How to edit a PDF

"Editing a PDF" can mean very different things, and the best method depends on what you're trying to change. Here's the honest landscape.

1. Adding text and annotations (easiest)

Most edits aren't really changing the original — they're adding on top: filling a form, initialling a clause, adding a note. You drop a new text box, image, or shape onto the page. This works on any PDF and is the fastest path. See adding text to a PDF.

2. Editing existing text (trickier)

Changing text that's already in the file is harder because, as explained in how PDFs work, there are no editable paragraphs — only positioned glyphs in a possibly-subsetted font. Tools can do it, but reflow is limited. For heavy rewrites, it's often cleaner to whiteout the old text and add a fresh text box.

3. Rearranging pages

Merging, splitting, rotating, cropping, reordering, and deleting pages is structural and very reliable. See merging, splitting, and rearranging pages.

4. Editing a scanned PDF

If your PDF is a scan, it's an image with no text to edit. Run OCR first to recognise the words, then annotate on top.

Cloud vs local editors

Many online editors upload your file to a server. If the document is sensitive, prefer a client-side editor that works in your browser. FreshPDF does all of the above locally — nothing leaves your device.