How do I sign a PDF on a Mac with the trackpad?

In Preview's Markup toolbar, click Sign → Create Signature → Trackpad, click Click Here to Begin, and draw with one finger. Press any key when finished, then Done. The signature is saved and can be placed by clicking it in the Sign menu.

Can Preview use a photo of my signature?

Yes. In Create Signature choose Camera, sign your name on plain white paper, and hold it up to the camera along the blue line. Preview traces it and stores it as a transparent signature; results are best with a dark pen and bright light.

Why does my signature look different in Adobe Reader?

Preview stores the signature as an annotation rather than part of the page, and some viewers draw annotations with their own rendering. A signature written into the page content, which the browser tool does, is drawn the same way everywhere.

Is a Preview signature a digital signature?

No. It is a picture of your signature placed on the page, which is what most agreements need. A cryptographic digital signature, the kind that certifies a document and detects later edits, requires a certificate and a tool that supports it; neither Preview nor the browser tool does that.

How to sign a PDF on a Mac

Preview has had a signature tool for years, and it is the best of the built-in options on any platform: draw on the trackpad, hold a signed piece of paper up to the camera, or sign on your iPhone. The browser tool is for typed signatures and for when you are not at your own Mac.

The built-in way on a Mac: Preview

01
Open the PDF in Preview and show the Markup toolbar (the pen tip in a circle).
02
Click the Sign button, then Create Signature. Choose Trackpad to draw with a finger, Camera to photograph a signature on white paper, or iPhone to draw on a connected phone.
03
Click Done; the signature is saved to the Sign menu for next time.
04
Click the signature to place it, drag it into position, resize with the corner handles, then File → Save.

Where it falls short

No typed signature option.
Saved signatures live with your user account; they only appear on another Mac if iCloud Keychain syncs them there.
Placing on a locked or form-flattened page still works, but the result is an annotation that a few viewers render oddly.

Do it in the browser instead

The same Sign PDF tool as the main page, running in Safari or Chrome on a Mac. Nothing is installed and the file is processed on your device.

Drop your PDF here

PDF · up to 100 MB · draw, type or upload a signature

Processed in your browser. This file never leaves your device.

01
Open the PDF
Open the tool in Safari or Chrome on your Mac and choose the file, or drag it from the Finder straight onto the page.
02
Create a signature
draw it, type it, or upload an image
03
Download the result
Click Download. The signature is drawn into the page content, so every viewer shows it identically.

Preview or the browser tool?

	Preview	PDF Spree
Cost	Free, built in	Free, no account
Text stays selectable	Yes	Yes
File leaves your device	No	No — processed in the browser
Works on other devices	No, this platform only	Yes, any modern browser

How to sign a PDF on a Mac

The built-in way on a Mac: Preview

Where it falls short

Do it in the browser instead

Open the PDF

Create a signature

Download the result

Preview or the browser tool?

Sign PDF on a Mac: questions

The same task on other devices

More PDF tasks on a Mac

The built-in way on a Mac: Preview

Where it falls short

Do it in the browser instead

Open the PDF

Create a signature

Download the result

Preview or the browser tool?

Sign PDF on a Mac: questions

How do I sign a PDF on a Mac with the trackpad?

Can Preview use a photo of my signature?

Why does my signature look different in Adobe Reader?

Is a Preview signature a digital signature?

The same task on other devices

More PDF tasks on a Mac

Related tools