How to check an edited PDF before sending it

List the expected changes, compare the original with the final file, then check nearby lines, pages and form fields. Sign last: exporting from the editor breaks an existing digital signature.

The recipient opens your corrected file once, and any mistake in it becomes their discovery rather than yours. Before sending, compare the final PDF with the original in Compare PDF and work through a short checklist: did everything that should change actually change, did the edit disturb nearby lines, and are the pages, form fields and signature intact?

This article covers the order of checks after editing. How to read the comparison report itself, what the highlight colors mean and how the page summary works is explained in detail in How to Compare Two PDF Versions.

Write down what should have changed

Without a list of expected edits, a review turns into a vague feeling that everything looks fine. Note the page number, the old value and the new value. For example: on page two the deadline moves from 15 to 20 November, the amount stays at 48,750, and the three-page appendix remains complete. Also note what must stay untouched: account details, party names, clause numbering.

Keep the original separately and never overwrite it. If you edited in Edit PDF, the final file appears below the editor after you click “Apply changes”. Download it and check that downloaded copy, not the image in the editor. Give it a name that cannot be confused with the original, for example one with a date. That way you will not compare the original with a copy of itself or attach the old version of the file to your email.

What the editor itself tells you

Before exporting, click “Check result”. The preview shows the page exactly as it will look in the final PDF and lists notes for each text edit above the image. “Font substituted” means the new line is set in a different font from the original one, so look at whether it stands out from its neighbors. A note such as “12 → 10 pt” means the text size was reduced to make it fit.

If the replacement text is longer than the old text, the default choice under “If the text does not fit” is “Move neighboring text”, and the notes show “Neighboring text moved: N”. That is expected behavior, but those are exactly the lines to inspect in the finished file.

A page where you placed an area with the “Mask” button (tooltip “Add redaction”) is exported as a picture. Its text can no longer be selected or found by search, so keep that in mind when comparing.

Compare the original with the final file

Upload exactly two files: the original (“before”) first and the edited one (“after”) second. In the highlighted PDF the two halves of each spread are labeled “Before” and “After”. If you swap the order, additions are shown as deletions. “Report format” defaults to “Both reports”: a text diff and a highlighted PDF.

“Ignore whitespace changes” is on by default and hides differences that consist only of spaces. If spacing matters in your document, for example in account numbers or codes, clear the checkbox. When “Comparison mode” is set to “Text and layout”, this setting has no effect on the text report, because spacing is part of what that mode compares, and the service warns you about it.

Two details confuse people specifically after editing. Pages are compared by number: if you deleted or inserted a page, page three is compared with page three, and differences appear on every page after the edit. A redacted page is marked “No extractable text - pixel comparison” in the highlighted PDF, and in the text diff its text may look deleted. Check such pages by eye.

Check the values and the lines around them

Find every edit from your list in the report, then review any unexpected additions and deletions. With dates, amounts, account details and units, the value itself is what counts: 48,705 instead of 48,750 is still an error, however neatly the line sits on the page.

Open the edited page at normal size, then zoom in. Check line breaks, clipped letters, table borders and the line below the edit: longer text sometimes affects an area you did not intend to change. If the document will be printed, view the page at sheet size, because comfortable reading on a large monitor does not guarantee a readable printout.

Pages, bookmarks and document properties

Go through the thumbnails of every page: count, order, orientation and whether the appendix is there. Pages marked with the “Hide” button (tooltip “Exclude page”) in the editor do not make it into the final file, so make sure you excluded the right ones. If you added or removed pages, check the start and end of the affected block.

The editor carries bookmarks and document properties over from the original, including the title. Open the file properties in your viewer: a title like “Contract, version 1” on the corrected version misleads the recipient. How to change it is covered in Set PDF Metadata So Files Get Found.

Check form fields separately

If the PDF contains form fields, the editor shows a “Keep form fields interactive” checkbox. It is off by default, and on export the fields are flattened into the page: the values stay visible, but the field can no longer be filled in. If the recipient has to fill in the form, turn the checkbox on before “Apply changes”.

After downloading, open a separate test copy in a PDF viewer, type a value into one field, save and reopen it. Check checkboxes and fields on other pages too. The comparison report will not help here: it checks neither how form fields work nor signatures, and only compares page text and appearance.

Add the digital signature last

The editor does not append changes to the original file; it rebuilds the file from scratch. That is why a digital signature present before editing always becomes invalid once you export from the editor. The “Add signature” button in the editor only places an image of a signature, whether drawn, typed or uploaded. It is not a verifiable digital signature.

The order is simple: make all edits and checks first, then sign in Sign PDF. This tool adds a visible signature and embeds a digital signature with a certificate issued by the service itself, so a viewer may report that the signer’s identity is not verified. Any change to the file after signing invalidates the signature again. More details are in How to sign a PDF without printing or scanning. Neither the comparison nor the signature provides a legal assessment of the document.

Final step before sending

Go through your written conditions once more: the new date is correct, the amount is unchanged, the appendix is present, the fields can be filled in, and the signature was added after the last edit. If a colleague does the review, give them the list of expected changes rather than a request to “take a look at the PDF”.

Send one file with a clear name. If another edit turns out to be necessary after the review, compare the affected page again and, if the document was signed, sign it again. Keep the original and your review notes until the work on the document is finished.