How to edit a PDF file online – a step-by-step guide

We live in the digital age and for some reason, most people will need to edit PDF files at one point or the other.

If you’re searching for a guide on how to edit a PDF file, you’re not alone, and we will show you how to do that in a minute.

If you’re wondering, editing a PDF could mean anything ranging from filling a form digitally without printing it to signing a document online. 

Why Edit PDFs Online?

There are several reasons why you should edit your PDF files online. The following are some of the top reasons.

• Convenience: Filing a form online for example is quite convenient, as you can do it from the comfort of your home. Even in situations where you can fill and submit the physical form, doing it digitally saves you the time to print out the form, fill it out and go out to submit physically. 
• Cost-Effectiveness: Online tools for editing PDFs are mostly free unless you wish to access some premium features on the platform. This makes it a cost-effective option that only requires a computer and internet connection to carry out. 
• Ease of Use: The websites that offer free PDF editing are usually quite easy to use. Anyone with basic knowledge of how computers work can easily use them to edit their PDFs and use them for whatever purposes they have in mind.
• Compatibility: You can use PDF editing websites on any type of computer or operating system. Whether it is Windows, Linux, or Mac, the procedures are usually the same.

Step-by-Step Guide to Editing a PDF Online

Now that we understand why we need to edit PDFs online, we will proceed to now see the steps to actually editing a PDF file.

1. Go online and search for ‘edit PDF file’ or anything that describes the process. This will bring up a number of options as search results.

2. Select one of the options. For the sake of this guide, we’ll use the first option, ILovePDF.

3. Upload the PDF you wish to edit. This needs to be on your computer or on a memory device where you can access it through your computer. You may upload it by clicking on the Select PDF file button or by simply dragging and dropping the file on the website. 

4. After uploading the file, you’ll see the file open in the editing interface so that you can start working on it. 

5. To start editing, proceed to the Add text icon on the top center of the page if you wish to write, or click on the Draw icon to draw or sign, and the Add image icon to insert a photograph, etc. First, we’re adding text, so we click on Add text.

6. After clicking, you’ll see a text box somewhere on the page with text highlighted in blue.

7. Simply type the text you wish to add and it’ll appear in the text box. Assuming it’s your name such as John, simply type it and drag the text box to where the name is required. 

8. To fill another space with text such as state of residence etc, simply click on the Add text icon again and a new text box comes up and you can type in it and drag to the correct position again.
9. To add a signature, click on the Draw icon. Your mouse pointer then changes into a cross as shown below. 

10. Use it to draw your signature and after that click on the green checkmark to apply the drawing if it’s okay.

11. Next, drag it to the place where the signature is required and click outside the box.note that you can increase or reduce the size of the signature as it suits you.

12. To add an image such as a passport photograph, proceed to the Add image icon and click on it. 

13. Next, it will take you to your computer’s folders where you’ll need to select the picture you want. Select the image you want and click on Open. 

14. The image may appear large, but you can reduce it using the cropping lines on the image. 

15. Now drag it to the position for the image and click outside the image box and you’re done. 

16. After you’re done adding what you wish to add, it’s time to download your edited PDF file. Click on Edit PDF file in the lower-right corner.

17. Next, it’ll prompt you to download the edited PDF file. Click on the Download PDF button and select the folder you wish to save to, and click on Save. 

18. You can now use your edited PDF file for whatever you want. 

Closing thoughts 

If you have been following these steps, I believe you now have an edited PDF file saved on your computer and ready to go. Maybe you just wanted to read first, in that case, you can now go back and follow the steps to edit your file.

Please consider sharing the guide to help others if you find it useful. We also have other guides on how to convert Word documents to PDF, how to take screenshots on Windows, delete Facebook account, and delete Instagram account if you need them.