Edit text in a PDF Part 1

Edit text in a PDF Part 1

Edit text in a PDF

Open the PDF you want to edit in Acrobat, and then select Edit in the global bar.

Edit tool

The PDF switches to the edit mode, and the Edit panel displays. If the PDF is generated from a scanned document, Acrobat automatically runs OCR to make the text and images editable.

Edit panel

The Edit panel includes options to modify the page, add content, redact a PDF, and convert various documents to PDF forms. You can use the options in the Edit panel to 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.


Add, change, format, delete, or highlight text

Set the default font for adding and editing text:

When you add text in a PDF, by default Acrobat chooses nearby font attributes for the new text. When you edit text, any font that isn't available on the system is substituted by a default fall-back font for the particular script. For example, Minion Pro is the default fall-back font for Roman script fonts. The substitution of unavailable fonts by default fonts can introduce inconsistency in the look and feel of text in a PDF document. To avoid inconsistency, choose a specific font for any text that is added or modified in the PDF document from Font Options under Content Editing.

  1. 1. From the hamburger menu  (Windows) or the Acrobat menu (macOS), choose Preferences. The Preferences dialog box is displayed.
    (Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+K keys on Windows® or Command+K keys on macOS.)

  2. 2. In the dialog box, select Content Editing under Categories. Font Options are displayed as shown in the following screenshot.

    Change default font for adding and editing text in a PDF

  3. 3. Select an appropriate font in the drop-down lists:

    • Fallback font for Editing.
    • Default font for Add Text and Font Size.

  4. 4. Select OK to save the changes and close the Preferences dialog box.

Change, replace, or delete text:

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 doesn’t push down an adjacent text box or reflow to the next page.  

  1. 1. Select Edit in the global bar. 

  2. 2. Select the text that you want to edit. The text-box turns blue upon selection, and a rotation handle appears at the top of the selected text-box.

    Select the text you want to edit

  3. 3. Edit the text by doing one of the following:
    • Type new text to replace the selected text, or press Delete to remove it.
    • To rotate the text box, use the rotation handle at the top of the selected text box.
    • Manage list items using the list controls (bulleted and numbered) in the left Format panel. You can create lists and, conversely, convert a list item to a paragraph or change list types.
    • Select a font, font size, or other formatting options in the left Format panel. You can also try the advanced format options, such as line spacing, character spacing, horizontal scaling, stroke width, and color.
    Formatting options
    Formatting options in the left pane

    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, but is embedded in the PDF, you can only change the color or font size. If the font isn't installed or embedded, you can't edit any text.

  4. 4. Select any area outside the selection to deselect it, and start over.

Format Text:

    1. 1. Select Edit in the global bar.

    2. 2. Select the text that you want to change.

    3. 3. In the Format Text section on the left panel, select a font, font size, bold, or other formatting options. You can also try the advanced format options, such as line spacing, character spacing, horizontal scaling, stroke width, and color.

      Formatting options
      Formatting options on the left pane

      • Bold ( ) : Bolds the text.
      • Italic ( ): Makes the text italic.
      • Underline( ): Underlines the text. 
      • Superscript ( ): Converts the selected text into superscript.
      • Subscript ( ): Converts the selected text into subscript.
      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, change only the color or font size. If the font isn't installed or embedded, you can't edit any text.

    4. 4. Select outside the selection to deselect it and start over.

    Add new text:


  2. You can add or insert new text into a PDF using any of the fonts installed on the system.

    1. 1. Select Edit in the global bar. Then, from the Edit panel, select Text under Add Content.

    2. 2. Drag to define the width of the text block that you want to add.

    3. 3. The Add text tool intelligently detects the following text properties of text close to the point of click:

      • Font name, size, and color
      • Character, paragraph, and line spacing
      • Horizontal scaling

      These text properties are automatically applied to the text that you add at the point of click.

      You can change the text properties using the options under Format in the left pane.

    4. 4. Type the text.
    5. 5. To resize the text box, drag a selection handle.

    6. 6. 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.



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