An emptied line is an edit like any other: PDF Textfix checks it before applying it, and Save writes the page without the words. It works one line at a time.
- Select the line and press Return, or double-click it.
- Press ⌘A to select the line’s text in the editor, then Delete.
- Press Return. The page shows the line gone, exactly as Save will write it.
- Save with ⌘S, or use File > Save As to keep the original file as it is.
To remove a few words instead, select just those words in step 2.
Why does the gap stay where the line was?
Because a PDF has no flow. Each line sits at its own position, so when one is emptied the lines below do not move up and the page keeps a gap. Within a line, deleted words leave a gap too, unless you choose Shift Rest of Line (⌃⌘R) in the bar under the pages, which moves the text after your edit by the change in width. Either way, PDF Textfix first checks that every other character on the page stays where it was.
Is deleting a line the same as redacting it?
No, and the difference matters. Save writes the whole file again and removes the lines you replaced from the pages; the saved file keeps no earlier version of them. But the app’s Help > Saving and Privacy window is plain about the rest: “Everything you did not edit is copied as it was, and it can hold the same words: other text, links and the web or email addresses they open, bookmarks, comments, form fields, the accessibility text a tagged file keeps for its pages, images, and the file’s metadata, such as its title and author.” It goes on: “Fonts keep the shapes of all their characters, those of the text you replaced included.” That holds unless the file was damaged; the app tells you when it repaired one.
So a deleted account number can still sit in a bookmark, a link’s address or the file’s properties. The same window draws the conclusion: “So this is not a redaction tool: to remove confidential content from a file, use a redaction tool.”
What should I use when the text is confidential?
A redaction tool, then a check that nothing is left. Redacting versus deleting text in a PDF explains the difference, and how to white out, cover or delete text compares covering a line with a box, deleting it and redacting it. What saving does to your PDF lists what a saved file still holds.
Use PDF Textfix to delete a line when the reason is that the line is wrong, not that it is secret: a duplicated line, a line left over from a template, a note that no longer applies.
Which lines can’t be deleted?
Locked lines, and the line says why. Among the reasons: the text of a form field or a comment, hidden text such as the text layer of a scan, text in a font made of pictures, vertical text, and the watermark of the free version. A scanned page has no text to delete at all: its words are a picture. The manual lists every reason, and the FAQ lists what else PDF Textfix leaves to other apps.
More questions about deleting text from a PDF
Can I get a deleted line back?
Before you save, Edit > Undo (⌘Z) brings it back, and File > Revert to Saved drops every edit since the last save. Once saved, the line is gone from that file, so use Save As when you may want the original.
Can I delete a whole paragraph?
Line by line. Tab applies an edit and moves to the next line, so emptying several lines in a row is quick, and each one counts as a line edit.
Does a deleted line count as a line edit?
Yes, like any edited line. Free to try. Your first 5 line edits save clean. After that, saved files carry a watermark until you buy once. Pricing has the rest.
