Does NowConverter upload my PDF?
No. The selected PDF and inserted images remain inside your browser. Open-source PDF libraries are fetched when needed, but your document bytes are not sent to our server.
Live PDF editor
Enable JavaScript to edit your PDF in this browser.
About this tool
A visual PDF editor with local OCR assist
Open a PDF and make visual edits directly on each page. Add text, highlights, rectangles, arrows and freehand drawing, cover areas with whiteout, insert images, or draw a signature. For scanned or image-only PDFs, OCR Assist can recognize English text locally in your browser, show detected text lines, and turn a selected line into an editable visual replacement. When you are finished, NowConverter writes your added content into a new PDF and leaves the original file unchanged.
How to edit a PDF
- Choose a PDF file or drag it into the editor.
- Select a tool such as Text, Highlight, Draw, Image or Signature, then place your edit on the page. Use Select to move or resize added objects.
- For a scanned PDF, open OCR Assist and recognize the current page or scanned pages. Tap a detected line, edit the text if needed, then replace it visually.
- Move between pages, review your changes and download the edited PDF. You can also add an invisible searchable OCR text layer to recognized scanned pages.
Important limitations
This editor remains a visual overlay editor. OCR Assist recognizes scanned text and can create editable replacements, but it does not rewrite the original pixels or low-level PDF content stream. OCR accuracy depends on scan quality and language; auto-detect is best-effort; choose a language manually if OCR is inaccurate. Some non-Latin export text may still be best-effort depending on browser-loaded fonts. Whiteout places an opaque shape over content but does not securely remove underlying text, so it must not be used for confidential redaction. Password-protected PDFs are not supported. Editing may invalidate digital signatures, and unusually rotated or complex PDFs should always be checked after export.
Can I add a signature?
Yes. Draw a signature in the built-in signature pad, then click the PDF to place and move it like an inserted image.
Can I edit text in a scanned PDF?
OCR Assist can recognize English text in scanned pages. Select a detected line and NowConverter can cover that area visually and place editable replacement text on top. The original scanned pixels are not rewritten.
Can OCR make a scanned PDF searchable?
Yes. After OCR recognition, keep “Add searchable text on export” enabled. NowConverter adds an almost invisible text layer to recognized scanned pages so text can be searched or copied in many PDF viewers.
Can I reorganize pages too?
Use NowConverter's dedicated PDF Page Organizer to reorder, rotate, duplicate, remove or combine pages, then use this editor for visual page edits.
Visual PDF editing, OCR and redaction are different tasks
A PDF page can contain selectable text, scanned image pixels, vector graphics or a mixture of all three. NowConverter adds visual content on top of the existing page and can use OCR Assist to recognise text in scanned material. OCR makes a best-effort interpretation of pixels; names, numbers, punctuation and unusual fonts should always be checked against the original.
The whiteout tool visually covers an area, but it is not secure redaction. Hidden or underlying PDF content may still remain in the file. If information must be permanently removed for legal, privacy or security reasons, use a dedicated redaction workflow that removes the underlying objects and verify the result with an appropriate PDF inspection tool.
Practical checks
- Use OCR for scanned pages where text cannot be selected normally.
- Proofread OCR results carefully, especially dates, account numbers and names.
- Do not use visual whiteout as a substitute for secure redaction.
Practical walkthrough · pdf editor
Annotate a draft without rewriting its source
Example task: A draft contract needs a reviewer comment and a visual highlight on page two.
Try this workflow
- Open the PDF and add a highlight and note using the visual tools.
- Review the resulting appearance at normal zoom and download a copy.
- If the document contains scanned text, use OCR Assist as a draft and proofread the recognized words.
What to expect
NowConverter adds visual overlay content and can add an OCR text layer; it is not a full low-level PDF text editor.
When to take extra care
Whiteout only hides what is visible and is not secure redaction. Signed documents, OCR language support and complex layouts require additional care.