How to type, write, and add text to a PDF on a Mac.

Fill out forms and leave comments on PDF documents. Find out how you can type on PDFs with a simple online tool.

Although PDFs are primarily intended to share finalized documents, there are times when you have to add text. Maybe you received a PDF form you need to fill out, or you want to leave comments for a colleague. No matter the reason, you may be scratching your head about how you can write on a PDF.

If you’re working on a Mac, there are two easy ways to write on a PDF — and you don’t need to purchase software or set up a new program to do it. You can use the built-in Preview app that comes with Mac computers or you can use Adobe Acrobat online services, which you can access in your favorite internet browser.

How to type on a PDF in Preview on Mac.

The Preview app doesn’t let you edit the original text in the PDF, but it can be used to fill out a PDF on Mac, or to write or type anywhere on the document as an additional layer of text.

If you haven’t installed another program, the Preview app is the default app that opens to display a PDF file you have received or downloaded. You can also choose to open a file with the Preview app. Just control-click the file and choose Open With > Preview.

To type on a PDF in Preview:

1. Click the Show Markup Toolbar button.
2. Click the textbox icon in the toolbar.
3. Type your text.
4. Drag the box to where you want it.

To fill out a PDF form in Preview:

1. Click the Show Form Filling Toolbar button.
2. Click a field in the form.
3. Type your text.

To save your edits, choose File > Export.

How to add text to any PDF on a Mac.

1. Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to Edit PDFs with comments in Acrobat online services.
2. Click the blue button labeled “Select a file” or drag and drop a PDF file into the drop zone.
3. Once your file has uploaded, select the Add Text Comment tool from the toolbar.
4. Use the new icons that appear at the bottom of the toolbar to adjust the color and size of the text.
5. Click anywhere to begin typing.
6. Adjust the size of the textbox.
7. Drag the text box to where you want it.
8. When you’re finished, select the Download button to download your edited PDF.

If you want to complete a form and add a PDF signature, you can do so easily with the Fill & Sign tool in Acrobat online services.

Do more than just type on your PDFs with your Mac.

With Acrobat online services, you can do much more than fill out forms and type text to PDFs — and you can do it for free. Instead of hunting down various tricks and converters, find all the tools you need in one place. Easily add comments and annotations, create fillable forms online, mark up documents, convert your PDFs to other file formats, compress PDFs, and much more — all on your Mac.

Discover everything Acrobat online services can do for your PDF documents.