Getting started
Your first document, the dashboard, guest drafts and what happens when you sign up.
12 articles · Updated
Start here
- What PDFBetter is and the fastest way to startPDFBetter is a PDF editor in your browser: edit text, fill forms, sign, request signatures, convert, organize pages and ask AI questions with page citations. The fastest start is to drop a PDF on the home page or the dashboard; it opens in the editor.
- Quick start: fill and sign your first PDF in 5 minutesOpen the PDF, click each field and type (Tab moves to the next), click Sign → Add signature, place it, then Done → Download. Without an account you can do everything except the download, which asks you to create a free account first.
- Get help inside PDFBetter: the help panel, search and supportIn the dashboard, click the question mark in the top bar or Help & support in the sidebar. The panel shows Help for this page, a search box and every topic. In the editor, use More (⋯) → Help center. A person answers at [email protected].
Your account
- Use PDFBetter without an accountYou can open every tool without signing up. Browser tools (merge, split, rotate, images to PDF and more) download free. Edits you make in the editor are a guest draft kept for 1 hour; downloading, sharing or sending them needs a free account.
- Create an account and keep your guest draftsClick Create free account (or Keep my drafts in the guest banner) and sign up with email, Google or Apple. Your guest drafts, saved signatures, AI chats and usage move into the account on this device, and they stop expiring.
- Change the language of the appPDFBetter speaks English, Español, 日本語, Français and Deutsch. In the app, go to Settings → Profile & signatures → Language and pick an App language; it also sets the language of emails we send you. On the website, use the language menu in the header or footer.
- Notifications and the emails PDFBetter sends youThe bell in the dashboard shows the last 30 days of activity on what you sent: opened, signed, declined, completed, expired and new form responses. We also email you when someone signs, declines or finishes, and about your account. Form response emails can be turned off per form; signing emails can't.
The dashboard
- A tour of the dashboardThe dashboard at /app/ is home base. The sidebar holds New, Create with AI and your lists; the top bar has search (⌘K), the AI menu, notifications and help. The home page shows what needs your attention, quick tools and your recent documents.
- Find and organize your documents: folders, tags, search and trashEverything you upload, create, sign or send is in My documents. Sort it into folders and tags, filter by status or name, and search everything with ⌘K. Deleted documents stay in Trash for 30 days, where you can restore them.
The editor
- Editor basics: open, save, version history and downloadOpen a document from My documents (or Open in editor in its menu). The editor saves automatically; the status next to the name shows Saved. Restore earlier states from Version history, and get the finished file from Done → Download.
- Keyboard shortcutsPress ? anywhere in the dashboard or the editor to see the shortcuts for that screen. The essentials: ⌘ K to search, U to upload, T for text, S to sign, ⌘ Z to undo and Tab to move between form fields.
Got a link from someone?
Other collections
Still stuck? Ask a person.
Tell us what you were trying to do and what happened instead. We reply within two business days, usually sooner.