How to Edit a PDF on a Mac for Free

Every Mac comes with a free PDF editor already installed: Preview. For most forms and signatures, it's all you need. Here's how to use it, plus a browser-based option for when you'd rather keep the original file untouched or use the same tool on other devices.

Option 1: Edit a PDF in Preview

  1. Open the PDF. Double-click it; PDFs open in Preview unless you've set another app.
  2. Fill in a form. Click a field and type. If the form won't let you type into it, show the Markup toolbar and add a text box instead, then drag it into place.
  3. Sign it. In the Markup toolbar, click the signature button and create a signature with your trackpad, your Mac's camera or your iPhone. Drag it onto the line and use the handles to resize it.
  4. Save. Preview saves your changes into the same file. If you want to keep the original as it was, make a copy first with File > Duplicate.

Apple's guide Fill out and sign PDF forms in Preview on Mac walks through each step.

Option 2: Edit a PDF in your browser

This works in Safari or Chrome on your Mac and leaves the original file untouched.

  1. Open an online PDF editor and choose your PDF, or drag it from Finder onto the page.
  2. Add text anywhere: press Add text, click on the page and type. Choose a font, size and colour, then drag the text into place.
  3. Fill in form fields by clicking them, and use ✓, ✗ and Date for tick boxes and today's date.
  4. Sign with Add signature: draw with your trackpad, type your name in a handwriting style, or use a photo of your signature.
  5. Change pages in Pages: rotate, delete, drag to reorder, add a blank page or add the pages of another PDF.
  6. Press Download edited PDF. The copy goes to your Downloads folder with "-edited" added to the name.

Made a mistake? Press ⌘Z to undo.

Which should you use?

  • Preview is already on your Mac and works without an internet connection.
  • The browser editor keeps your original file as it was, works the same on your iPhone or a Windows PC, and needs no account. The PDF is opened and saved in your browser rather than uploaded.

Either way, you don't need to pay for a PDF editor to fill in, sign or tidy up a PDF on a Mac.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Edit a PDF for Free (No Acrobat Needed)

You don't need Adobe Acrobat to edit a PDF. A free editor in your browser can add text, sign, fill in forms and rearrange pages, on a computer or on your phone. Here's how, step by step. What you can change in a PDF With a free online PDF editor you can: add text anywhere on a page: a name, a date, a note, an answer on a form sign it with your own signature fill in form fields : text boxes, checkboxes, dropdowns add a picture , like a logo or a stamp mark it up with a highlighter, a pen, arrows, boxes and circles, ticks and crosses rotate, delete, reorder or add pages , including pages from another PDF One thing this editor doesn't do is change the text that's already in the PDF, like rewording a paragraph. More on that below. How to edit a PDF, step by step 1. Open your PDF. Go to a free online PDF editor and choose your file, or drag it onto the page. Files up to 100 MB work. If the PDF has a password, it asks for it. 2. Add text. Press Add text , click o...
Read more

How to print an ID card front and back on one page

Image
ID cards are 85.60 × 53.98 mm. Print dialogs default to “fit to page”. Put those two facts together and your copy comes out oversized. There is a small errand almost everyone runs eventually: an office wants a copy of both sides of your ID card on a single sheet of paper. A bank, a landlord, a university, a visa centre, an employer. The instruction is always short — "both sides, one page" — and it sounds like the easiest thing in the world. Then the copy comes back rejected, and nobody tells you why. Often it is not the photograph at all. It is the size. Identity cards have an exact size, and the person checking knows it Almost every national identity card in the world is the same physical object: 85.60 × 53.98 mm . That is a real standard — ID-1, the same format as the bank card in your wallet. Aadhaar, the Spanish DNI, the Vietnamese CCCD, the Indonesian KTP, most driving licences: if your card is the same size as a credit card, it is an ID-1 card. You do not need to rememb...
Read more

How to Sign a PDF for Free (Draw, Type or Use a Photo of Your Signature)

Someone has sent you a PDF to sign: a lease, a permission slip, an offer letter. You don't need to print it, sign it with a pen and scan it back. You can sign it in your browser, for free. How to sign a PDF, step by step 1. Open the PDF. Go to a free tool to sign a PDF online and choose your file. 2. Press Add signature. You have three ways to make your signature: Draw it with your finger (on a phone or tablet) or with your mouse or trackpad. Type your name and it's shown in a handwriting style. Use a photo of your signature. Sign a sheet of plain white paper, take a close-up photo, and pick that photo. 3. Place it. Drag the signature onto the signature line. Pull its corner to make it bigger or smaller so it fits the line. 4. Add the date. Press Date to add today's date next to your signature. If the form asks for your printed name as well, press Add text , click on the line and type it. 5. Download. Press Download edited PDF . You get a signed copy with ...
Read more