Choose Tools > Content Editing > Edit Text & Images 
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Last updated on
Feb 8, 2022
Note:
This document provides instructions for Acrobat XI. If you're using Acrobat, see Acrobat Help.
Easily correct, update, and add text to PDF files. Reflow paragraphs and correct typos— without returning to your original source document. Use the Typewriter too to fill in noninteractive PDF forms or sign PDFs.
Note:
This document provides instructions for Acrobat XI. If you're using Acrobat, see Acrobat Help.
Edit text in a PDF
The Edit Text & Images tool lets you replace, edit, or add text to a PDF. You can correct typos, change fonts and typeface size, adjust alignment, add superscripts or subscripts, and resize text or paragraphs.
You edit a PDF one page at a time. For more extensive editing or to make global formatting changes across the entire document, edit the original document. If the original isn’t available, you can save the PDF as a Microsoft Word document or PowerPoint presentation (Acrobat Pro only). Then edit, and re-create the PDF.
Edit or format text in a PDF
When you edit text, the text in the paragraph reflows within its text box to accommodate the changes. Each text box is independent, and inserting text in one text block does not push down an adjacent text box or reflow to the next page.
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Outlines identify the text and images you can edit.
Outlines identify the text and images you can edit. -
Select the text you want to edit.
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Edit the text by doing one of the following:
- Type new text to replace the selected text, or press Delete to remove it.
- Select a font, font size, or other formatting options under Format in the Content Editing panel. Click the plus sign to expand the panel and expose the advanced options: line spacing, character spacing, horizontal scaling, stroke width, and color.
Formatting options in the <span class="uicontrol">Content Editing</span> panel. Plus sign exposes advanced options.
Formatting options in the <span class="uicontrol">Content Editing</span> panel. Plus sign exposes advanced options. Note:For legal reasons, you must have purchased a font and have it installed on your system to revise text using that font.
You can edit text only if the font used for that text is installed on your system. If the font isn’t installed on your system, but is embedded in the PDF, you can change only the color or font size. If the font is neither installed or embedded, you can't edit any of the text.
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Click outside the selection to deselect it and start over.
Add to a numbered or bulleted list
You can add items to a numbered or bulleted list.
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Choose Tools > Content Editing > Edit Text & Images
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Select the item in the numbered or bullet list above where you want to insert new text.
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Right-click the text box, and choose Add List Item from the menu that appears.
Add a list item to a bulleted or numbered list using the Edit Text & Images tool.
Add a list item to a bulleted or numbered list using the Edit Text & Images tool. -
Select the text in the new list item, and type the replacement text.
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To change the number of a newly added list item, select the number, and type the new number.
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To reposition the list item, place the pointer over the line of the bounding box (avoid the selection handles). When the cursor changes to Move pointer
, drag the box to the new location. To maintain alignment with the other list items, press Shift as you drag.
Add new text to a PDF
You can add or insert new text into a PDF using any of the fonts installed on the system.
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Select Tools > Content Editing > Add Text.
The Tools menu is located in the upper-right corner of the application window.
The Tools menu is located in the upper-right corner of the application window. -
Drag to define the width of the text block you want to add.
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For vertical text, right-click the text box, and choose Make Text Direction Vertical.
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Under Format in the Content Editing panel, choose the font, font size, and formatting options for the new text.
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Type the text.
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To resize the text box, drag a selection handle.
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To move the text box, place the pointer over the line of the bounding box (avoid the selection handles). When the cursor changes to Move pointer
, drag the box to the new location. To maintain alignment with the other list items, press Shift as you drag.
Add, edit, or move text on noninteractive forms or when signing (Typewriter tool)
Organizations sometimes provide PDF versions of their paper forms without interactive form fields (called "flat forms"). Use the Add Text tool on the Sign panel to fill in non-interactive forms or to add text to documents you need to sign. Text added with this tool is actually a comment and does not change the original PDF. (The Add Text tool is often called the Typewriter tool. You use it to “type” onto a form, not to change the form.)
Move, rotate, or resize a text box
You can move or rotate text boxes on a page. The Edit Text & Images tool outlines each text box, so it is clear what text is affected. Edits are confined to the page. You cannot drag a text block to another page, or move or rotate individual characters or words within a text box. However, you can copy text boxes and paste them on another page.
Resizing a text box causes the text to reflow within the new text box boundaries. It does not change the size of the text. To change the font size, see Edit or format text in a PDF. As with other text edits, resizing is limited to the current page. Text does not flow to the next page.
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Choose Tools > Content Editing > Edit Text & Images
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Click the text box you want to move, rotate, or resize.
A bounding box with selection handles surrounds the text box you clicked.
A bounding box with selection handles surrounds the text box you clicked. -
Do any of the following:
Move
Place the pointer over the line of the bounding box (avoid the selection handles). When the cursor changes to Move pointer
, drag the box to the desired location. Hold down the Shift key as you drag to constrain the movement vertically or horizontally.
Rotate
Place the pointer just outside a selection handle. When the cursor changes to the Rotation pointer
, drag in the direction you want it to rotate.
Resize
Place the pointer over a selection handle. When the cursor changes to the Resize pointer
, drag the handle to resize the text block.
Note:
For Reader 10.1.1 or earlier, the Add Text tool is available only when the PDF author has explicitly enabled it. To allow all Reader users to add text to a PDF (Acrobat Pro only), open the PDF and choose File > Save As Other > Reader Extended PDF > Enable Adding Text in Documents.
Add text to a noninteractive (flat form) PDF
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Choose Sign > I Need to Sign > Add Text to open the Add Text toolbar.
The Sign panel is in the upper-right corner of the application window.
The Sign panel is in the upper-right corner of the application window. -
Click where you want to add text.
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In the Add Text toolbar, select the color, font, and font size for the text you want to add.
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Type the text. Press Enter to add a second line.
Edit text in a noninteractive (flat form) PDF
To change the text properties, select the text you want to edit. Use any of the following tools in the Add Text toolbar:
- To change the text size, click the Decrease Text Size button or the Increase Text Size button. Or choose a typeface size from the pop-up menu.
- To change the line spacing (leading), click the Decrease Line Spacing button or the Increase Line Spacing button.
- Choose a color from the Text Color pop-up menu.
- Choose a typeface from the typeface pop-up menu.
Move or reszie text in a noninteractive (flat form) PDF
To move or resize a text block, choose Comment > Comment List. In the comment list, click the comment containing the text you want to move or resize. When the bounding box appears, drag the text block or one of its corners.
Exit edit mode
Click on the Selection tool or Pan tool to exit edit mode in Acrobat.
