How to make a PDF editable

Make a PDF editable with Quick PDF

1. Open Quick PDF Go to quickpdfapp.com in your browser and sign in with Google or email.
2. Load the PDF into the editor Choose Edit PDF and pick your file from Downloads, Files or Finder. It opens on your device inside the browser.
3. Check what kind of page it is Tap Edit text and tap a line. If the line becomes editable, the PDF has real text. If nothing happens, the page is a scanned image.
4. Edit real text in place For real text, retype the selected line and match it with Sans, Serif or Mono, size, colour and Bold.
5. Type on flat pages and scans Use Add text to tap anywhere and type. On scans, cover old words with White-out first, then type over the white area.
6. Download the edited PDF Tap Download or Share. If the file had form fields, you can choose Flatten form to lock the answers or keep the form fillable.

Open Edit PDF

Three kinds of PDF, three ways to edit

1. A PDF with real text

Made from Word, Google Docs, a website or an accounting program. You can select single words. Use Edit text to change lines and Add text to add new ones.

2. A fillable form

Has boxes you can click into, checkboxes and dropdowns. It is already editable; open it with Fill PDF form and type into the fields.

3. A scanned or photographed page

The whole page is a picture. Nothing selects. Use White-out to cover what you want to change and Add text to type on top. This also works for flat forms with lines but no boxes (see how to fill out a non-fillable PDF).

Why converting a PDF into a Word file often goes wrong

The usual advice is to convert the PDF into a Word document, edit it, and save it back as a PDF. It sometimes works for plain letters, but PDFs store each line at an exact position rather than as flowing paragraphs. Converters have to guess where paragraphs, columns and tables begin, so forms, invoices and designed documents often come out with shifted lines, odd fonts and broken tables.

Quick PDF does not convert to Word. It edits the PDF as it is, so the layout never moves. If you really need the content in Word, for example to rewrite several pages, the original source document is the cleanest starting point, and the sender may be able to share it.

Making a PDF fillable vs. editable

These sound alike but are different jobs:

• Editable means you can change or add text yourself. Any PDF can be edited this way with the steps above.
• Fillable means the file contains form fields other people can click into. Creating new form fields is a form-building task. Quick PDF fills existing fields but does not add new ones.

If you just need to complete a form that has no boxes, you do not need to make it fillable. Typing on it with Add text gives the same printed result.

When a PDF is restricted

Some PDFs are protected by whoever made them:

• A password to open the file. If you know it, use Unlock to remove it, then edit as normal. Unlock does not work without the password and does not crack it.
• Restrictions set by the sender on editing or copying. If a file will not let you work with it, the right step is to ask the sender for an unrestricted copy.

More reasons a file refuses edits are in why can't I edit my PDF.

Problems after editing

• The edited text does not match exactly. Quick PDF offers Sans, Serif and Mono rather than the document's own font. Pick the closest and adjust the size by a step.
• Someone can still find the old words. Edit text covers old words but keeps them underneath. Use Redact for anything private.
• The form boxes disappeared. You chose Flatten form or merged the file with others. Keep a copy that is not flattened if the form needs more changes later.

Questions people ask