How to edit a PDF on an iPhone

Option 1: Markup, built into the iPhone

Open a PDF in the Files app, or tap one in Mail or Messages, and the pen-tip button opens Markup. It draws, highlights, adds a text box or a signature, and on recent versions of iOS it fills in PDF forms: tap a field and type.

1. 1

   Open the PDF and tap the Markup button

   In Files, open the PDF and tap the pen-tip button. In Mail or Messages, tap the attachment first, then the same button.

2. 2

   Add what you need

   Tap the plus button for a text box or a signature, or pick a pen or highlighter and draw. A form with real fields takes typing straight into the field.

3. 3

   Tap Done

   In Files the changes are saved into the PDF. From Mail, the marked-up copy is attached to a reply, so the original message keeps the original file.

Markup is enough for a signature, a form or a note in the margin. It cannot edit the existing text: a text box sits on top, and a pen stroke over a word only draws over it. The word is still in the file, and still comes up in a search.

Option 2: The peadf app for iPhone

peadf's app puts the same PDF editor as the website on the phone. Its Tools tab has Edit PDF, Remove Text, Whiteout, Redact, Fill Form, Add Text, Replace Image and Edit Scanned PDF, and they run on the phone itself, offline, so the file is not uploaded to edit it. From Files, Mail or any share sheet, choose Open in peadf and the PDF lands on the Tools tab.

Tap a line of text and retype it. The original font, size and colour are kept and the paragraph re-wraps. A photographed or scanned page offers OCR first, so its text can be edited too. Editing is free; saving or sharing the result needs a plan, the same rule as on the website.

Option 3: The editor in Safari, on an iPhone or iPad

No app needed: peadf's PDF text editor runs in Safari on an iPhone or an iPad. The file opens in the browser tab and is never uploaded. On an iPad with a keyboard it feels much like the desktop editor; on a phone, zoom in with two fingers to work on one line at a time.

1. 1

   Open the editor in Safari

   Go to the editor page, tap the file area and pick the PDF from Files, iCloud Drive or a recent download.

2. 2

   Tap a line and retype it

   With Select, tap any line of text and edit it. Pinch to zoom in on small print.

3. 3

   Add anything new

   Use Add Text for new text, Check for boxes, Signature to sign, and Redact for anything private.

4. 4

   Export

   Editing is free with no sign-up. Downloading the edited PDF needs a free account and starts at 99p for your first week. The download goes to Files, where you can share it from.

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