Guides
Plain-English walkthroughs for the PDF jobs people actually get stuck on. Written to be useful whether or not you ever buy anything from us — several of them tell you to use something free instead.
Standing disclosure: we make AddToPDF, a PDF editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad. That is a bias, and we would rather you read these pages knowing it. Our rule for this section is simple: where another tool is better for your job — including the free ones — we say so and link to it.
Mac PDF editors: an honest comparison
Adobe Acrobat, PDF Expert, PDFgear, Smallpdf, Apple Preview, Skim, Foxit and ours. What each is genuinely best at, how each one charges, and where files get processed — including the jobs where you should buy a competitor or use something free.
Read the comparison ›How to add text to a PDF on a Mac
Why Preview sometimes refuses to let you type, the difference between a form, a flat PDF and a scan, the free ways that work, and when paying for an editor is actually justified.
Read the guide ›How to sign a PDF on iPhone or iPad
Apple's built-in Markup does this free and almost nobody finds it. The full round trip inside Mail, why every iOS app makes you "share" the file back, and whether a finger-drawn signature counts.
Read the guide ›How to scan a document to PDF on iPhone
Your iPhone has scanned to PDF for free, in three taps, for years — and most people never find the menu. The built-in way, what it genuinely cannot do (searchable text), and when a separate app is worth it.
Read the guide ›How to fill out a PDF form without Adobe
A five-second test tells you whether your form has real fields or is a flat scan — and that single fact decides every tool choice that follows. Plus what to do about checkboxes that will not tick.
Read the guide ›Spotted an error, or a tool that deserves better treatment? Tell us. Corrections are the most useful feedback we get.