Adding and formatting text boxes
The Text tool (T) types new text onto a page in a box that you can format, frame, move and resize. It does not change the document's original text: for that, see Editing existing text and Replacing text.
Add a text box
- Choose Text on the toolbar, or press T. In the app: Help ▸ Show me
- Click on the page for a box 200 pt wide, or drag to draw a box of your own size.
- Type. Press Enter for a new line; the text wraps at the box edge and the box grows to fit.
- Press Ctrl+Enter or click outside the box to finish. Esc cancels the box.
A box left empty is not added. To edit a box again, double-click it with the Select or Text tool.
Tip
Press T (or click Text) again to go back to the Select tool.
Options bar
While the Text tool is active, or when text boxes are selected, the options bar shows the text settings. In the app: Help ▸ Show me
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Font | Helvetica, Times or Courier |
| Size | 4 to 144 pt |
| B / I / U / S | Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough |
| Colour | Text colour |
| Alignment | Align left, centre or right |
| Border | None, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 or 3 pt, with a border colour |
| Fill | Tick to give the box a background colour |
| Margin | Inner margin between the frame and the text, 0 to 36 pt |
Changes apply to the box you are typing in, to the selected boxes, and to new boxes.
Format part of the text
Select words inside the box, then use the options bar, the floating format bar above the box, or the keyboard. With no words selected, the format applies to the whole box. In the app: Help ▸ Show me
| Keys | Format |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+B | Bold |
| Ctrl+I | Italic |
| Ctrl+U | Underline |
| Ctrl+Shift+X | Strikethrough |
| Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Undo / redo inside the box |
The floating bar also has quick colours: Black, Red, Rev. comment (blue), Green and Orange, plus Custom colour.
Right-click menu
Right-click inside the box for Cut, Copy, Paste, Select all, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, and the Font, Size (8 to 36, or Custom…) and Colour submenus. Right-clicking a word with nothing selected selects that word first.
Pictures in a text box
A text box can hold PNG or JPEG pictures in line with the text:
- Paste a copied picture with Ctrl+V, or
- click Picture on the floating bar, or right-click and choose Insert picture….
A picture wider than the box is scaled down to fit. Click a picture to select it; right-click it and choose Picture size (25%, 50%, 100% or Fit width) to resize it. Press Delete to remove a selected picture.
Move and resize
- While typing: drag the thin frame just outside the box to move it.
- When selected: with the Select tool, drag the box to move it, or drag one of its 8 handles to resize. The text re-wraps to the new width; a height you drag larger is kept.
See Selecting, grouping and the clipboard.
Note
Characters outside the standard PDF fonts cannot be saved and appear as "?". A warning shows under the box when you type one.
What other PDF readers show
Text boxes are saved as standard PDF text-box (FreeText) annotations with their own appearance, so Acrobat, Foxit and browsers show them as you see them here and can move or delete them. If you edit such a box in another program, formatting or pictures that program does not support may be lost. To fix boxes permanently into the page, see Flattening annotations.