# Any way to do this? ("type" onto a PDF) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712 "2014-04-22T20:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/1 "2014-04-22T20:30:29Z")
And no, not one of the fillable PDFs that some places provide - though they can be slow as molasses, they’re pretty useful. I mean a regular old PDF. I could convert it to MS Word using one of the free tools out there. But what I had a vague idea of doing was a way to have it brought up as sort of “page background” or watermark, and be able to place text boxes as an overlay of sorts. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/2 "2014-04-22T20:35:26Z")
I’ve done something similar by uploading to [http://www.pdfescape.com/](http://www.pdfescape.com/) and using a textbox tool to add to it. That was actually how I filled out my application forms for the Odyssey workshop so they were legible. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/3 "2014-04-22T20:37:57Z")
If you have the full version of Acrobat (not just the Reader) you can edit text with varying degrees of success. It used to be called the Touch-up Text Tool; in recent versions I think there’s a more comprehensive “Content Editing” panel. I’m assuming that you don’t have this, though, or you’d probably already know that. ETA: just noticed that you seem to be talking about adding new text fields rather than editing existing text, in which case disregard what I just said. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/4 "2014-04-22T20:40:07Z")
Tools --\> Comment & Markup --\> Text Box Tool Alternatively, save it in a photo format and set it as the background in a Word document. Format it however you like in Word. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/5 "2014-04-22T20:45:38Z")
[Foxit Reader](http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/) has a typewriter tool that allows you to open a text box on the document and enter information into it. I’ve used it whenever dealing with pdf forms that don’t have embedded form fields since I got my handwriting from my father (on whom be peace) — a doctor, and he wrote like one. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/6 "2014-04-22T21:13:07Z")
Can you describe a little more exactly what you want to accomplish? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/7 "2014-04-22T21:18:09Z")
And what software you’re using? I was assuming you had Acrobat, but maybe you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/8 "2014-04-22T22:10:24Z")
On a Mac, the built-in Preview app allows this. You can annotate with text or do things like drawing ovals or rectangles around parts of the document. It can also capture and save a signature using the computer’s camera that can then be used for signing documents electronically. There are also commercial tools on the Mac, like PDFPen, that allow more extensive manipulation. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/9 "2014-04-22T23:22:00Z")
We have just regular Acrobat Reader (or Adobe Reader, whatever it’s called these days). The form in question right now is a job application, but I can see numerous other instances where this might be useful. **Green Bean** : Tools / Comment doesn’t seem to have a text box tool, just stickys and highlighting. The idea of saving it as a photo is more like the vague idea I had. **OttoDaFe** : Thanks - will have to check that option out. I did use a website to convert it to Word, but the friend who needed it was having trouble working with the document anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/10 "2014-04-22T23:24:17Z")
Why won’t the usual form features of Acrobat work for you? You can define text areas for any kind of content. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/11 "2014-04-22T23:34:29Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > … > **Green Bean** : Tools / Comment doesn’t seem to have a text box tool, just stickys and highlighting. … Aha - that seems to be something the original author has to enable: > [@](#): > > Reader users can use the Add or Edit Text Box tool if the document author enables use of the Typewriter tool for that PDF. To enable use of the Add or Edit Text Box tool, open the PDF and choose File \> Save As \> Reader Extended PDF \> Enable Adding Text in Documents. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/12 "2014-04-22T23:55:20Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > [Foxit Reader](http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/) has a typewriter tool that allows you to open a text box on the document and enter information into it. Seconded! Plus – it includes a certified signature feature, so you can use it for documents requiring a signature without having to print, sign, and scan. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/13 "2014-04-23T01:13:08Z")
I have Adobe Reader and I’m able to type stuff into PDF’s all the time. 1. Open the attachement in Reader. (My version is 11) 2. Click on “View” 3. Select “Sign” from the drop-down menu 4. In the right of the document frame, some options appear: Add Text, Add Checkmark, etc. Select “Add Text” 5. Click where you want to add text. Start typing. You can modify the font and the size using the control box that pops up. 6. Repeat as needed. You can even move the typed text around if you need to. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/14 "2014-04-23T18:45:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I have Adobe Reader and I’m able to type stuff into PDF’s all the time. > > 1. Open the attachement in Reader. (My version is 11) > 2. Click on “View” > 3. Select “Sign” from the drop-down menu > 4. In the right of the document frame, some options appear: Add Text, Add Checkmark, etc. Select “Add Text” > 5. Click where you want to add text. Start typing. You can modify the font and the size using the control box that pops up. > 6. Repeat as needed. You can even move the typed text around if you need to. YES!! That worked!! Didn’t occur to me to look under the Sign menu. Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/15 "2014-04-24T01:18:16Z")
Anything for the Mother of Frank. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/16 "2014-04-26T07:22:58Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > YES!! That worked!! Didn’t occur to me to look under the Sign menu. Thanks!! Yeah. I think **JohnT** was the one who showed me that, and I’m no slouch when it comes to computers. It’s really not an obvious placement. If you care why it’s there, it’s because the “Sign” tab covers all the features of a program Adobe acquired called EchoSign. While the main purpose of the software was signing documents, it also allowed typing instead of just signing. It also is how Adobe Acrobat has built-in Internet-to-fax abilities. EchoSign allows you to sign, annotate and fax PDFs without ever printing them. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-do-this-type-onto-a-pdf/686712/17 "2014-04-26T16:36:50Z")
I think you will find that the commenting tools in the free PDF-XChange Viewer ([Tracker Software Products :: PDF-XChange Editor](http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer) and get the free download from the box to the right), will provide you with a _lot_ more options for typing on, and otherwise marking up, your PDFs than Acrobat reader does. As well as simple typing, you can draw boxes (containing text or otherwise) draw shapes, straight lines and freehand lines, arrows, you name it, with your choice of text, outline and fill colors. It also enables you to run an image PDF through an OCR type process, to make the text searchable and copyable. It is _way_ better than Adobe Reader for most purposes. (I haven’t tried Foxit for a long time, but last time I did it had fewer tools and several annoying features compared to PDF-XChange.) To use the comment tools, just show the comment and markup tool bar from the view menu, if it is not showing already.