Edit PDF Online Free
Annotate, highlight, draw, and redact PDF files directly in your browser. No uploads, no account, no file size limit — your document never leaves your device.
Upload a PDF to start editing
Drag and drop here, or click to browse
Choose FileHow to Edit a PDF Online
- 1Click the drop zone or drag your PDF onto it. The file loads locally — nothing is sent to any server. Large PDFs may take a moment to render.
- 2Select a tool from the toolbar: text annotation, freehand draw, shapes, highlight, underline, image stamp, or redaction. Each tool has its own colour and size options in the properties panel.
- 3Click or draw on the page to place your annotation. Text annotations open an editable field; drawing tools follow your mouse or touch path; shape tools draw by dragging from corner to corner.
- 4Click any annotation to select it. Drag to reposition, or use the handles to resize. Press Delete or click the remove button to delete it. Press Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z to undo.
- 5When finished, click Download. All annotations are permanently embedded into a new PDF copy — open it in any viewer and the annotations appear without any special plugins.
What the PDF Editor Can Do
The editor supports a full set of annotation tools: text comments for labels and feedback, freehand drawing for signatures or sketches,shapes (rectangles, lines, circles) for diagramming, highlights and underlines for marking up documents, image stamps for logos or signatures, and redaction boxes for hiding sensitive content before sharing.
All annotations are flattened on export — drawn directly onto the page — so the downloaded PDF displays identically in Adobe Reader, Chrome, Preview, and any mobile PDF app. No special viewer or plugin is needed by the recipient.
Annotation Tools at a Glance
| Tool | What it does | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Text annotation | Places an editable text label anywhere on the page | Comments, form responses, labels |
| Freehand draw | Draws a free-form path following your cursor or touch | Signatures, arrows, circling areas |
| Shapes | Draws rectangles, lines, and circles by dragging | Diagrams, call-out boxes, emphasis |
| Highlight | Applies a semi-transparent colour over selected text or areas | Marking key passages, review |
| Underline | Draws a coloured line beneath a selected region | Emphasis, proofreading marks |
| Image stamp | Inserts an image (PNG, JPG) onto the page | Logo stamps, scanned signatures |
| Redaction | Covers an area with a solid black box in the exported PDF | Hiding sensitive data before sharing |
Tips for Editing PDFs Effectively
Download as You Go
The editor does not auto-save. Download a copy after each significant change so you have recovery points. Browser crashes or accidental tab closes will lose unsaved work.
Use Redaction for Sensitive Data
The redaction tool permanently covers content in the exported PDF with a black box. Use it to hide account numbers, names, addresses, or any private information before sharing a document.
Zoom In for Precision
Use the browser's zoom (Ctrl+= or Cmd+=) to magnify the page before placing text annotations or drawing. Fine positioning is much easier at higher zoom levels.
Add Text Over Forms
If a PDF form is not interactive, use the text annotation tool to type directly over form fields. Position your text annotation to align with the printed field lines.
Use Image Stamps for Signatures
Sign on paper, photograph or scan the signature, and save it as a PNG with a transparent background. Use the image stamp tool to place it on any document — faster and more precise than drawing freehand.
Split Large PDFs First
If you only need to annotate a few pages of a large document, split out those pages first using the PDF Splitter. Editing a smaller file is faster and uses less browser memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the PDF editor change my original file?
No. The tool works entirely in your browser's memory. Your original file on disk is never modified. All annotations exist only within the editor session until you click Download — which saves a new copy of the PDF with the annotations permanently embedded. If you close the tab without downloading, your work is lost and the original file is unchanged.
What types of annotations can I add?
The editor supports text annotations (comments and labels), freehand drawing, straight lines, rectangles and other shapes, highlights and underlines, image stamps, and black-box redactions. All annotations are rendered directly onto the page and exported as part of the PDF, so they display correctly in any PDF viewer without needing special software.
Will my annotations be visible in Adobe Acrobat and other PDF viewers?
Yes. When you download the edited PDF, all annotations are flattened — meaning they are drawn directly onto the page content rather than stored as separate annotation objects. This ensures every viewer, including Adobe Reader, Chrome's PDF viewer, Preview on macOS, and mobile apps, displays the annotations correctly. There is no dependency on the viewer supporting a specific annotation format.
Can I edit or delete existing text in the PDF?
No. The editor is an annotation tool, not a full word processor. You cannot change, move, or delete the original text and images that are already in the PDF. What you can do is add new content on top — text labels, shapes, highlights — and cover unwanted content with a redaction box. To change existing text, you would need a document editing application such as Adobe Acrobat Pro or Microsoft Word (after converting from PDF).
What does the redaction tool do?
The redaction tool draws a solid black rectangle over the selected area. In the downloaded PDF this becomes a permanent, opaque black box — the underlying content cannot be seen. This is useful for obscuring names, addresses, account numbers, or any other sensitive information before sharing a document. Note that the original text remains in the PDF structure beneath the black box; for truly permanent redaction of text-based PDFs, use a dedicated redaction tool that also removes the underlying text layer.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Everything happens locally in your browser. Your file bytes are loaded into memory using the browser's File API and processed using PDF.js and pdf-lib — both of which run entirely as JavaScript in your tab. Nothing is transmitted over the network. The tool works correctly with no internet connection after the page has loaded.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because files never leave your device. Performance depends on your browser and available RAM. PDFs under 50 MB load and render quickly on any modern device. Very large PDFs — 200+ pages or with many high-resolution images — may take a few seconds to load and could be slower when scrolling between pages. Splitting a large PDF before editing is a good option if performance is an issue.
Can I undo mistakes?
Yes. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Z (macOS) to undo the last action. You can undo multiple steps. There is currently no redo shortcut — if you undo too far, you will need to re-add the annotation. Download regularly as you work on long editing sessions to create intermediate save points.