Edit PDF Visually
Edit supported existing text with its original font. Local processing, with a before-and-after preview.
*Local PDF tools after the app and required resources have loaded. Optional cloud AI and checkout need a connection.
The interactive tool loads in your browser.
How to add text overlays and whiteout areas to a PDF
Use the visual editor when you need to place new text on top of a PDF or cover a visible area with a white rectangle. This is overlay editing: it does not rewrite the original text objects underneath.
- Open the PDF in the visual editor and go to the page you want to change.
- Choose Add Text for a movable text box or Whiteout for a plain white rectangle.
- Drag the overlay into position and resize it with the edge or corner handles.
- For text, choose font, size, color, style, alignment and whether to erase the visible area underneath with a white background.
- Repeat on other pages as needed.
- Save changes and inspect the downloaded PDF before replacing the original.
A practical example
To correct a visible name on a non-sensitive form, place a whiteout rectangle over the old visible name and add a new text overlay above it. Do not use this technique to hide confidential information that must be permanently removed.
Common questions
Does this edit the original PDF text object?
No. The current workflow adds new overlays on top of the page. A white background can visually cover what is underneath, but the tool does not rewrite the original text object in place.
What can I add?
The current overlay model supports text boxes and whiteout rectangles. It does not currently add arbitrary images or generic vector shapes.
Can I move and resize overlays?
Yes. Text and whiteout items can be dragged and resized. Keyboard arrow keys can also nudge a selected item for fine positioning.
What text formatting is available?
Text overlays support Helvetica, Times or Courier; font sizes from 1 to 72; color; bold; italic; underline; strikethrough; left/center/right alignment; and an optional white background.
Does it support Unicode text overlays?
Not reliably on every path. For clean unencrypted PDFs, the native vector save path keeps printable ASCII characters and strips other characters from overlay text.
Is Whiteout secure redaction?
No. Whiteout is a visual covering tool. Use the dedicated Redact PDF workflow when sensitive content must be removed rather than merely covered.
Does the editor preserve the original PDF structure?
Clean unencrypted PDFs use a native overlay path that keeps the source PDF and adds the overlays. Protected or incompatible PDFs can fall back to a rendered image-based reconstruction.
Is the PDF uploaded?
The editing workflow runs locally in your browser.