Fix a word in a PDF without flattening the page

Place a vector mask over the text you want to change, then type the replacement. The rest of the page — text layer, vectors and all — stays exactly as it was.

Vector kept Mask + real text Not a redaction tool

Pages stay vector — and the old text stays in the file

The mask is a filled vector rectangle drawn over the original glyphs; the replacement is a new text object. Nothing is rasterised, so zoom stays sharp — but the original text is still underneath and can be selected, copied or extracted. For legally binding redaction, use a tool that deletes the underlying content.

How the mask works

PDF pages are lists of drawing instructions. A mask is one more instruction: “fill this rectangle with this colour before drawing the rest”. The glyphs stay in the content stream — they are hidden, not deleted. Then a new text object is drawn on top with the font, size and colour you chose, so the replacement is real, selectable text rather than a picture of letters.

The practical consequence is that the page keeps its quality: a 1600% zoom shows clean letterforms, and printing does not reveal a patch of pixels. The practical limitation is font matching. If the document uses a licensed typeface we cannot embed, the replacement will be set in a standard sans and may not line up with its neighbours.

This is not redaction

An opaque rectangle over a name in a contract looks like redaction and is not. Anyone can select the text under it, run copy-paste, or extract the text layer with a script. Courts, regulators and journalists have all been embarrassed by exactly this. If the goal is to hide information rather than correct it, do not use this tool: re-issue the document without the information, or use a redaction product that removes the content and audits the result.

How to edit a word

Add the PDF and name the textType the word or phrase you want to cover and pick the page. The mask lands exactly on that string; leave the field empty to drop it in the middle of the page.
Match the sizeThe slider starts at the size measured from the original text; nudge it with the − and + ends. Keep the replacement short, and remember the mask is white — on a coloured background it will show as a patch.
Export and checkOpen the result, select the paragraph with the mouse, and confirm the visible words read the way you intend.

Item	Behaviour
Mask	White vector rectangle, 0.6 pt wider than the matched text — on a coloured background it will show as a patch
New text	Real text object for Latin script; other scripts are placed as a 4× image because no outline font ships with the page
Original text	Still present under the mask; extractable
Fonts	Standard fonts only; exact match not guaranteed
Page rendering	Never rasterised

FAQ

Is the old text really still there?

Yes. Masking is a visual operation. If the file leaves your hands, assume the hidden text can be recovered — because it can.

Can I match the original font?

Only approximately. We draw with standard PDF fonts, so a serif body text can be close but not identical. For a document where typography matters, edit the source file instead.

Can I edit a scanned PDF?

Not with this tool. A scan has no text to mask or replace — you would be drawing on a picture. OCR first, then rebuild the page.