in with + to check the cover box hides every pixel of the old word, especially descenders like g and y.
- Re-check numbers in totals or tables: changing one figure doesn't recalculate anything else.
Questions people ask
Can I edit the existing text in a PDF for free?
Yes, word by word or line by line. Choose "Edit existing text", tap the text, and retype it. The editor covers the old line in white and writes your version on top at the same position and size. It does not re-flow whole paragraphs; for that, edit the original Word or Docs file.
Why doesn't the new text match the font exactly?
The PDF only embeds the glyphs it used, often under a renamed font, so no browser editor can reuse them reliably for new words. PDF Notepad picks the closest standard face (Helvetica, Times or Courier) and the original size. For a single changed word in body text, the difference is rarely noticeable.
How do I edit text in a scanned PDF?
A scan is a picture with no text in it, so there is nothing to tap. Use Whiteout over the old words and Text to type new ones, or open the Scan to text panel to have an AI vision model transcribe the page so you can copy and reuse it.
Is the edited text real, searchable text?
Yes for Latin script: it is written as real PDF text you can select and search. The covered original is hidden by the white box but still in the file, so use Redact if the old text is confidential.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Tap a line with Edit existing text and the phone keyboard opens with the old text selected.
Other things you can do here
- Edit PDFThe full editor: text, drawing, marks, images.
- Sign PDFDraw, type or upload a signature.
- Fill PDF formType into fillable fields, or onto flat forms.
- Annotate PDFHighlight, draw and pin comments.
- PDF notesA notepad beside each page, saved locally.
- Scanned PDF to textAI OCR for scans and photos.
- Add link to PDFMake words or images clickable.
- Add text to PDFType anywhere, in three fonts.
- Add image to PDFPlace a logo, stamp or photo.
- Redact PDFRemove sensitive text for real.