How to type on a PDF and add text anywhere

Four ways to add text to a PDF

A quick test tells you where to start: open the PDF and click a blank. If a cursor appears, the form is fillable. If nothing happens, place your text with a Text tool instead.

• Type into form fields: fillable forms have fields built in. Click one and a cursor appears.
• Place text on the page: for flat forms and scans, which have no fields, a Text tool puts your words exactly where you click. This is how most people fill in a form that isn't fillable.
• Add a text box as a comment: a comment stays separate from the page, so it can be moved, edited or deleted later in any PDF reader. It suits review notes and feedback.
• Add or change content: a PDF editor adds text in the font you choose, or changes the words that are already on the page.

How to type on a PDF form in PDFZyro

Text you place with the Text tool becomes part of the page when you save, so it looks the same in every PDF reader and can't be dragged around like a comment.

1. 1Create a free PDFZyro account, open Fill forms on the Home page and choose the PDF from your documents, or upload it. If the document is already open, click Fill & Sign.
2. 2If the form has fields, click into the first one and type. Press Tab to move to the next field.
3. 3If the form is flat, look for the dashed boxes. PDFZyro finds blank lines, empty boxes and labels such as Name: with room after them. Click one and type.
4. 4To type anywhere else, choose the Text tool (or press T) and click where the text goes. Choose the text size, and black, blue or red.
5. 5Use Check mark, Cross or Dot for boxes, and the Date tool to add today's date in the format you choose.
6. 6Click Save. The filled-in PDF is saved as a new version, with the blank form kept in the history, and you can download it.

How to add text to a PDF with Edit PDF

Use Edit PDF when the text should look like part of the document, in a font you choose, or when you need to change words that are already there.

1. 1Open Edit PDF on the Home page and choose the PDF, or click Edit on an open document.
2. 2Choose Add text (or press T), click where the text should go and type.
3. 3In the properties panel, choose Sans, Serif or Mono, the size, bold or italic, the alignment and the colour. Drag the text to move it.
4. 4To change existing words, choose Edit text & select (or press V), click the line, type your change and press Enter.
5. 5Click Save (or press Ctrl+S, or Command-S on a Mac). The edited PDF is saved as a new version.

How to add a text box comment

For notes to someone else, such as a question in a contract or a correction in a draft, use a comment instead. Open Comment on the Home page or on an open document, choose Text box (or press T), click or drag on the page and type. Choose the text size and colour. Callout adds a text box with a line that points at what you're talking about, and Sticky note adds a small note icon that opens when clicked.

Click Save to keep the comments as a new version. They stay editable, so people reviewing the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview or another reader can reply to them or remove them. To fix them in place, flatten the PDF.

Typing on a scanned PDF

A scan is a picture of a page, so there are no fields to click and no words for a computer to read. Choose the Text tool in Fill & Sign and click where each answer goes; with Select, you can move anything you placed to line it up.

To change the words in a scan rather than add to them, make it searchable first with Make searchable (OCR). The recognized lines can then be changed in Edit PDF like any other text.

Other free ways to type on a PDF

• Adobe Acrobat Reader: the free Reader fills in fillable fields, and its Fill & Sign tool adds text anywhere on the page.
• Preview on a Mac: type into fillable fields directly, or use the Text tool in the Markup toolbar to add a text box.
• Microsoft Edge and Firefox: their built-in PDF viewers can add text to a page. Download or save the PDF afterwards so your text is kept.
• iPhone and iPad: the Markup tool in apps such as Files and Mail can add text to a PDF.

Tips for typing on a PDF

• Zoom in before you place text, so it sits neatly on the line rather than across it.
• Match the size of the form's own text, and use black or blue for official forms.
• Keep the blank original. In PDFZyro, every save is a new version, so the empty form is still in the history.
• If the answers shouldn't change, tick Flatten the form when you finish filling in a fillable form.
• Check every page before you send the PDF, especially the last one, which often asks for a signature and date.