How to Add a Text Box to a PDF
To add a text box to a PDF, click where the text should go on the page and type. PDFDEN's free tool to add text to a PDF works on any page, including forms that have no fillable fields. It runs in your browser, so the document is never uploaded.
Add Text to PDF: Type anywhere on a PDF page. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open Add Text to PDFSteps
Open Add Text to PDF and drop in the PDF.
Go to the page you need and click on the preview where the text box should sit.
Type the text. Set the font, size and color so it matches the document.
Add more text boxes on the same page or others the same way.
Save and download the edited PDF.
How to type on a PDF that is not fillable
Many forms are just scanned paper or flat PDFs with lines to write on. There are no fields, so clicking does nothing in a normal viewer.
A text box solves that. Place one on each line, type the answer, and match the font size to the form. Zoom in on the preview to line text up with the printed boxes.
The tool supports Latin characters, which covers English and Western European languages. Characters outside that set will not display.
Adding text is not editing text
A text box adds new text on top of the page. It does not change words that are already in the PDF.
To cover an old value and write a new one, the old text is still in the file underneath. For anything sensitive, remove it properly with Redact PDF first, then add the new text. The guide on how to redact a PDF explains why covering is not removing.
Add Text to PDF: Type anywhere on a PDF page. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open Add Text to PDFHow to add text to a PDF on a Mac
Preview has a text tool. Open the PDF, show the Markup toolbar, click the Text tool (the "A" in a box), and a box appears on the page for you to type in. You can move it and change the font from the same toolbar.
Preview adds the text as an annotation, which some other apps display differently or let people move. Flattening fixes that in either case.
Finish the form: sign and lock it
Filled forms usually need a signature. Add one with Sign PDF, which lets you draw, type or upload it. Then run the file through Flatten PDF so the text and signature become part of the page and cannot be moved. For more text jobs, go back to the PDF text box tool at any point before flattening.
The guide on how to sign a PDF covers the signing step, including the difference between an electronic and a digital signature.
Make added text match the document
Text that looks pasted on draws attention. A few settings help it blend in:
- Font: most forms and letters use a plain sans or serif face. Pick the closest one.
- Size: match the printed text around it. Zoom in on the preview to compare.
- Color: dark gray or black for forms. Blue sometimes marks handwritten-style answers, if that is what the form asks for.
Place the box slightly above a printed line, not on it, so the text does not collide with the underline. For many fields on one form, set the font and size once and keep them the same for every text box you add with the add text tool.