Edit existing PDF text

Edit PDF text is a pdfMachine pro feature. It is available with pdfMachine pro and pdfMachine ultimate.

The pdfMachine text editor lets you change existing text directly in a PDF. Unlike an annotation or text box, the edited text becomes part of the PDF page content.

Open the text editor

1. Open a PDF in pdfMachine.
2. Select Tools > Edit text.
3. The PDF opens in the pdfMachine text editor at the page you were viewing.

Edit text

1. Click the text you want to change. A blue outline shows the selected text area.
2. Type to insert text, or use Backspace and Delete to remove text. Press Enter to add a new line.
3. If necessary, drag a blue corner to resize the text area.
4. Press Ctrl+Enter or click Apply edit to apply the change. Press Escape or click Cancel edit to discard it.

If the new text does not fit, the editor displays a text overflow warning. Enlarge the text area or shorten the text before applying or saving the edit. Text is never silently discarded.

Navigate the PDF

Use the mouse wheel, Page Up and Page Down to move through the document. The toolbar provides previous and next page buttons, zoom controls, Fit width and Fit page.

Hold Ctrl while using the mouse wheel to zoom.

Save changes

• Save (Ctrl+S) updates the open PDF.
• Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S) saves the edited PDF as a new file.
• Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo (Ctrl+Y) are available for applied edits.

Which text can be edited?

The editor works with supported text stored as text objects in the PDF. Text in scanned pages, photographs, outlined lettering or some complex PDF layouts cannot be edited. A page with no supported text blocks is displayed as view-only.

To add new text on top of a PDF instead, use the Text annotation tool.

Keyboard shortcuts