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Help: Images, Signatures, and Objects

Adding an Image

  1. Click the Insert button insert image in the toolbar.
  2. In the dialog that opens, navigate to the image you want to insert and click Open.
  3. The image will be placed in the center of the page by default.

Tips on Adding an Image

  • You can drag-and-drop an image from any folder on your computer directly to the PDF page.
  • You can also drag an image from Safari, iPhoto, or other applications that support image drag-and-drop, and drop it into PDFpen.

Adding a Signature

You can insert a scanned image of your signature into a PDF just as you would any other image. But it's often necessary to make the background of the signature transparent.

  1. Scan your signature and save it as an image file.
  2. Follow the steps above to insert the scanned signature into your document.
  3. insert signatureWith the signature selected, choose Edit > Make Transparent Image...
  4. In the window that opens, use the eyedropper to click on the background color of the signature. The Tolerance slider can adjust how sharp the edge of the the transparency appears.
  5. Click Make Transparent.
  6. If your signature appears too thin, choose Edit > Undo, and repeat Step 3 with decreased tolerance.
  7. Use resizing handles, with the Shift key held down to constrain proportions, to resize the signature to fit appropriately.

Tips for Adding A Signature

  • Once you've added your signature to a PDF, you can save it in the Library to reuse in the future. See Library for instructions.
  • If your scanned image is too large, you can crop it first. To crop the image, see Cropping Images below.

Editing Images

You can edit images that are part of the original PDF, as well as images that you add.

  1. Select the Edit tool (arrow) edit tool.
  2. Click in an image to select it.
  3. Once an image is selected, you have four options:
    • Delete the image by choosing Edit > Delete from the menu.
    • Copy the image by choosing Edit > Copy from the menu. The image can now be pasted to another page or another PDF.
    • Move the image by dragging it to another location.
    • Resize the selected image by dragging the selection handles. You can also choose Edit > Expand Image to Fit Page; the image will be enlarged to its maximum size that fits on the page.
    • Crop the selected image. See Cropping Images below.
    • Make Transparent Image. See Adding A Signature above.

Note: In order to crop, make transparent or expand an image that is part of the original PDF, you must first move or resize it.

Cropping Images

  1. Select an image and choose Edit > Crop Image... or double-click on the image.
  2. In the dialog that opens, click and drag over the section of the image that you want to keep.
    • Check Fit original size if you want the cropped image to be resized to fit the size of the original image.
    • Check Keep proportions if you want the cropped image to have the proportional height and width of the original image.
  3. Click the Crop button.

 

Adding Objects: Scribbles, Lines and Shapes

Hold down the mouse on the Scribble tool scribble tool in the toolbar and choose one of the following tools:

scribble tool

Scribble Tool
Draw freeform scribbles with the mouse or a tablet. Click the Scribble tool in the toolbar. Now click, hold, and move the mouse around in the page to scribble.
Note: When you release the mouse button, your scribble will be smoothed. If you don't want your scribble smoothed, hold down the command key when you release the mouse.

polygon tool

Polygon Tool
Create polygonal shapes by clicking to place endpoints of each section of the shape you want. To complete the shape, click on the first point or double-click.

rectangle tool

Rectangle Tool
Click and drag to create a rectangle.

ellipse tool

Ellipse Tool
Click and drag to create an ellipse.

line tool

Line Tool
Click and drag to create a line.

rounded rectangle tool

Rounded Rectangle Tool
Click and drag to create a rounded rectangle.

Object Properties: Fill, Stroke, Endpoints

To display the Object Properties, click the Inspector button inspector button in the toolbar and select the first tab, or choose Window > Object Properties.

  • Fill
    Choose a color for the fill of a shape.
  • Stroke
    Choose a color and a width for the stroke of a shape or a line.
  • Endpoints
    Choose a style for the endpoints of a line.

 

Saving Items in the Library for Reuse

You can save frequently-used images and objects in the Library. See Library for details.

Arranging Images and Objects

Use the options in the Arrange menu to manage images and objects that overlap. Select the item that you want to manipulate and choose:

  • Move Forward
  • Move to Front
  • Move Backward
  • Move to Back
    These four choices let change the order in which items are stacked, e.g. the frontmost item will be visible on top of the others.
  • Lock
    Locks the selected item so that it can't be moved or edited.
  • Unlock All
    Unlocks all items that have been locked.
  • Snap to Grid
    Snaps items to a grid when placed on the page. The grid increments can be specified in Preferences.
  • Show Grid
    Toggles the visibility of the grid on and off.
 
 
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