Work with images and PDFs in Preview

Always start with a copy

Preview opens many PDFs and images without installing another app. If you practice on a copy, the original stays intact even when something goes wrong.

1. In Finder, secondary-click the file. On a trackpad, that is a click with two fingers.
2. If another app opens it by default, go to Open With and choose Preview.
3. Before experimenting, open the File menu and choose Duplicate.

You can also make the copy directly in Finder.

Crop and adjust an image

1. Open a copy of the image.
2. Click the Show Markup Toolbar button if the Markup toolbar is not showing.
3. Click the Rectangular Selection button.
4. Drag over the part you want to keep.
5. Click the Crop button in the Markup toolbar, or open the Tools menu and choose Crop.
6. Check the result before saving: content outside the selection is left out of the cropped copy. If you made a mistake, open the Edit menu and choose Undo Crop.

To change the dimensions, open the Tools menu and choose Adjust Size. Keep the proportions to avoid distortion. Enlarging a small image does not recover detail it never had.

If you need another copy or a different format, open the File menu and choose Export. JPEG is often useful for photographs; PNG can preserve transparency. Check size and quality when you export.

Annotate, sign and organize a PDF

With a test PDF open, Preview lets you do four common things.

• See the pages: open the View menu, choose Thumbnails and select a page to reach it quickly.
• Reorder: drag thumbnails in a document that allows editing. Duplicate before changing or deleting anything.
• Annotate: click the Show Markup Toolbar button. In that toolbar, Text adds a box to type in, Shapes adds shapes such as arrows, and Sign places a drawn or captured signature.
• Fill in a form: if it has supported fields, click them and type.

Know the limits of Preview

Some documents have restrictions, complex forms or digital signatures that require a particular tool. A picture of your signature added with Markup is not the same as a certified digital signature.