How to draw your signature directly on a pdf
- Step 1Add the PDF — Drop the document into the PDF Sign tool. It is read locally and the page count is detected for the target-page field.
- Step 2Draw on the signature canvas — Sign on the white pad. With a touchscreen or stylus you get the most natural result; with a mouse, draw slowly. The label shows
Signature capturedonce you lift off. - Step 3Clear and redraw until it looks right — Press Clear to wipe the pad and try again. There's no undo for a single stroke, so clearing and redrawing is the way to fix a wobble.
- Step 4Choose the placement — Pick
bottom-right,bottom-left,top-right,top-left, orcenter. Corners are inset 40pt; center is the page midpoint. - Step 5Set size and page — Set a width in points (default 180; 60–400). Type a 1-based target page, or leave it blank to stamp the last page.
- Step 6Process and download — Press Process to embed the drawing and download the signed PDF.
Signature pad behaviour
The drawing pad's real, fixed characteristics. None of these are user-adjustable in the tool.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Input devices | Mouse, trackpad, touch, stylus | Captured via pointer events on the canvas |
| Pen width | 2.5 pt | Fixed; no thickness control |
| Pen colour | Near-black (#0c0c0d) | Fixed; no colour picker |
| Line style | Round caps and joins | Smooth corners; no separate smoothing toggle |
| Pad surface | White, ~480×160 CSS px (high-DPI scaled) | Output is a PNG of your strokes |
| Editing | Clear and redraw | No per-stroke undo |
Placement controls when stamping the drawing
The three controls that decide where and how big the drawn signature lands.
| Control | Range / options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 4 corners + center (40pt inset) | bottom-right |
| Width | 60–400 pt | 180 pt |
| Target page | 1 … page count, or blank | Last page |
Cookbook
Get a clean drawn signature onto the page. Draw first, then place with the controls.
Sign with a stylus on a tablet
A stylus gives the cleanest line. Draw at a comfortable size, then set the width to fit the signature line.
Draw with stylus on canvas Position: bottom-right Width: 200 pt Target page: blank → last page Natural handwritten signature, bottom-right.
Steady up a wobbly mouse signature
Mouse signatures wobble. Clearing and drawing larger and slower, then scaling down via width, hides small wobbles.
Draw large and slow on the pad
Clear and retry until acceptable
Width: 140 pt → scales the drawing down,
making minor wobble less visibleFinger-sign on a phone
On a phone the canvas is touch-enabled. Sign with a finger, then place it.
Touch-draw on canvas Position: bottom-left Width: 180 pt Target page: blank → last page
Draw initials for a corner
A small drawn-initials mark in a corner at a reduced width.
Draw initials on canvas Position: top-left Width: 70 pt Target page: 2
Draw, stamp, then flatten
Lock the document after stamping the drawing so the rest of any form can't be changed.
1) PDF Sign → drawn signature 2) /pdf-tools/pdf-flatten → flatten remaining fields
Edge cases and what actually happens
Nothing drawn before processing
RejectedThe pad must contain strokes. An empty canvas returns Draw a signature in the canvas before processing.
Mouse signature looks shaky
ExpectedMouse input is inherently jittery and the pen has no smoothing toggle to adjust. Draw slower and larger, then scale down via the width, or use a touchscreen or stylus for a cleaner line.
You want a thicker or coloured pen
Not supportedThe pen is fixed at 2.5pt near-black. There is no thickness or colour control. Drawing larger and increasing the output width makes the line look bolder.
You made one bad stroke and want to undo it
Not supportedThere is no per-stroke undo. Press Clear to wipe the whole pad and draw the signature again.
You want to reuse this exact drawing later
Not supportedThe drawing isn't saved between sessions. Redraw it for each document; the canvas starts blank on every run.
The PDF is encrypted
PreservedEncryption is ignored on load, so the drawing can usually still be stamped. The output isn't re-encrypted; re-protect it afterwards if needed.
File over the tier limit
RejectedFree caps at 2 MB / 50 pages and Pro at 50 MB / 500 pages. Compress or split before signing.
Drawing lands on the wrong page
By designIt stamps the last page by default. Type the correct 1-based page number into the target-page field to control which page gets the drawing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I draw my signature with a mouse?
Yes. The canvas accepts mouse input, though a touchscreen or stylus produces a smoother line. Drawing slowly helps with a mouse.
Can I sign with my finger on a phone?
Yes — the pad is fully touch-enabled, so you can sign with a finger or a capacitive stylus on any modern mobile browser.
How thick is the pen, and can I change it?
It's a fixed 2.5-point near-black line with round caps. Thickness and colour aren't adjustable; draw larger and increase the output width to look bolder.
Is there a smoothing setting for shaky lines?
There's no separate smoothing toggle. The stroke already uses round caps and joins. For the smoothest result, use a stylus or finger and draw slowly.
Can I undo a single stroke?
No. The only edit is Clear, which wipes the whole pad so you can redraw the signature.
Can I save the drawn signature for next time?
No. The drawing isn't persisted between sessions; the canvas starts blank each run, so you redraw it each time.
Does the drawing keep its proportions when stamped?
Yes. You set only the width in points; the height scales to match the drawing's aspect ratio, so it never looks stretched.
Where does the drawing go on the page?
To one of five anchors — four corners or the center — inset 40 points from the edges, on the page you choose.
Is the drawn signature uploaded anywhere?
No. Both the drawing and the PDF are processed in your browser tab and never leave your device.
Can I draw the signature on multiple pages?
Each run stamps one page. Run the tool again with a different target page to place the drawing on another page.
Is a drawn signature a legal digital signature?
It is a visible handwritten-style mark, accepted for many everyday documents, but not a certificate-based cryptographic signature. For that, use the PDF Digital Signature tool.
How large a PDF can I draw on?
Up to 2 MB on free (50 pages), 50 MB on Pro (500 pages), or 500 MB on higher tiers (2,000 pages).
Privacy first
All PDF processing runs locally in your browser using PDF-lib and pdf.js. No file is ever uploaded — only metadata counters are saved for signed-in dashboard stats.