How to Edit a PDF
To edit a PDF, open it in a tool that supports text and image editing, make your changes, then save or export the file. Soda PDF offers this through its Desktop app, Online platform, and Chrome Extension, so you can pick the one that fits how you work. The exact steps below follow Soda PDF's editing features: adding, changing, or removing text, drawing and stamping, and using whiteout and highlight on paragraphs.
What you can change in a PDF
Soda PDF's editing tools cover the changes most people need:
- Text — create, modify, or remove text directly in the document.
- Markup — draw, stamp, whiteout, and highlight paragraphs.
- Pages — rearrange or delete pages, and merge other file types (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) into the PDF.
- Size — compress the PDF to a smaller file without losing quality.
- Scans — use OCR to recognize text inside an image and turn page ranges into editable PDFs.
Steps to edit a PDF
- Choose your platform. Soda PDF Desktop gives you offline work on Windows; Soda PDF Online runs in any browser on any device with cloud storage built in; the Chrome Extension handles PDF tasks inside Google Chrome. Pick based on whether you need offline access or cross-device access.
- Open the PDF in the editor you chose.
- Edit the text. Use the edit tools to create, modify, or remove text where you need changes.
- Adjust visuals. Draw, stamp, whiteout, or highlight paragraphs as needed.
- Fix scanned content if relevant. If the text is inside an image, run OCR to recognize it, or manually select areas of the image for recognition, and convert the page range into an editable PDF.
- Save or export. Save the edited file, keeping the original layout intact.
Expected result: a PDF that reflects your text and image changes while preserving its formatting.
Editing scanned PDFs
If your PDF is a scan, the text is part of an image and won't be editable until it's recognized. Soda PDF's OCR tool automatically scans and recognizes text within an image, and also lets you manually select areas for recognition. You can turn individual or multiple page ranges into editable PDFs — useful when only part of a long scan needs changes.
Related tasks you may need
Editing often comes with other PDF jobs. Soda PDF covers these in the same place:
| Task | What it does |
|---|---|
| Merge & Compress | Combine Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a PDF; rearrange or delete pages; shrink file size without losing quality |
| Create & Convert | Build PDFs from scratch, a scan, a URL, or another format; convert Office files to and from PDF; batch convert multiple files |
| Translate PDF | Translate a PDF into another language while keeping the original layout (Soda PDF Online only) |
| AI Assistant | Ask questions, find answers, or get quick summaries of a document (Soda PDF Online only) |
Common snags
- Text won't select or change. The PDF is likely a scan. Run OCR first, then edit.
- Layout shifts after editing. Work within the existing text blocks rather than rebuilding them, and check the file before exporting.
- You need offline access. Use Soda PDF Desktop rather than the browser-based version.
- You're on a device without the desktop app. Soda PDF Online works from any browser and includes cloud storage.
Soda PDF is available as a free download, with paid plans listed on its Plans page.