No guide matches that yet. Try a simpler word (for example “sign” instead of “signature placement”), or browse the categories. Pressing ? in the editor lists every keyboard shortcut.
Nothing is uploaded: “opening” just reads the file into your browser, and the password is only used on this device to unlock it.
Your original file is never changed; you always save a new copy. The top bar shows “Unsaved changes” until you do.
On the start screen click Create blank document. Add pages later with Tools → Insert blank page after current, or in Organize with Insert blank.
Bookmarks (also called the outline) let readers jump straight to a section, in this editor and in any PDF app.
Each bookmark's ⋯ menu also has Set to current view, Add sub-bookmark here, bold and italic, and Delete. With the keyboard: arrow keys move between bookmarks, Enter opens one, F2 renames, Delete removes, and Alt + arrow keys move or indent.
Bookmarks follow their page: they still point to the right place after you reorder pages. When you merge files, each file's bookmarks are kept. If you delete a page, its bookmark is removed when you save, and any sub-bookmarks move up a level.
Everything can be undone: Ctrl/⌘ Z to undo, Ctrl/⌘ Shift Z or Ctrl Y to redo, or the Undo and Redo buttons in the top bar. That includes page deletions, redactions and text edits, until you close the tab.
V select · E edit text · T add text · Shift H highlight · N comment · P pen · R O L A shapes · S sign · D redact · X eraser · Del delete selection · arrow keys nudge (Shift for 10×) · Ctrl/⌘ D duplicate · Ctrl/⌘ F search · Ctrl/⌘ P print · Esc back to Select.
Press Ctrl/⌘ K to search every tool and action by name, or ? for the full shortcut list. Every toolbar button also shows its shortcut when you hover over it. The tool strip on the left holds every document action; hover an icon to see what it does.
When you save, the original words are removed from the file, not just covered, so nobody can copy the old text out.
The document's own font is reused when it has every character you type. Otherwise the line uses the closest included font; you can pick another in the Properties panel. Details.
Choose Insert image (I), pick a file, then click on the page. Or just drag an image file onto a page. Drag the corners to resize: the aspect ratio is kept, and holding Shift stretches it.
Lines are replaced one by one, not reflowed, so wider fonts can overlap. Rotated text and text inside some embedded graphics isn't changed. One Undo reverts the whole change.
To change a single text box or edited line, select it and pick a font in the Properties panel.
With Select (V), click an item to select it, drag to move it, drag the corner handles to resize, and press Delete to remove it. Arrow keys nudge it. The Properties panel has Duplicate, Front and Back buttons. Or use the Eraser (X) and click the items to delete.
Search for a word and use Highlight all to mark every occurrence.
Choose Comment (N), click on the page, and type your comment in the Properties panel. Notes are saved as real PDF comments, so people can read and reply to them in Acrobat, Preview and other apps. The Comments tab in the left sidebar lists every comment and can export the list as CSV.
Choose Measure distance from the shapes menu, or press M, and drag between two points. For plans and drawings, set the scale (e.g. 100 for 1:100) and the unit (mm, cm, in, pt) in the Properties panel.
Click Add stamp in the toolbar, choose a preset or type your own text, and click on the page. Click again to place more, and press Esc when you're done. Add date and time adds the date and time, plus your name if you type one.
The name is only printed on the stamp and is never stored.
“Remember in this browser” is off by default. If you turn it on, the signature is stored only on this device, and you can delete it at any time.
These are visual electronic signatures. For a signature that proves who signed and shows if the file was changed, use Sign with certificate.
A digital signature proves who signed, and PDF readers show a warning if the file was changed afterwards. It's made on your device.
.p12 or .pfx file, type its password, and click Open.Signing is the last step: changing the signed copy later, in any app, breaks the signature. Readers show you as a verified signer only if your certificate comes from an authority they trust. Self-made certificates still reveal changes, but show the signer as unverified.
A certificate file is opened only in this page's memory: it isn't uploaded or stored, and it's forgotten when you close the tab.
Browsers can't reach certificates on smart cards, USB tokens and national ID cards, or those in your macOS keychain or Windows certificate store. Signing with them needs DyadForge Signer, a small helper app on each computer. It's available as part of DyadForge's customised enterprise solutions, together with trusted timestamps, your organisation's certificate authority, and deployment to your Mac and Windows computers. One fixed price and a perpetual licence you own, with no per-user monthly subscription.
How it keeps signing safe:
127.0.0.1, so nothing on your network can reach it, and it only answers your organisation's editor.Signing with a certificate file (.p12 or .pfx) is free and needs nothing installed: see Sign with a certificate.
Fillable fields are shown with a light blue background. Just click and type, tick boxes, or choose from dropdowns. When saving, choose Flatten form fields to make the answers permanent, or leave it off to keep the form editable.
No fillable fields? Use Add text to type on top of the form.
