First decide what exactly has to change
PDF was created as a way to show a page identically everywhere, not as a convenient format for editing. So one approach does not fit every case. If you need to add a signature, date or note, you do not have to change the text and can simply add an element on top of the page. If you need to rewrite a term, you will need a text version, and the look of the pages may change. Answering this question saves time and protects against accidental distortion.
Another important question is whether you have the right to change this document. A signed contract cannot simply be corrected by one side: changes are made by agreement between the parties, usually in an addendum. An altered copy must not be passed off as the original. If you are unsure whether an edit is allowed and how to record it, first check with the other party or a lawyer.
Text PDF and scan: what is the difference
In a text PDF the letters exist as text: you can select and copy them. A scan or photo contains only an image of the page, and to a computer there are no words in it. The check is simple: try selecting a line. If the whole page is selected as a picture or nothing happens, you have an image, and editing the text needs recognition, that is OCR.
Ways of editing and when to use each
The best option is the source file. If you or the other side have a DOCX, edit it and create a new PDF: layout and text stay clean.
Working on top of the original pages makes sense when the unchanged look matters and you are adding something small: a signature, a date, a text note. The content is not rewritten.
A text version suits changing terms when no source exists. The content is rebuilt, so the layout becomes new, and headings, tables and numbering need checking.
Recognition is for scans and photos. Its quality depends on sharpness, resolution and language. A poor image is better retaken than corrected by hand through many errors.
How not to distort a contract while editing
The most dangerous recognition errors are invisible: a wrong digit in an amount, a shifted date, a lost word such as not, or a mixed-up letter in party details. Compare all names, amounts, dates, numbers and tables with the original, and keep the source file separately without overwriting it. After editing, open the final file and page through all of it: sometimes a page, annex or signature is lost precisely on saving.
If the document goes to the other party, say what exactly has changed instead of quietly sending a new version. A comparison of versions and a separate list of edits remove needless disputes.
How to do this in Legal
In JEEKSSHIRE 24 | Legal you can open PDF, DOCX, TXT, HTML, PNG and JPEG files of up to 15 MB and choose a mode. In original PDF mode the pages and rotations are preserved, and you can add a signature and text, including on scans with no recognised text. To change content there is a text version: a scan can be recognised in Russian, English, Chinese or Arabic, with up to 150 pages at a time in the browser and on Windows and up to 40 in the Mac app. The result is saved in a format available for the mode, such as PDF or DOCX. Automatically turning any scan into a flawless document is not promised, so comparing with the original stays with you.