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How to edit a PDF online: text, images, signatures and annotations

Learn how to visually edit a PDF in your browser: add text and annotations, insert images or signatures, apply watermarks and choose when a specialized tool is better.

Published 11 September 2026Reading : 4 minBy Bethemesh Team
Beginner
Show contents
  1. Import and navigate through the PDF
  2. Add and position text
  3. Highlight and add shapes
  4. A black rectangle is not secure redaction
  5. Insert an image, logo or stamp
  6. Draw or add a visual signature
  7. Add a watermark, header or footer
  8. Rotate a page
  9. Correct a change: eraser, undo and redo
  10. Download a new copy and review it
  11. PDF Editor, specialized tool or Workspace?
  12. Why local processing matters
  13. Key point

Editing a PDF does not always mean rebuilding the document or converting every page into another format. For many common changes — adding a note, highlighting a passage, placing a logo, drawing, adding a visual signature, applying a watermark or correcting page orientation — it is easier to work directly on the PDF rendering.

Bethemesh’s PDF Editor is designed for that workflow: load one document, make several visual changes in the same place, review the result and download a new copy.

Import and navigate through the PDF

Select the file you want to edit. The document opens in a shared editing area so you do not have to download and re-import it after every small change.

Use hand mode to scroll and move around without accidentally creating an annotation. Zoom helps with precise placement, while fullscreen is useful for dense documents or smaller screens.

Keep the original PDF until the exported copy has been checked.

Add and position text

The editor lets you add a new text element to a page, move it and adjust its presentation. This is useful for adding a short note, reference, label or other information at a precise location.

One limitation matters: Bethemesh does not behave like a word processor that rewrites native text already stored inside the PDF. The editor adds text to the document; it does not structurally replace an existing paragraph.

If the original Word, LibreOffice, InDesign or other editable source is still available, changing that source and exporting a new PDF is usually better for substantial rewriting.

Highlight and add shapes

Highlights and shapes are useful for review, emphasis and visual markup. They are not a secure way to remove information.

A black rectangle is not secure redaction

Placing an opaque shape over a name, amount or address may only hide it visually. The underlying text or PDF object can still remain in the file.

To permanently remove sensitive information, use Secure PDF Redaction and the dedicated redaction guide from this collection.

Insert an image, logo or stamp

The editor can place an image directly on a page. Move it to the right location and check its size so it stays readable without covering useful content.

If image insertion is the only task, the dedicated Add image to PDF tool remains the shortest route. The related image guide also covers resolution, transparency and placement choices.

Draw or add a visual signature

You can draw directly with a mouse, finger or stylus. This is useful for creating a visual handwritten signature without preparing a separate image first.

If you already have a clean signature image, the dedicated Add signature to PDF tool can import and position it.

In both cases this is a visual signature. It does not automatically become a cryptographic, certified or qualified electronic signature. The signature guide explains that distinction in detail.

For version labels, document status or presentation consistency, the editor also combines visual operations such as watermarks, headers and footers.

Dedicated tools still make sense when one operation is all you need. The general editor is most valuable when several visual adjustments belong to the same editing session.

Rotate a page

A scanned or assembled document may contain a page with the wrong orientation. Rotate it before making other visual adjustments.

If rotation is the only need, the dedicated page rotation tool is faster. The PDF pages guide covers extraction, deletion, reordering and rotation as separate structural operations.

Correct a change: eraser, undo and redo

Visual editing involves trial and error. Remove an added object with the eraser where appropriate, or use undo and redo to step through recent actions.

Before downloading, review edited pages at a normal zoom level. An annotation that looks right while heavily zoomed can be oversized in the final document.

Download a new copy and review it

The editor does not silently overwrite your source file. It generates a new copy. After download:

  • reopen the PDF;
  • review every edited page;
  • check text, images and signatures at normal size;
  • make sure no added element hides useful information;
  • keep the original until validation is complete.

This final check matters even more for administrative, contractual or client-facing documents.

PDF Editor, specialized tool or Workspace?

These approaches solve different problems.

Need Best starting point
Add several visual elements to one PDF PDF Editor
Perform one precise operation Specialized tool
Merge, split, extract or reorder pages Dedicated PDF tool
Repeat several transformations in a defined order Workspace / Pipeline
Permanently hide sensitive data Secure redaction
Fill real PDF form fields Dedicated form tool

The editor is the right entry point for interactive visual work on one document. The Workspace is better when compatible transformations need to be composed or repeated as a stable recipe.

The PDF workflow guide explains that boundary in more detail.

Why local processing matters

PDF files often contain personal, contractual or professional information. When editing stays in the browser, the file does not need to be uploaded to a Bethemesh server just to add a note or visual signature.

Local processing removes that intermediate transfer, but it does not replace careful sharing practices or secure delivery channels. For sensitive files, see the PDF privacy guide.

Key point

Use the PDF Editor when you need to see the document and make several visual changes in one place. Add text without claiming structural rewriting of existing PDF text, use secure redaction for sensitive information, and move to the Workspace when your task becomes a repeatable sequence of transformations.

Related tools

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Add an image to a PDF

Place a PNG or JPEG image on the PDF page you choose.

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Add a signature to a PDF

Place a signature image on the PDF page you choose.

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Add a watermark to a PDF

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Rotate PDF pages

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Securely redact a PDF

Permanently hide sensitive areas by rebuilding the document.

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Collection

Mastering PDF files

  1. 01PDF: understand the format and manage documents properly
  2. 02How to edit a PDF online: text, images, signatures and annotations
  3. 03Merge or split a PDF: how to organize several documents
  4. 04Extract, reorder or rotate pages in a PDF
  5. 05Convert a PDF to images or images to PDF
  6. 06How to add an image, logo or stamp to a PDF
  7. 07Add a signature to a PDF: what you need to know
  8. 08PDF and privacy: edit a document without sending it to a server
  9. 09Organize a PDF workflow: chain several transformations
  10. 10Prepare a PDF before sending it: merge, reorder, compress and convert
  11. 11How to securely redact a PDF before sharing it
  12. 12Fill and flatten a PDF form before sharing it

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