Resources » How To Edit PDFs » PDF Eraser: Erase or Delete Text in a PDF

Erase Text in a PDF Online With PDF.Live’s PDF Editor

Erasing text in PDF.Live’s online editor means you can remove lines of text in a PDF without opening it in a document editor. This is especially useful for when you want to quickly edit a PDF itself rather than the original document you may have built in a program like Microsoft Word. PDF.Live’s editor functions entirely in your web browser — no need for apps or programs to be downloaded on your computer.

Adding text to a PDF is useful for making edits to a document, but what about removing text? Is this possible with the PDF.Live editor?

Yes! In this guide, we’ll show you how to erase text in a PDF online using PDF.Live’s online editing tool. If you are looking for a free PDF eraser, we offer a free trial, cancelable at any time. If you have bulk documents to edit, we offer one of the most affordable subscriptions (also cancelable at any time) for editing and erasing text.

Erase Text in a PDF Online With PDF.Live’s PDF Editor

  1. Upload your PDF to the PDF.Live Editor.
Drag and drop your PDF into the editor to convert it to an editable PDF.

Drag and drop your PDF into the editor to convert it to an editable PDF. Or, click Select File to Edit and navigate to where your PDF is stored on your computer. Once you’ve uploaded your PDF, click Edit PDF to get started editing.

  1. Navigate to the Edit Text tab in the PDF.Live editor toolbar.
Navigate to the Edit Text tab in the PDF.Live editor toolbar.

3. Editable areas of text in your PDF will now be selectable and editable.

The Edit Text tool will now highlight areas in your PDF that it’s identified as text. Some text may be unreadable, particularly if it is part of an image.

The Edit Text tool will now highlight areas in your PDF that it’s identified as text. Some text may be unreadable, particularly if it is part of an image.

4. With the text selected, you can either Edit or Delete text fields.

  1. With the text selected, you can either Edit or Delete text fields.
Text boxes selected for kayaking on fresh water vs salt water and looking for a thrilling and adventurous outdoor activity?

Select text shows a dashed line with dots in corners, showing that this is the active box.

The words kayaking vs salt water kayaking selected in an editing panel

Editing the text allows you to add and delete existing words in the same way you would in a document editor. For example, you can backspace to remove individual words. In the example below, we’ve used the PDF.Live editor to delete the “Kayaking on” text.

Alternatively, with the text selected, press the Delete key to remove the area entirely. 

You can also edit existing text, as seen below! The PDf.Live editor will automatically detect the formatting settings of the text and adjust to best match it. See how we’ve edited this document using the PDF.Live editor:

How To Delete Words From a PDF

You may want to delete an individual sentence, word, or letter, depending on your needs. To do this, select the text box from which you want to remove a word. You’ll be able to highlight text as you would in a document editing software.

Press the Backspace button on a PC or the Delete key on a Mac keyboard to delete words within your document. You can add, remove, and edit text the same way that you would with a program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Once you’re done making your edits, select Download or Export to download the edited version of your PDF. You’ll see your deleted words or text boxes have been removed in the new document!