How to Add Text, Notes and a Signature to a PDF

To add text or a signature to a PDF without printing it, open the PDF in an overlay editor such as ToolMany's PDF Editor, choose the Text or Sign tool, click where you want it on the page, and export a new PDF. The original wording of the document is not changed; your additions sit on top of the page, like writing on paper with a pen.

That last point matters more than it sounds, so this guide covers both the "how" and the "what you should know before you send it".

Three jobs people usually mean by "editing a PDF"

"Edit a PDF" covers very different tasks, and they need different tools:

If your task is in the first two rows, an overlay editor is quick and free. If it is in the last two, read the section on limits first.

Step by step: filling in and signing a PDF

1. Open the PDF

Open the PDF Editor and import your file. The editor reads it in your browser and turns each page into a background you can annotate. Nothing is uploaded.

2. Type into the blanks

Choose Text, click on the line where the answer goes, and type. Then:

• match the size of the printed text around it, so your answers look like they belong;
• drag the box so the text sits on the line rather than across it;
• use plain black or dark blue; bright colours look odd on official forms.

3. Highlight, underline or strike through

For review notes, use Highlight, Underline or Strike over the words you are commenting on. Add a short Text note in the margin if the reason is not obvious. A reviewer reading on a phone will thank you for keeping notes short.

4. Add your signature

You have two options:

• Draw it with the Sign tool directly on the page, using a mouse, finger or stylus.
• Place an image of your signature with the Image tool. A transparent PNG made with the Signature Maker looks the most natural, because it has no white box around it.

Resize it so it fits the signature line. On an A4 or Letter page, a signature about 4 to 6 cm wide looks normal. Add the date with the Text tool if the form asks for one.

5. Export and check

Choose an export quality. Web/Email gives the smallest file, while Print and High-Res are sharper and larger. Then export and open the new PDF. Check every page you touched: nothing misplaced, nothing cut off at the edges.

What an overlay editor cannot do (and why it matters)

It does not change the original text

If the PDF says "Total: $1,200" and you type "$1,500" on top, the original text is still there underneath in the source file. For anything where the underlying wording matters, such as contracts, prices or official letters, change the source document and export a new PDF instead.

Covering is not redacting

Drawing a black box over a number hides it on screen, but that is not the same as removing it. Redaction software deletes the text and image data under the box. If you need to share a document with sensitive details removed, use software with a real redaction feature, then check the result by trying to select and copy the hidden area.

Text may stop being searchable

Because imported pages become images in this editor, the exported PDF behaves more like a scan: you may not be able to select or search the original text in it. Keep your original file if you will need to copy text from it later. You can still get text out of the original with PDF to Text.

An image signature is not a digital certificate

A drawn or pasted signature shows intent, and many everyday agreements accept it. It does not prove who signed or detect later edits the way a certificate-based digital signature does. Our signature guide explains when each is appropriate.

A worked example: a school permission slip

A parent receives a one-page PDF permission slip with blank lines for the child's name, class, emergency phone number and a signature.

1. Open the slip in the editor.
2. Use Text for the name and class, at roughly the same size as the printed labels.
3. Type the phone number on its line and double-check every digit, since this is the part that matters if something goes wrong.
4. Place a signature PNG on the signature line and type the date beside it.
5. Export at Web/Email quality, which keeps a one-page form small enough to attach to any school email.

The whole thing takes about two minutes and needs no printer or scanner.

Tips that save time

• Fill forms before merging. If you are sending several documents together, complete each one first, then combine them with Merge PDF.
• Check the file size. Exports at high quality can be several times larger than the original. If an email bounces, export again at Web/Email or check the size with the PDF Optimizer.
• Mark drafts clearly. For a document that is still under discussion, a diagonal DRAFT watermark from the watermark tool prevents confusion with the final version.
• Keep the original. Save your annotated copy under a new name, such as Lease_signed_2026-10-22.pdf.