Guide
How to edit a PDF on a Mac
Every Mac can change a PDF in Preview: fill in a form, add a text box, sign it, highlight or draw. What Preview cannot do is change the words already on the page. For that you can convert the PDF into a document and rewrite it, which loses the layout, or use a real PDF editor in Safari, which keeps it. All three routes are below, with what each one can and cannot change.
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Edit a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
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Option 1: Preview (add things on top)
Preview comes with every Mac and opens PDFs by default. Its Markup tools are for adding to a page: a text box, a signature, a shape, a highlight or a drawing. Many PDF forms can also be filled in by clicking a field and typing.
- 1
Show the Markup toolbar
Open the PDF in Preview and choose View > Show Markup Toolbar, or click the pen-tip button at the top of the window.
- 2
Add text, a signature or a shape
Click Text to place a text box and type into it. The signature button on the same toolbar lets you sign with the trackpad or the camera, and the shapes menu draws boxes, arrows and circles.
- 3
Fill in a form
If the PDF has real form fields, click one and type. Tick boxes with a click.
- 4
Save a copy
Choose File > Export as PDF so the original stays untouched. Saving straight over the file works too, but there is no going back.
Preview is good for forms, signatures and notes. What it cannot do is edit the existing text: Text adds a new box on top, so to fix a typo you would have to cover the old word with a white shape and type over it, in a font that will not match. Our guide to whiting out a PDF on a Mac shows that route and its catches.
Option 2: Convert it and rewrite (Google Docs or Word)
Upload the PDF to Google Drive, right-click it and open it with Google Docs, and you get a document you can rewrite freely, then download as a PDF again. Recent versions of Word for Mac can do the same from File > Open, with a warning that the file will be converted.
The catch is the conversion. Both rebuild the layout from scratch, so columns, tables, spacing, fonts and images often move, and the more designed the PDF, the worse it gets. It is a sensible route for a plain letter you want to rewrite from top to bottom, and a frustrating one for a brochure, a form, a menu or a CV. Google Docs also means uploading the file.
Option 3: Edit the existing text in Safari
A browser editor needs nothing installed and works the same on any Mac. peadf's PDF editor without Acrobat reads the real text in the file, so you click a line and retype it. The original embedded font, size and colour are kept, and the paragraph re-wraps as you add or cut words. The PDF opens in your browser tab, in Safari, Chrome or Firefox, and is never uploaded.
- 1
Open the PDF in your browser
Drop the file into the editor, or pick it from the Finder.
- 2
Click a line and retype it
With Select, click any line of text and edit it. Cmd+F finds and replaces a word across every page.
- 3
Add anything new
Use Add Text for new text, Check for boxes, Signature to sign, and Redact for anything private.
- 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.
Which option fits your job
| Job | Best route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fill in a form or tick boxes | Preview, or fill PDF form | Both type into real form fields |
| Fix a typo or change a date | Browser editor | Edits the word in place, in the original font |
| Rewrite most of a plain letter | Google Docs or Word | Full word processing, and a simple layout survives conversion |
| Sign a PDF | Preview, or sign PDF | Signing is free in both |
| Remove confidential details | Preview's Redact tool on a recent macOS, or redact PDF | A white shape only covers the text; check the output either way |
| Edit a scanned letter | Edit scanned PDF | Preview has no OCR, so a scan stays a picture there |
Questions people ask
Can Preview edit the text in a PDF?
No. Preview adds text boxes, shapes, signatures and highlights on top of the page and fills in form fields, but the words already in the PDF cannot be selected and retyped. To change them you need a PDF editor.
Does a Mac have a built-in PDF editor?
Preview is the built-in tool, and for marking up, signing and filling in forms it is all most people need. For changing existing text it is not an editor, and Pages cannot open a PDF at all.
Why does my PDF look different after converting it in Google Docs or Word?
Because neither edits the PDF. Both convert it into a document, rebuilding the layout as best they can, then save a brand new PDF. Fonts the PDF used may not be installed on your Mac, and complex layouts rarely convert cleanly.
Can I edit a scanned PDF on a Mac?
A scan is a picture of text, so Preview cannot change it. Google Docs and Word will read the words out of it as they convert, which gives you the text but not the page. To edit the page itself it needs OCR first. See our guide on making a scanned PDF editable.
Do I need Adobe Acrobat on a Mac?
Not for most jobs. Preview covers forms, signatures and notes for free, and a browser editor changes the existing text without installing anything. Acrobat still has its place for print production and some corporate workflows.
Tools for this job
Edit a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
Full PDF editing, no Adobe, no install.
Edit existing text in a PDF
Retype text; fonts and layout are kept.
Fill in a PDF form online
Type into fields, tick boxes, pick options.