Calculated fields: select a text field and choose Calculated value: the sum, average, product, smallest or largest of other fields. It recalculates as people type in Acrobat, Foxit and similar readers; other viewers show the value stored when you saved.
The saved PDF contains real form fields that anyone can fill in with any PDF app.
\2Form fields from every merged file stay fillable. If two files use the same field name, the second is renamed (for example name_2) so the answers stay separate.
In Organize, select the page to insert after, then click Insert blank or Insert file. In the editor, Tools → Insert blank page after current does the same.
1-3, 4, 5-9), or odd/even pages. Several files are downloaded together as one .zip.Open (or drop) one or more images: each becomes a page. Reorder them in Organize and save. Run OCR if you want the text in photos to be searchable.
Scanned pages have no text, so use Visual, or run Recognize text (OCR) first. Both files are read on this device and never uploaded.
English is built in. Other languages download a one-time language pack from a public CDN, and you're asked first. Your document is never sent.
The page is probably a scan (a picture of text). Run OCR to make it searchable, and use Add text with a white background to type over areas you need to change.
Applying removes everything under the marks from the file itself, so it can't be copied, searched or recovered. The rest of the page stays editable text.
Marks hide nothing until they are applied. If an image, embedded graphic or form field sits under a mark, that page is converted to an image instead (you'll be told which); run OCR afterwards to make its text searchable again. Anything you added on top of a mark is removed too.
Click Save PDF and fill in Password to open. Optionally set a separate permissions password and untick what others may not do (print, copy, edit, comment, fill forms). Files are encrypted with AES-256.
Keep the password safe. There's no “forgot password”, because we never see it.
Open the file and enter its password. Then save it without filling in the password fields, and the new copy is unprotected.
Tools → Document properties (or Edit properties in the right panel when nothing is selected) changes the title, author, subject and keywords. To remove all of it, including hidden XMP data, tick Remove metadata when saving.
Yes. Your files are processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded. There's no account, no analytics and no cookies, and the browser itself is instructed to block connections to other sites.
Read how it works for the full details, and a 2-minute way to verify it yourself.
In the editor, choose Tools → Clear everything this site stored. Or go to How it works → What the browser stores, which shows the stored items live and has a delete button. This removes your theme choice, any remembered signatures and the offline cache.
In Save PDF, pick a Compression option:
Image compression makes text unselectable. Run OCR afterwards if you need it.
Choose the one you need from the tool strip on the left (hover an icon to see what it does). Each opens only its own options:
{n}, {total}, {date} and {file}.They're added to every page when you save. Open the same item again to change it, or choose Remove.
Tools → Export as images, text, HTML or Markdown…. Images include your annotations, and multi-page exports download as a .zip. Text exports include OCR text. Converting to Word or Excel isn't available (why).
Tools → Print or Ctrl/⌘ P. Your edits, annotations and filled form values are included.
Usually it doesn\'t: the document\'s own font is reused when it contains every character you type. PDFs often include only the letters they use, so a newly typed letter switches that line to the closest included font (Noto Sans, Serif or Mono). Pick a different font in the Properties panel, including fonts installed on your device in Chrome and Edge. Characters the chosen font doesn\'t have appear as “?”. More details.
Everything runs on your computer, so speed depends on its memory. Close other heavy tabs, split the document into parts, or use a lower zoom. OCR and image compression are the heaviest operations.
Merged forms stay fillable: fields from each file are kept, and clashing names are renamed (for example name_2). If a merged form still misbehaves in another app, tick Flatten form fields when saving to keep the filled-in values as regular content.
Open the editor once while online. After that it keeps working without internet, because your browser keeps a copy of the app's files (not your documents). The status bar says when you're offline. Many browsers also let you install it as an app from the address bar.
The editor is a folder of static files with no backend or database. Build it with npm run build and serve the dist/ folder from any web server or intranet. Keep the included security headers (_headers) for the strict Content-Security-Policy.
You can also write to us directly at report@pdfeditor.dyadforge.com. Want recognition? Tick Credit and add a name and links (LinkedIn, Instagram, X, GitHub, website…). If your report helps, we'll list you on our Thanks page. Leave it unticked to stay anonymous.
Reports never include your document, its text or its file name. If one specific PDF causes the problem, only share it if it contains nothing private. We'll never ask you for it.
Nothing opened? Send it with your web mail: Gmail · Outlook.com, or copy the report and email it to report@pdfeditor.dyadforge.com.
We reviewed the popular free and paid PDF editors and what users say about them. The most common complaints were uploads to unknown servers, paywalls and daily limits, “redaction” that only draws a box, text editing that breaks fonts, and having to combine several tools. This editor is built to fix exactly those. See the comparison.
There is no catch. Every feature is free with no account, watermark or limits, and there is no paid version. It's supported by voluntary donations, which unlock nothing. In future there may also be a few ads, but never annoying ones and never tracking you. See how it works.