How to Edit a PDF on iPhone, Android, Mac or Chromebook

The short answer

Every phone and laptop can already mark up a PDF: draw on it, highlight it, sign it, and usually fill in a form. What the built-in apps don’t do is change the words that are already printed in the file. For that, open Edit PDF in the browser you already have, choose the file, tap a line of text and type over it, then tap Download PDF. The file is opened and saved inside the browser tab. It is not uploaded.

The rest of this guide covers what each platform’s own tools can do, so you know when you need something else, and how the editor works on a touch screen.

What the built-in apps can do

Device	Built-in app	Fill a form	Sign	Change existing text
iPhone and iPad	Markup (in Mail, Messages, Photos and other apps)	Add text on top	Yes	Not covered by Apple’s guide
Mac	Preview	Yes, or add a text box	Yes	Not covered by Apple’s guide
Android	Google Drive	Yes, if the form allows it	Freehand only	Not covered by Google’s guide
Chromebook	Gallery	Yes	Yes (freehand)	Not covered by Google’s guide

iPhone and iPad

Apple’s Markup tools give you a pen, highlighter and pencil, an eraser, and an Add button for text, shapes and a signature. Apple’s own example of signing a PDF goes through Mail: attach the PDF, tap it, tap Markup, then tap the plus button “to add a signature, text, and more.”

Text you add with Markup sits on top of the page. It is fine for writing in a blank or signing a line. It won’t swap a misspelled name or an old date that is already part of the document.

Mac

Preview fills in real form fields: Apple’s guide says to “click a field in the form, then type your text.” When a PDF has no fields, “you can add a text box instead.” Signatures can be captured with the trackpad, the Mac’s camera, or an iPhone or iPad. For most forms, that’s all you need.

Android

In the Google Drive app, open the PDF, tap Edit at the bottom right, choose Form Filling, type your answers and tap Save. Google notes that if you don’t see the option, “you may not be able to fill out this PDF.” That usually means a flat form, one that only looks like a form when printed.

Drive also has a pen (or marker), a highlighter and an eraser for freehand notes. That feature needs Android 6.0 or later.

Chromebook

PDFs open in the Gallery app by default. Google lists what it can do: fill out PDF forms, add text annotations, add highlights, and sign “with free-hand annotations.” Press Save at the top right, or use the arrow next to it to save a new copy. The Chrome browser’s own PDF viewer can’t add text annotations, so use Gallery for that.

Google adds two warnings worth repeating. Signatures in Gallery are for convenience and don’t provide “signature verification or security.” And drawing over something only covers it: “You can still access the underlying images or text.”

When you need more than the built-in tools

Reach for a full editor when you need to:

• Change words already in the PDF, such as a name, an amount or a date, so the old text is gone rather than covered.
• Find and replace a word on every page at once.
• Fill a flat form, where there are printed boxes but no fields to tap.
• White out text for real, so it can’t be selected or copied afterwards.

Edit PDF does all four in the browser. When you download, an edited line is deleted from the page and the new words are written in its place. Text under a white-out box is deleted too, though pictures and drawings under the box are only covered. For more on that difference, see the FAQ on the editor page.

Using the editor on a phone or tablet

The steps are the same on iPhone, iPad and Android.

1. Open the page. Go to Edit PDF in Safari or Chrome.
2. Choose the file. Tap the drop area and pick the PDF from Files, Downloads or a cloud drive.
3. Pick a tool from the bar at the bottom. It has five buttons: Select, Edit, Annotate, Fill & Sign and More. Each one opens a sheet of tools.
   • Edit: change or add text, add an image, add a link, or white out.
   • Annotate: highlight words, highlighter pen, underline, strikethrough, draw, eraser and sticky notes.
   • Fill & Sign: fill form fields, add a signature or initials (drawn, typed or photographed), today’s date, and ✓, ✗ or ● marks.
   • More: find and replace, and the list of keyboard shortcuts.
4. Move around. Swipe to scroll, and pinch or use the zoom buttons to zoom. Drag an item to move it, or drag a handle to resize it. Long-press an item for its menu (comment, duplicate, bring to front, send to back, delete).
5. Finish typing by tapping outside the text box. Undo and Redo buttons are there if you slip.
6. Tap Download PDF. Your browser saves the edited copy like any other download.

Pages are drawn as they scroll into view, which keeps long documents light on memory. Very large scans can still be slow on older phones. If that happens, try a laptop, or split the file first with Split PDF.

Where the downloaded file goes

• iPhone and iPad: Apple says downloads are in the Downloads folder in the Files app. Open Files, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive, then Downloads.
• Android: Chrome saves to your default download location. Google says to open the Files app to find them, or open Chrome’s menu and tap Downloads.
• Mac (Safari): Click the Show Downloads button near the top right of the Safari window to see the file. The save folder is set in Safari, Settings, General, under “File download location.”
• Chromebook: Google says files are saved to your Downloads folder by default, unless you’ve chosen another location.

Using the editor on a Mac or Chromebook

On a laptop, the toolbar sits above the pages instead of at the bottom. It has the same groups: Edit, Annotate, Shapes and Fill & Sign, plus Select. Click a line to rewrite it, or an empty spot to add text, then press Download PDF.

Keyboard shortcuts work once the editor has focus. T is text, W is whiteout, Y highlights text, and Ctrl+F opens find and replace. Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z undoes. Press ? to see the full list.

Which to use

If all you need is a signature or a few answers in a fillable form, the app already on your device is quick and works fine. When the job is fixing words that are already printed in the document, replacing a word everywhere, or filling a form that has no fields, use Edit PDF in your browser. Then check the downloaded copy before you send it.