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PDF Text Overlay Editor

Add and place text on PDF pages with font, size, and color picker — browser-only

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About this tool

PDF Text Overlay Editor is the fastest way to drop a label, fill an empty signature line, add a date, or correct a typo on a PDF without opening Acrobat or paying for a subscription. Type the text you want to add, pick from six standard PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times Roman, Courier — regular and bold), set the size and colour with a native picker, then click anywhere on the rendered page preview. A live label appears at that exact spot — click it again to remove. Everything renders client-side using pdf.js for the preview and pdf-lib for the final save, so the document never leaves your browser. The output is a regular PDF with the new text drawn into the page content stream, identical to anything Acrobat would produce.

Why use it

  • Six Standard Fonts: Helvetica, Times Roman, and Courier in regular and bold — cover most everyday document needs.

  • Any Color via Native Picker: Set red overlays for corrections, accent colours for highlights, or stick to black for production-clean output.

  • Click-to-Place Positioning: No coordinate fields or guesswork — see the text appear exactly where you click on the page preview.

  • Removable Labels: Click any placed label to delete it before saving — full control until the Save button is pressed.

  • 100% Browser-Side: pdf.js renders the preview, pdf-lib saves the file — your document never reaches our servers.

  • Multi-Page, Multi-Label: Add as many text overlays as needed across any pages, all in one session, then save once.

How to use

  1. Upload the PDF you want to add text to — up to 50 MB, processed locally in your browser.
  2. Type the text string in the Text input at the top of the toolbar.
  3. Pick a font from the dropdown (Helvetica, Times Roman, or Courier — regular or bold).
  4. Set the font size (6–72 pt) and click the colour swatch to choose any colour.
  5. Click anywhere on a page preview to drop the text — a dashed yellow border marks each label.
  6. Click an existing label to remove it; click Clear all to start over.
  7. When everything looks right, click Save PDF to download the edited file.

When it helps

  • When filling a flat PDF form that has no interactive AcroForm fields and you do not want to print, write, scan, return.
  • When adding a date, initials, or short caption next to a signature on a contract or agreement.
  • When correcting a typo on a one-off document where you do not have access to the source file (Word, InDesign, etc).
  • When labelling a specific region of a chart, schematic, or screenshot embedded in a PDF.
  • When dropping 'CONFIDENTIAL', 'DRAFT', or 'COPY' marks at specific positions rather than as a uniform watermark.
  • When teachers need to add scoring annotations on top of a student's submitted PDF before returning it.

Examples

Filling a flat tax form

Input

tax-form.pdf, Helvetica 12 pt black, click to place name, address, and SSN fields

Expected result

tax-form-edited.pdf — populated with seven text overlays in the right boxes, ready to print or sign

Marking a chart on a report

Input

report.pdf p.4, Helvetica Bold 14 pt red, label 'see anomaly' next to a spike

Expected result

report-edited.pdf — red 'see anomaly' callout sits beside the chart on page 4

Adding a date next to a signature

Input

contract.pdf p.6, Times Roman 11 pt black, type '12 May 2026' next to the signature line

Expected result

contract-edited.pdf — date sits cleanly aligned with the existing signature mark

Tips

  • For long-form annotations, use a smaller font (10–12 pt) to keep the page balanced visually.
  • Bold variants render more visibly over scanned (raster) backgrounds — pick HelveticaBold for stamping.
  • If you mis-click, click the label itself (not empty page space) to remove it instead of clearing everything.
  • Need a different font? Save the PDF here, then open in Acrobat to swap fonts — the standard PDF library only embeds the six base fonts.
  • For better positioning accuracy on small text, zoom the browser to 125% before clicking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit the existing text in the PDF?
No — this tool overlays new text on top of existing pages. To replace embedded text, use a desktop tool like Adobe Acrobat or LibreOffice Draw, which can extract and re-flow original text.
Why are only six fonts available?
The six 'standard' PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times, Courier in regular/bold) are guaranteed to render identically in every PDF reader without embedding font files — keeping the output small and universally compatible.
Can I move text after placing it?
Not directly — click the label to remove it and re-click on the page to re-place it. Drag-to-move is on our roadmap.
Does the colour picker support transparency?
No — the standard browser colour picker only exposes RGB hex. For semi-transparent text, use the PDF Watermark tool which exposes an opacity slider.
Can I add text in non-Latin languages?
Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic characters are supported by Helvetica/Times/Courier base fonts. CJK, Arabic, Devanagari, and other scripts require font embedding which this tool does not yet do.
Will the labels stay editable in Acrobat?
No — they are flattened into the page content stream when you click Save PDF. The output is a regular PDF, not annotations that can be selected or moved later.
Is the document uploaded to your server?
Never. Both the source PDF and the output are processed entirely in your browser using pdf.js and pdf-lib.
Does this work on encrypted PDFs?
Password-protected PDFs need to be unlocked first via the PDF Unlock tool, then they will load here.

Explore the category

PDF Page Numbering Add page numbers to any PDF in your browser. Pick position, font size, start number, and download the numbered PDF. PDF Password Protect Add a password prompt to any PDF so only people with the key can open it. Browser-only, never uploaded. PDF Delete Pages Remove specified pages from a PDF and download the cleaned file. Browser-only, supports ranges and lists. PDF Extract Pages Pull selected pages out of a PDF into a smaller standalone file. Browser-only, supports ranges and custom order. PDF Bookmarks Editor View, add, rename, indent, and reorder PDF outline (bookmarks) — browser-only PDF Text Extractor Extract all text from any PDF in your browser. Preserve line breaks, copy, or download as .txt file.
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Glossary

AcroForm
The interactive form-field standard inside PDF — distinct from this tool, which adds free text on top of any (flat or interactive) PDF.
Standard 14 Fonts
The base PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times, Courier in 4 styles each, plus Symbol and ZapfDingbats) that every PDF reader has built-in — used here for guaranteed compatibility.
Content Stream
The drawing instructions inside a PDF page that produce the rendered text and graphics — your overlays are appended here.
Flatten
Merging overlays into the static page layer so they cannot be removed by another editor — what Save PDF does in this tool.
Page Coordinates
X/Y position in PDF user-space units from the bottom-left of the page — converted from your click position by the tool.
Vector Text
Text rendered as font glyph outlines rather than pixels — your overlays are vector and stay sharp at any zoom level.