How to Use PDFs on iPad — Read, Annotate, Sign, and Edit

The iPad Is Secretly a Great PDF Machine

With Apple Pencil and the right apps, an iPad handles PDFs better than most laptops. Annotation feels like writing on paper. Form filling is tap-and-type. Signing is a natural pen stroke. And Split View lets you reference one PDF while working on another.

Built-In Capabilities (No Extra Apps)

Files App

• Open any PDF
• Markup: tap the pencil icon for drawing, text, signatures, shapes
• Share via AirDrop, email, Messages
• Organize in folders, tag with colors

Books App

• Better reading experience for long documents (remembers position, night mode)
• Highlight and annotate
• Search within document

Quick Look

• Preview PDFs in Mail, Messages, Safari without opening a separate app
• Markup directly from preview

Apple Pencil Annotation

This is where iPad excels. Open a PDF in Files → tap Markup:

• Pen/Pencil/Highlighter: Natural handwriting annotation
• Text boxes: Typed notes at specific locations
• Shapes: Rectangles, circles, arrows, lines
• Signature: Draw once, reuse everywhere
• Ruler: Straight lines and measurements

For grading papers, reviewing contracts, or studying research papers, Apple Pencil annotation is faster and more intuitive than any desktop tool.

Best PDF Apps for iPad

App	Free	Annotation	Edit Text	Forms	Price
Files (built-in)	Yes	Basic	No	Limited	Free
PDF Expert	Partial	Full	Yes	Yes	$80/yr
GoodNotes	Partial	Excellent	No	No	$10/yr
Adobe Acrobat	Partial	Good	Paid	Yes	Free/$10/mo
Notability	Partial	Excellent	No	No	$15/yr

For most users, Files + MyPDF in Safari covers everything. Files for reading/annotation, MyPDF for merge/split/compress/convert/OCR when needed.

Filling Forms on iPad

Fillable PDFs: tap each field and type. The on-screen keyboard works, but an external keyboard (Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard) is much faster for form-heavy work.

Flat PDFs (not fillable): use Markup to place text boxes over the blank fields. Not ideal, but it works without printing.

Signing Documents

1. Open PDF in Files
2. Tap Markup → tap (+) → Signature
3. Draw your signature with Apple Pencil or finger
4. Place and resize on the document
5. Tap Done — the signed PDF is saved

The signature is saved for reuse. Next time, just select it from the (+) menu.

Scanning with iPad

iPad's camera + document scanner in Notes or Files:

1. Notes → (+) → Scan Documents


2. Point camera at document


3. Auto-capture (or manual)


4. Saves as multi-page PDF

For better OCR after scanning, upload to MyPDF OCR.

Related Tools

• Compress PDF — Reduce file sizes on iPad via Safari
• Merge PDF — Combine PDFs without desktop apps
• Sign PDF — Alternative signing in browser
• OCR PDF — Make scanned documents searchable