How to Add and Format Text in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat

This tutorial shows how to add and format text in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat. We will also look at how to set a default font and font size for adding text.

Important Note: Adobe Acrobat’s editing tools can only add text to one page at a time. If you need to add a large amount of text across multiple pages, consider doing so in Microsoft Word and then converting the Word file to a PDF.

Quick Links:

How to Add Text
How to Format Text (Font, Size, Color, Emphasis, Alignment, and Spacing)
How to Set a Default Font and Font Size for Adding Text

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than fifty other videos about Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. These steps will also work in Adobe Acrobat Standard DC, Adobe Acrobat 2020, and Adobe Acrobat 2017. Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, doesn’t provide a way to add text to PDFs.

How to Add Text to a PDF

The steps below assume you are adding text to an existing PDF. If you need to create a new PDF or add a blank page to an existing PDF, please see my other tutorial “How to Create a Blank PDF in Adobe Acrobat.”

Select the Tools tab.

Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 1. Tools tab

Select Edit PDF from the Tools Center.

Edit PDF button in the Tools Center in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 2. Edit PDF button

Select Add Text from the Edit PDF toolbar.

Add Text button in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 3. Add Text button

Create a scalable text box or a fixed-width text box and then enter your text.

- Scalable text boxes extend from the cursor to the right margin and the bottom margin of the page as text is added.

To create a scalable text box, place your cursor anywhere on the page and then type or copy and paste text onto the page.

- Fixed-width text boxes maintain their original width and only scale lengthwise to the end of the page to accommodate additional text.

To create a fixed-width text box, drag your cursor to create the box and then type or copy and paste text into the box.

Fixed-width text box in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 4. Example of fixed-width text box

How to Resize a Text Box in a PDF

Select Edit in the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 6).
Hover your cursor over one of the border handles (small squares) until your cursor becomes a resizing cursor, which is two lines with two arrows.

Text box resizing cursor in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 5. Resizing cursor (Enlarged to show detail)

Drag the cursor to resize the text box.

Pro Tip: A small, yellow warning icon will appear near the text box if a portion of the text is not visible due to a lack of space.

How to Add Text to an Existing Text Box in a PDF

You can add text to an existing text box if space allows. See the information in the previous section if you need to resize your text box to accommodate additional text.

Select Edit in the Edit PDF toolbar.

Edit button in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 6. Edit button

Insert your cursor into the text box and then type or copy and paste the additional text.

How to Create Vertical Text in a PDF

By default, Acrobat’s Add Text tool inserts horizontal text. However, you can easily create vertical text through the shortcut menu.

Select Add Text from the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 3).
Drag the text box to the required size.
Right-click the text box and select Make text direction vertical from the shortcut menu.

"Make text direction vertical" option in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 7. “Make text direction vertical” option

Type or copy and paste text into the text box.

Example of vertical text in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 8. Example of vertical text.

(Optional Step) The text box may become wider after selecting the vertical option in step 3. After entering your text, resize the text box as shown in the section above.

Pro Tips:

You can right-click a text box with existing text and select Make text direction vertical from the shortcut menu. However, the vertical option won’t appear if there is not enough space for the existing text to be placed vertically.
To reverse vertical text back to horizontal text, right-click the text box and select Make text direction horizontal from the shortcut menu.

How to Delete a Text Box in a PDF

Select Edit in the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 6).
Hover your cursor over the border of the text box until your cursor becomes a movement cursor, which is two crossed arrows.

Movement cursor in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 9. Movement cursor (Enlarged to show detail)

Press the Delete key on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can right-click and select Delete from the shortcut menu.

Your text box should be deleted immediately.

How to Format Text in a PDF

You can have multiple formats within the same text box.

Select Edit in the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 6).
Select the text you want to format.

Pro Tip: If you want to select the entire text box, place your cursor in the text box, and then select Ctrl + A on your keyboard.

Select options from the Format pane:

1. Font	6. Bulleted and numbered lists
2. Font size	7. Alignment
3. Font color	8. Line and paragraph spacing
4. Bold, italic, and underline	9. Scaling and character spacing
5. Superscript and subscript