How to add text and type on a PDF on a Mac

With PDF Unlimited (free)

1. Switch to Annotate mode

   Open the PDF in PDF Unlimited and click Annotate in the toolbar mode switcher.

2. Choose the text box tool

   Select the text box tool, then click anywhere on the page where you want the text to start.

3. Type

   Type your text. Click outside the box when you are done.

4. Style it

   In the inspector on the right, set the font size and color. Matching the size of nearby printed text makes it look like it belongs there.

5. Position it

   Drag the text box to line it up. ⌘+ zooms in for precise placement.

With Preview, built into macOS

1. Show the Markup toolbar

   Open the PDF in Preview and click the Show Markup Toolbar button.

2. Add a text box

   Click the Text tool. A box appears on the page. Type your text, then drag the box where you want it.

3. Change the style

   Click the Text Style button in the Markup toolbar to change the font, size and color.

Adding text versus editing text

Adding text puts new words on top of the page. Editing text changes the words that are already there. PDF Unlimited does the first and not yet the second, and so does Preview. For most real tasks, like filling a blank, adding a date, writing a note in the margin or correcting an address, adding text is what you need.

If you must change the original words, you have two options. The quick fix is to cover the old text with a white-filled rectangle and put a text box on top. The thorough fix is a tool that edits existing text, such as LibreOffice Draw. See the best free PDF editors for Mac for the trade-offs.

Make added text look natural

A few small things make a big difference:

• Match the font size to the surrounding text. Most body text in documents sits around 10 to 12 points.
• Use black or a dark grey, not pure blue, unless you are deliberately marking corrections.
• Zoom in when aligning to a line, then zoom back out to check it from a normal distance.
• Keep text boxes short. Two small boxes are easier to line up than one long one.

If the PDF has form fields

Some PDFs already have fillable fields. Click into them and type; no text box needed. If clicking does nothing, the form is flat and text boxes are the way to go. More in how to fill out a PDF form on Mac.

Notes that do not print

Want to leave a comment for someone instead of text on the page? Use a sticky note in Annotate mode. It shows as a small icon and opens when clicked, which keeps the page clean. See annotating PDFs on Mac.

Questions