PDF Editor · Windows 10 and 11
Sign a PDF
Draw your signature with the mouse, a touchpad or a pen, or type your name in a handwriting font, then click where it goes. Octoolo remembers your last three, so the next document takes a couple of clicks. No printer, no scanner, and the PDF never leaves your PC.
How to sign a PDF
- 1
Go to the signature line
Open the PDF in the PDF Editor and scroll to the page that needs signing.
- 2
Make your signature
Press Sign. In Your signature, choose Draw it and sign in the box, or Type it and enter your name. Pick an ink color.
- 3
Place it
Press Place it, then click on the page where the signature belongs. Drag it to move it, and drag its corner to resize it.
- 4
Add the date and save
Press Text to type the date or your printed name beside it, then Save (Ctrl S).
Drawing a signature that looks like yours
The drawing box has a line to sign on, like a paper form. A mouse makes a shaky line; a pen on a touchscreen laptop or a drawing tablet gives the most natural result, and a touchpad works if you go slowly. Sign larger than you would on paper: the box is wide, and the signature is trimmed to its ink and placed at about a quarter of the page's width, which hides small wobbles.
A typed signature uses a handwriting-style font that comes with Windows, such as Segoe Script. It is neat and the same every time, which suits forms where a signature is a formality.
The ink can be black, dark blue or bright blue, or any color from the picker. Blue makes it easy to tell a signed original from a black-and-white copy. Not happy with it? Press Clear and draw it again before placing.
What kind of signature this is
Octoolo places your signature on the page as a picture: the same result as signing a printout and scanning it, without the printer. That is an electronic signature in the everyday sense, the kind used on permission slips, delivery notes, timesheets and quotes.
It is not a certificate-based digital signature. Those are made with a digital ID, and a PDF reader then shows who signed and warns if anything changes afterward. Octoolo does not make them, and a reader will not show a signature panel for a signature placed with Octoolo. If an employer, a bank or a government office asks for a digital signature or a certificate, use the tool they name.
A signed PDF from Octoolo can still be sent anywhere and opened by anyone; it simply carries no proof of who signed beyond the look of the signature.
Initials, several pages, and stored signatures
Some contracts want initials on every page and a full signature at the end. Make your initials as a second signature: press Sign, draw or type them, and place them. Both now wait under Used before: in the signature box, so each further page is a matter of choosing one and clicking on the page.
The last three signatures are kept on this computer only, inside Octoolo. They are not sent anywhere and not tied to an account.
To replace one of the three, make a new signature: the oldest drops off the list. Prefer a scan of your real signature? Put it on the page with the Picture tool; a PNG with a transparent background sits most naturally on the line. See add an image to a PDF.
Before you send it back
Signed documents usually need a date and a printed name. Press Text, click beside the signature and type them. If the PDF has fillable fields, fill those in from The form panel first; see fill in a PDF form.
Check every page that needs your mark. In a long contract, the page bar shows a small dot on pages where something has been added, so a missed page stands out.
The signature is drawn into the page when you save, so it looks the same in every reader and prints as it shows. Keep the unsigned file you were sent too, in case it has to be signed again, and send the signed copy as the PDF you saved, not as a picture of it.
Octoolo or an online tool?
| Detail | Octoolo | A typical online tool |
|---|---|---|
| Your files | Stay on your computer | Usually uploaded to the site's server |
| Without internet | Works | Does not work |
| File size | No limit | Often capped on free use |
| Watermarks and ads | None | Common on free plans |
| Cost | $4.99 a month, all 17 apps | Free with limits, or a plan per site |
Questions, answered
Is a signature made this way legally binding?
That depends on where you live and what you are signing, not on the app. For everyday paperwork a drawn or typed signature is common; when a certificate is required, the sender will normally say so.
Can I reuse my signature next time?
Yes. Your last three signatures appear under Used before: when you press Sign. Click one, then click on the page.
Can I move or resize the signature after placing it?
Yes. Drag it to move it and drag its corner to resize it; its proportions stay the same.
Will there be a white box around my signature?
No. Drawn and typed signatures are saved with a transparent background, so the line and any text beneath show through.
Can someone remove my signature from the PDF?
It is drawn into the page, but like any picture in a PDF it could be edited out with the right software. Detecting changes is what certificate-based signatures do, and this kind does not.
Can I sign a scanned document?
Yes. Signing works on any page, scanned or typed, including photos you opened as pages.
Sign PDF, and 16 more apps.
Download for Windows7 days free, then from $3.99 a month for all 17 apps. Windows 10 and 11.