The easiest ways to view, sign, and edit PDFs on Android

For a format that’s been around for a solid few decades, the tried-and-true PDF sure can be a pain in the patootie.

You know what I’m talkin’ about here, right? Practically every time I’m forced to deal with a PDF, I find myself muttering quiet obscenities in my head like an uncouth raccoon (or maybe just an ordinary Homo sapien being tested by an exasperating file format).

Sometimes, that’s because I’m trying to view a Very Important Business Document™ on my phone, and the blasted thing won’t adapt intelligently — so I’ve gotta do that awkward zoom-in-then-swipe-around-as-you-go dance just to be able to read it without breaking out a virtual magnifying glass.

Other times, the PDF is something I’ve gotta sign, and none of the normal places where I open it allow me to perform that apparently Herculean-level feat without jumping through all sorts of silly hoops.

Well, my friend, we’ve let the PDF get the better of us for far too long. It’s time to show that forkin’ file format who’s boss — and show ourselves some better ways to manage and master the world’s most frustrating flavor of document without driving ourselves completely batty.

Choose your own adventure — or, better yet, keep both of these paths in mind for any and all forms of future PDF wrangling.

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Android PDF path #1: The (newly) built-in basics

Up first is a brand new (and extremely overdue!) option for Android-based PDF finessing that’s probably already present on whatever device you’re using — or if not, will be any day now.

Drumroll, please: As of this week, the regular ol’ Chrome Android app is a-sportin’ a spiffy new native PDF viewer and editor. It’s pretty basic and frills-free — and, frankly, it’s lacking some fairly significant features you’re likely to need for any business use (and even plenty of personal purposes).

But it’s a solid starting point, at least, and it’s well worth making yourself aware of as a ground-level PDF wrangling option.

The best part about it is that you probably won’t have to do a thing to embrace it: Just fire up Chrome on whatever Android apparatus you’ve got in your person-paws and tap a link to open any PDF file anywhere online. (The World Wide Web Consortium — an organization responsible for developing global web standards — has a simple dummy PDF you can use for quick ‘n’ easy testing. Here’s the link.)

If the feature’s made its way to you, that action should instantly open the PDF right within Chrome — inside a shiny new built-in viewer that no longer requires you to switch over to a separate system process, as has previously been the case.

The new native Chrome Android PDF viewer is barebones but good enough for certain purposes.JR Raphael, Foundry

From there, you can tap the pencil-shaped icon in the lower-right corner of the screen to enter a limited PDF editing mode — where you’ll be able to mark up, highlight, and erase items from the document.

You can even perform basic edits and markups within the new Chrome Android PDF viewer.JR Raphael, Foundry

That’d probably be enough for a quick finger-scribbled signature, even — at least, if the PDF is something you’re opening on the web.

For all other purposes, our next path is the one you’ll need.

(And if you aren’t getting the new native Chrome PDF editor yet, by the by, you can first check the Play Store for any pending updates to the app — and if that still doesn’t do the trick and you’re feeling impatient, type chrome:flags into the browser’s address bar, type PDF into the search box at the top of the screen that comes up, and change the settings for the two “Open PDF inline on Android” options from “Default” to “Enabled.”)

Android PDF path #2: The full-fledged toolkit

For a more robust Android PDF experience, the app you want is a title that’s bound to be familiar — though likely something you’d never think to seek out on Android (or quite possibly anywhere else, for that matter).

And that’s Adobe Acrobat.

Yes, indeedly: The Adobe Acrobat Reader Android app is an easy, effective, and all-around excellent way to manage PDFs on your phone or tablet — whether you’re simply reading something, signing it, or editing it in other ways.

Once you install the Acrobat Android app, you’ll start seeing it as an option whenever you open a PDF from your email, your favorite Android file manager, or any other app without its own built-in PDF setup. That in and of itself is an admirable advantage that even the most capable web-based PDF editor can’t match.

Adobe’s Android Acrobat app is an exceptionally effective way to work with PDFs on the platform.JR Raphael, Foundry

And when it comes to regular ol’ viewing of a PDF, Acrobat offers a massive advantage over the built-in Chrome path we just went over. See that little icon at the left of the top row — the one that looks kinda like a waterdrop of sorts?

Tap that, and any PDF you’re gazing uponst will instantly transform into a “liquid” viewing mode. That mode breaks the typical static PDF formatting and turns the text into an adaptive format actually designed for easy reading on a small screen.

Acrobat’s “liquid” viewing mode makes any PDF easy on the eyes, even on a (relatively) small phone screen.JR Raphael, Foundry

Quite the difference, no?

That aside, the real power of Acrobat comes into play when you’re ready to sign, edit, or otherwise mark up a PDF in front of you. The options at the bottom of the screen (when in a document’s original, non-liquid viewing mode) make it all not only possible but also exceptionally easy to do — especially the signature bit, which connects to your existing Adobe account and automatically pulls over any saved signatures you’ve already created.

That means with a few fast taps, you can select whichever signature you need at any given moment, plop it into place anywhere on any PDF document, and then save the document or share it directly back into another app for speedy sending. And if you don’t yet have an Adobe account, you can create one for free and then securely store your signatures within it.

Other tools in that area allow you to easily fill in form fields, add an X or checkmark anywhere within a PDF, and draw, comment, or highlight to your heart’s content.

All sorts of common PDF edits — including form fills and signatures — are effortlessly easy with the Acrobat Android app.JR Raphael, Foundry

Some of Acrobat’s more advanced editing options do require a monthly paid subscription — and the app will occasionally nudge you to make the associated upgrade. But all the stuff we just discussed is readily available without any limits or payments. And you can keep using it as much as you like without ever signing up for a trial or dropping so much as a single dime.

If you find yourself appreciating the Acrobat approach, you can even ask the app to open any and all PDFs you tap on throughout Android by default — without the need for that extra-step selection menu each and every time. You should see an option to do that at the top of the app’s main screen, in the carousel of suggestions directly beneath the welcome message.

Now, let’s be real here: PDFs will inevitably still be a bit of a pain no matter what you do. (Hey, some things never change!) But with the right tools in front of you, they can at least be a manageable nuisance — and with the one-two-punch of Chrome’s new PDF feature and Acrobat’s even more capable environment, you might actually manage to interact with these godforsaken files without wanting to gouge your eyes out.

That, if you ask me, is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

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