Add Text to PDF
Add text to PDF anywhere on the page, in Arabic or English.
Add text to PDF files and write wherever you need. Type your words, click the page to put them where you want, and drag them until they sit right. Arabic is drawn joined and from the right, and a line that mixes Arabic with English or numbers keeps each part where you read it. The text is added as real text rather than a picture, so it can still be selected and searched. It works on scanned pages too, since the writing sits on top of them.
- Free, no sign-up
- Files never leave your device
- Up to 100 MB per file
Drop a PDF file here
or
Up to 100 MB per file. Your files stay on your device.
Your file stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
What next
- Zoom in on each answer in the saved file and check it sits on its line rather than across it.
- If the filled-in file needs a signature, add it with Sign PDF before sending.
Step-by-step guide: How to Fill Out a PDF Form That Has No Fillable Fields
How to add text to a PDF
- 1
Click “Choose a PDF file” or drag your PDF into the box.
- 2
Type your text and choose the font, size and colour.
- 3
Click the page where the text belongs, then drag it to line it up.
- 4
Press “Save PDF with text”, then download your file.
How the text goes on the page
Type your words, then click the page: the text appears in a box that runs from where you clicked towards the right, 60% of the page wide or up to its edge, with long lines wrapping inside it, up to 5000 characters. The box you just placed stays picked, so typing changes it. For a second piece of text somewhere else, click that spot first: a copy of the last text appears there, and you type the new words over it.
Sizes run from 8 to 48 points, in six colours including white for dark backgrounds, lined up at the start, the middle or the end. What you type is saved as real text in the face you see, and only the characters you used are embedded. On a turned page the text follows the page as you see it, and nothing already on the page moves: your words sit on top.
Example: labelling a floor plan
For this example we drew a one-page sample floor plan, four rooms in outline with no words at all, the kind a builder or a letting agent might send. Each room needed its name and size before the plan went to the printer.
We typed “Kitchen 3.6 × 3.1 m” and clicked inside the kitchen, then clicked inside each other room and typed its label. The “×” and the decimal points come out exactly as typed, because the text is drawn in a face that has them, and the file grew from 816 bytes to 4.2 KB with the four labels.
Labels near each other can overlap on screen, since each box runs 60% of the page wide to the right of where you click. If a click lands on an earlier box, it picks that box instead of placing a new one; click a little lower, or drag the box once it is placed.
When another tool fits better
If the form has boxes you can click into, Fill a form types into the boxes themselves, so whoever receives it reads the answers as form answers. A line repeated on every page belongs in Header and footer. And to change words already in a document you made, use Edit PDF: writing on top here leaves the old words underneath.
When you would use it
Writing on a form that has no fillable boxes, which is most of what arrives by email.
Adding a reference number, a note or a date to a document before forwarding it.
Answering a scanned form in Arabic, where the letters have to join and the line has to run from the right.
Labelling a plan, a drawing or a photograph that someone else will print.
What to expect
What you type is added as real text, not a picture, so it can be selected, searched and copied afterwards, and it stays sharp at any zoom or on paper.
It goes on top of the page. The document’s own words do not move aside to make room, so to change words that are already there you want Edit PDF.
A scan is a picture, and that is fine here: you are writing over the page, not into it. This is the way to complete a scanned form.
Two font families are bundled, with bold and italic, in Latin and Arabic. An unusual font from the original document cannot be matched exactly.
Arabic, English and numbers on one line stay in the order you read them, which is worth checking in a preview if the line mixes all three.
Frequently asked questions
Can I type on a PDF online free, with no sign-up?
Yes. No sign-up, no daily limit, and no watermark on your file.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The text is added inside your browser, on your device. Your PDF is never sent to us or anyone else.
Can I add Arabic text to PDF files?
Yes, and this is the part most tools get wrong. The letters are joined, the line reads from the right, and a line that mixes Arabic with digits or English keeps each piece in the order you read it rather than reversing the numbers.
Which font is used for Arabic?
Each font here is really a pair: a Latin face and an Arabic one that sits well beside it. “Sans” uses Noto Sans with Noto Sans Arabic, and “Serif” uses Noto Serif with Amiri. A line with both scripts is drawn run by run, each in the face that suits it.
Is there an italic Arabic?
No. Arabic has no slanted face in these families, and leaning the letters over would look wrong rather than italic, so an Arabic run is drawn upright even when italic is ticked.
Will the text be selectable afterwards?
Yes. It is written as real text with the font embedded, so it can be selected, searched and copied like the rest of the document.
Will it look exactly like the preview?
Yes. The page you work on loads the same font files that get written into the PDF, so the shapes and the spacing you see are the ones you get.
Can I put text on several pages?
Yes. Move between pages with the arrows under the page; everything you have added is listed underneath with the page it is on.
Can I edit the text after saving?
Not here: once saved it is part of the page. Keep the list open and make your changes before you save. The Edit PDF tool can change text in a finished file.
How do I add a second piece of text without changing the first?
Click the new spot on the page first. A copy of the last text appears there in a new box, and then you type the new words. Typing always changes the box that is picked.
Can I cover a mistake with white text?
Don’t. White is for writing on a dark background; the word underneath stays in the file and can still be copied and found. To change a word in your own document, use Edit PDF; to remove something private, use Redact PDF.
How much bigger does the file get?
A few kilobytes. Only the characters you used are embedded, so four room labels added about 3.4 KB to a sample floor plan.
Why can’t I open my password-protected PDF?
Protected files are encrypted, so nothing can be added to them. Remove the password first, then open the file again.
Related tools
More Edit & sign PDF toolsGuides
- How to Fill Out a PDF Form That Has No Fillable FieldsThe form arrived as a PDF, but you can't click into any box. How to tell why, and how to fill it in on screen for free, including scans and Arabic.
- How to Sign a PDF on Your Phone: iPhone and Android, Step by StepSign a PDF on your iPhone or Android phone in a few minutes, with no app and no account: open the file, draw your signature with a finger, place it, save.
- Why Can't I Select or Edit the Text in My PDF? Scanned PDFs ExplainedCan't select, copy or edit the words in a PDF? It is usually a scan. How to tell, why it happens, and what you can still do with the file, for free.