PDF guide
How to fill and sign a PDF
Use Fill PDF to place text, dates, checkboxes and simple marks over a PDF, then flatten them into the output. Fill PDF does not turn the PDF into a native form. Use Sign PDF visually to place a typed, drawn or uploaded visual signature; it does not create a certificate-backed digital signature/e-sign workflow. Both current PDFandDOC workflows run in your browser and are local-only.
What Fill and Sign do here
The current Fill and Sign tools add visible content to PDF pages and then flatten that content into the downloaded result. Fill PDF is useful when you need to place text, a date, a checkbox or a simple mark at a chosen location, but it does not discover or complete native AcroForm fields and it does not support XFA. Visual Sign lets you place a typed, drawn or uploaded signature image as visible page content; it does not issue a certificate, verify identity, create a cryptographic digital signature or provide a multi-party e-sign workflow. Treat placement as a visual editing task: zoom to the relevant page, keep text within the intended area, avoid covering existing content, and review the downloaded PDF at normal viewing size. If a recipient or legal process requires certificate-backed signing, audit evidence, identity verification or a particular form technology, use a workflow that explicitly provides those capabilities rather than assuming a visual mark is equivalent.
Current limits
- Fill PDF: one PDF file per run, up to 25 MiB and 200 pages
- Fill PDF: up to 500 text, date, checkbox or simple mark overlays
- Fill PDF: existing AcroForm fields are not detected or filled; XFA is unsupported
- Fill PDF: output additions are flattened and are not interactive form widgets
- Sign PDF visually: one PDF file per run, up to 25 MiB and 200 pages
- Sign PDF visually: up to 100 visual-signature placements
- Sign PDF visually: output is flattened page content, not a certificate-backed digital signature
- Encrypted or password-protected PDFs are not supported by this tool.
Steps
- Choose Fill PDF when you need text, dates, checkboxes or simple marks, and use Sign PDF visually when you need a visible typed, drawn or uploaded signature.
- Select one PDF file and load the page previews locally in your browser.
- Place and adjust the fill overlays or visual signature placements on the pages you need.
- Create the flattened output PDF, download it and review the visible result before sharing it.
- Before placing content, identify whether the PDF is simply a page image or layout or whether your downstream workflow expects a real interactive form. PDFandDOC can add visible overlays, but it does not convert those overlays into native form widgets.
- Use page preview and zoom to check alignment around labels, boxes and signature lines. Leave enough space so text and signatures remain legible when the page is viewed or printed at its normal size.
- For a visual signature, choose the source that matches your intent: typed text, a drawing or an uploaded PNG/JPEG image. Review its size and position on every page where it appears instead of assuming one placement is appropriate everywhere.
- After downloading, reopen the PDF and inspect every page containing an overlay or signature. If the document will be printed, consider a print-preview check as well because margins, scaling and printer settings can affect how close content appears to page edges.
Example
Example: a one-page approval sheet has blank lines for a name, date and signature. You can place the name and date as Fill PDF text overlays, then create a drawn visual signature and position it on the signature line. Before downloading, zoom in to make sure none of the overlays cover the printed labels. The resulting PDF contains those additions as flattened page content. It does not gain interactive form fields, a certificate-backed digital signature, identity verification or an audit trail simply because a signature image is visible.
Fill PDF and Visual Sign PDF run in your browser. PDF pages, entered field values, typed signature text, drawn strokes and uploaded signature images are not uploaded to PDFandDOC for those operations. A browser-local workflow still depends on the security of the browser, device and surrounding environment, and ordinary site requests can occur while the document processing remains local. This processing boundary does not establish legal validity, signer identity, confidentiality, regulatory compliance or any broader guarantee about the document or the way another party will treat the visual signature.
Questions
Does Fill PDF complete existing AcroForm or XFA fields?
No. The current Fill PDF tool adds flattened overlays and does not detect or fill existing AcroForm fields; XFA is unsupported.
Is Sign PDF visually a digital signature or e-sign workflow?
No. It adds a visual signature as flattened page content. It is not a certificate-backed digital signature, identity-verification system or e-sign workflow.
Are my fill values or signature images uploaded to PDFandDOC?
No. In the current implementation, Fill PDF and Visual Sign PDF run locally in the browser, and their PDF content, fill values and visual-signature data are not uploaded to PDFandDOC.
Can I edit the Fill PDF overlays after I download the result?
The exported additions are flattened page content rather than interactive form widgets. Keep the original PDF if you may need to change a name, date, checkbox, mark or signature later, then repeat the placement workflow from that source instead of assuming the downloaded overlay remains an editable form field.
What if the recipient requires a real interactive PDF form?
Use a workflow that explicitly supports the required form technology. PDFandDOC Fill PDF places visible overlays and does not detect or populate native AcroForm fields or XFA, so a document that must preserve interactive fields, validation rules or form submission behavior needs a different tool.
How should I check a filled or visually signed PDF before sending it?
Reopen the downloaded PDF and inspect every page where you added content. Check names, dates, selected marks, signature placement, clipping, page count and nearby labels at a normal viewing size. If the document will be printed, a print-preview check can catch scaling or margin issues that are easy to miss while zoomed in.
Does a visible signature prove who signed the PDF?
No. The current Visual Sign feature places visible page content and does not verify signer identity, issue a certificate, create cryptographic integrity evidence or produce a service audit trail. If the recipient requires those forms of evidence, use a signing workflow designed to provide them.
Evidence used for this guide
Reviewed by PDFandDOC product review. Last reviewed 2026-09-19.