How to write on a PDF

To write on a PDF, open it at pdfviewer.work and either click Text to type on the page or click Draw to write by hand with a mouse, trackpad, finger or Apple Pencil. Click Download and the writing is saved into a new copy. It works on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad and Android without installing anything.

Write on a PDF: type or draw, in four steps

1. Open the PDF by dropping it here or clicking Open a PDF.
2. To type: click Text, click where the words should go, and type. Use it for names, dates, answers on a worksheet or comments in a margin. The add text to PDF page has the details.
3. To handwrite: click Draw and write with whatever you have: a mouse, a trackpad, a finger on a touchscreen, or a pen such as the Apple Pencil on an iPad. Circles, arrows and underlines work the same way; see draw on a PDF.
4. Click Download. The typed text and the ink are embedded in a new PDF. Ctrl+Z undoes the last stroke; the Eraser removes any single mark you click.

Typed or handwritten? When each one fits

Typed text is legible, searchable by eye and easy to align with a form line; it is the right choice for filling in forms, labeling figures and leaving comments a colleague must read. Text in Cyrillic, Arabic or other scripts is embedded with its font on download, so a Russian or Arabic note stays readable in other readers.

Handwriting is faster for marking student work, sketching over a floor plan or initialing every page, and it is what a stylus is for. A signature is a special case: use the Signature tool rather than Draw, because it lets you draw once and then place the result exactly on the line; see sign a PDF without printing.

Mixing both on one page is normal: type the answer, circle the question in red with Draw.

Writing on a PDF on Windows, Mac, iPad, Android and Chromebook

Grading, worksheets and team markup

Teachers marking homework get the most from mixing the tools: Draw for a tick or a circle around the wrong answer, Text for the comment that explains it, Sticker for a quick well-done marker, Highlight in red for a sentence the student must rewrite. Work page by page with the thumbnails, then Download one file per student. Nothing is uploaded, which matters for anything with a child's name on it.

For a worksheet you fill yourself, zoom in on the answer lines so the typed text lands exactly on them, and use the hand tool to pan across the page between answers. For a drawing or floor plan, the Draw tool makes red-line comments the way you would on paper, and the Image tool can drop in a PNG or JPG of a revised detail next to them.

When several people must mark the same document, pass the downloaded copy along; each person adds their marks on top of the previous ones and downloads again. The marks stay in the file through every hand-off.

Troubleshooting

• The page moves instead of drawing. The hand tool is active. Click Draw again so strokes go on the page rather than dragging it.
• Typed text lands in the wrong spot. Use the Eraser to remove it and click more precisely; zoom in first for small form lines.
• The PDF will not accept anything. If it opens but refuses edits elsewhere, it has permission restrictions: click Remove Restrictions. If it asks for a password, it must be decrypted first.
• Strokes are laggy on a big scan. Hundreds of high-resolution pages use most of a tablet's memory. Delete the pages you do not need first, or move to a laptop.
• Nothing was saved. Writing lives in the tab until you click Download. The original file is never modified.

Frequently asked questions