The GingerDocs editor is built around one rule: the original PDF is never modified. Your file is rendered exactly as authored, your changes are kept separate from the source, and a clean copy is produced only when you are done. Within that rule, GingerDocs gives you three ways to edit — pick the one that fits the change you are making — and this guide covers all three, plus the field types, undo/redo, and version history that work across them.

Three ways to edit

Dropping in a signature is not the same job as fixing a typo in the body, which is not the same as rewriting a clause. GingerDocs gives you three editing surfaces for those different needs:

  • Overlay (default) — keep the original PDF as a read-only background and place fields, text, and signatures on a layer above it. This is the standard fill-and-sign mode, and the source is never touched.
  • In-place — click the existing text and retype it where it sits. GingerDocs matches the original font and colour, so the page still reads like the original rather than a patched-over copy, and your uploaded file is still preserved untouched.
  • Reflow — an optional re-authoring mode for when you genuinely need to rewrite the body. It rebuilds the document into editable rich text — headings, paragraphs, and tables — and renders a clean new PDF, while your original upload is kept alongside it.

The eight field types

Everything you place on a document is one of eight field types:

  • Signature — captures a legally attributable signature (draw, type, or upload).
  • Initials — a smaller mark for initialing pages or clauses.
  • Text field — free-form text input for names, titles, and answers.
  • Date — a date picker (MM/DD/YYYY).
  • File upload — lets the recipient attach a file, such as an ID document.
  • Radio buttons — pick exactly one option from a list.
  • Checkbox — a single check/uncheck box.
  • Dropdown — pick one option from a dropdown menu.

Placing and adjusting fields

Drag any field onto the page, then resize and reposition it precisely. Fields can go on any page of the document, and each one can be assigned to a recipient so the right person fills it during signing.

Undo, redo, and version history

Every edit is undoable. Step backward and forward through individual changes with undo/redo, or roll the entire document back to an earlier version from the version history.

The editor also auto-saves continuously, so closing a tab mid-edit loses nothing.

Editing on mobile

The editor adapts to small screens, so you can review and adjust a document from a phone or tablet rather than waiting until you are back at a desk.

What happens when you finish

While the document is in progress, the overlay stays editable and the source stays untouched. Only when the document completes does GingerDocs produce a single flattened PDF that merges the original with every field — clean output for download and archival, with the original still preserved.