Can You Edit a PDF in Chrome?

Yes, you can! The PDF viewer of Google Chrome supports basic PDF editing features. However, it doesn’t allow you to directly edit text in PDFs or restructure PDF pages unless you use a third-party Chrome PDF editor extension.

What can the built-in PDF editor of Chrome do? You can make the following edits when you open a PDF in Chrome.

• Zoom in and out
• View and scroll through PDF files
• Rotate PDF pages
• Draw or highlight PDFs
• Fill out interactive PDF forms

If you need to edit existing text, organize PDFs, or make other edits, Chrome’s built-in PDF editor can’t meet your needs. How to edit a PDF file in Chrome? Please read on.

Method 1. Edit a PDF in Chrome with Adobe Acrobat Chrome Extension

As we all know, Adobe Acrobat is a professional and industry-leading PDF editor available on Windows, Mac, and other operating systems. Surprisingly, it has a Chrome extension to handle PDFs in your browser. In addition to the basic features of Chrome’s built-in PDF editor, the Adobe Acrobat extension for Google Chrome offers advanced features, such as adding or modifying text and images, adding comments and markups, etc. Additionally, it can convert web pages to PDF.

How to edit a PDF in Chrome using the Adobe Acrobat Chrome Extension? Below are the exact steps.

Step 1. Visit the Chrome Web Store page, search for and find “Adobe Acrobat”, and click Add to Chrome to install this extension.

Step 2. Click the Adobe Acrobat Chrome extension icon and click the Select a file button to import the PDF file you want to edit.

Step 3. Click the Edit tab. Under this tab, you can adjust the text formatting, add text or images, organize PDF pages, crop PDF pages, add page numbers to a PDF file, and more.

Additionally, on the left-side toolbar, you can add comments, highlight text, draw on PDFs, and add signatures to the PDF file.

Step 4. Once you have finished the editing, click the three-dot icon at the top and select the Download this file option to save this modified PDF document.

Method 2. Edit PDF in Chrome for Free Using PDFescape

PDFescape is a free Chrome PDF editor that enables you to edit PDFs in Chrome without downloading or installing any software or extensions. With this online PDF editor, you can annotate PDFs, edit text, password-protect PDFs, and do other edits for PDF files. Let’s learn how to edit a PDF in Chrome for free with PDFescape.

Step 1. Open your Chrome browser and visit the PDFescape website. Here are two options for you. Select the Free Online option.

Step 2. This free Chrome PDF editor enables you to create a new PDF or upload your PDF from your PC or by pasting a URL. 

Step 3. When the PDF file is imported, switch to the Edit mode, and then you can start your PDF editing journey in PDFescape.

On the left side, you can choose Insert, Annotate, or Page tab to make corresponding edits based on your needs. For instance, click Insert, choose the Link option, select URL or Page, and input the target link or page number. Then, click OK.

Step 4. Finally, click the Save icon or Download icon.

Method 3. How to Edit a PDF in Chrome via Google Drive and Docs

You can upload your PDF file to Google Drive and then open the PDF file with Google Docs. Google Docs is an online word processor that enables you to create and edit documents while collaborating with others in real time. When you open the PDF in Google Docs via Google Drive, it will automatically be converted to an editable Word document. In that case, you can edit the document as you like. Finally, you can save the document as a PDF or Word file. Here’s how:

Step 1. Visit the Google Drive website in your Chrome browser, click + New, and select File upload to import your PDF.

Step 2. Right-click on the PDF file, move to Open with, and select Google Docs.

Step 3. Then, you can edit the PDF file the same as editing a Word document. At last, click File and choose the Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF Document (.pdf) option to save the file.

BONUS: A Reliable Desktop PDF Editor

In the last part of this article, I still want to introduce you to an excellent desktop PDF editor called SwifDoo PDF, a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat. It provides a wide range of features, including viewing, editing, annotating, organizing, converting, protecting, flattening, OCR, and printing PDFs. There are so many features waiting for you to explore and enjoy. You can click the button below to try this great PDF editor.

Quick Sum Up

Can you edit a PDF in Chrome? The built-in PDF editor of Chrome only offers limited features. To perform more advanced PDF editing, you need to use third-party Chrome PDF editors or online PDF editing tools. How to edit PDF in Chrome? This article shows 3 effective ways, including Adobe Acrobat Chrome extension, PDFescape, and Google Drive. Now, it’s your time to have a try.