How to add text boxes and images to a PDF

Annotate a scan, add a note to a contract, put your logo on a page, or move and remove what's already there.

Add a text box

1. Open the PDF in the editor.
2. Click Insert → Text box, or right-click the spot and choose Add text box here.
3. Type your text. In the panel on the right, set the size, font and colour, and a fill (background colour) if you want the box to stand out or to cover what's underneath.
4. Drag the box into place; drag its corners to resize it. The text re-wraps to the new width.

Cover and replace text on a scan

On a scanned page the text is a picture, so it can't be edited directly. The usual fix:

1. Add a text box over the old words and give it a white fill (or the colour of the paper), so it hides what's underneath.
2. Type the new text and pick a font and size close to the scan's.
3. Zoom in and nudge the box with the arrow keys until it lines up.

Note that covering isn't the same as removing: the original picture is still in the file underneath. Don't use a box to hide confidential information (account numbers, personal data) from someone who will receive the file.

Add an image

1. Click Insert → Image, or right-click and choose Add image here.
2. Pick a picture (PNG, JPG and other common formats).
3. Drag it into place and resize it from the corners.

For a signature, use Insert → Signature instead: it removes the paper background from a photo for you.

Move, recolour or delete what's already there

Click anything on the page to select it: a line, a shape, a logo, a block of text. Then:

• drag it to move it, or nudge it with the arrow keys;
• press Delete to remove it;
• change its colour in the panel on the right;
• right-click it for more, such as bringing it to the front or returning it to its original place.

Shift+click selects several objects, or drag a selection box around them. Group them (Ctrl+G) to move them together later. If something is hard to click because other objects lie on top of it, right-click the spot: the Objects here list shows everything under the pointer.

Tips

• Turn on Show object types in the Properties panel to see what each part of the page is: text, image, shape or table.
• The Move (M) and Resize (R) tools make dragging objects easier on crowded pages.
• Every change can be undone with Ctrl+Z.