QuireHow to fill in and sign a PDF on a Chromebook
Short answer: open the PDF from the Files app and it opens in the built-in Gallery app. Click into the fields and type, use the signature button to draw your signature and choose Place signature, then Save.
The signature is a picture of your handwriting. Google says Gallery’s signatures are for convenience and don’t provide verification or security. If the sender needs a verified e-signature, use the service they ask for.
Updated 14 October 2026. ChromeOS steps follow Google’s Chromebook help; menus can change between ChromeOS versions.
Fill in and sign with the Gallery app
- Open the form from the Files app
Open the Launcher, then Files. Find the PDF (a form you downloaded is usually in Downloads) and double-click it. It opens in Gallery.
- Fill in the fields
Click into the form’s fields and type. If nothing happens when you click, the PDF probably has no form fields; it may be a scan. Choose Text in the menu at the top and place your text on the page instead.
- Create your signature
Select the signature button in the toolbar at the top and draw your signature with a mouse, your finger or a stylus. A touchscreen or stylus gives a neater result than a touchpad.
- Place it
Select Place signature, then use the Select tool to move or resize it. Gallery keeps the signature for the next PDF; choose Draw another signature to add a second one, or Delete signature to remove it from the Chromebook.
- Save
Choose Save at the top right, or use the arrow beside it to save the signed form as a new file and keep the blank one.
Before you send it, open the saved file once to check that your answers and signature are there.
Chrome’s own PDF viewer can also fill in form fields and sign with its Draw pen; see how to fill a PDF form in Chrome. To make PDFs open in Chrome instead of Gallery, right-click a PDF in Files and choose Open file › Change default › View. Google’s Chrome help says that on a Chromebook you choose Save to keep your changes, and its Chromebook help says you can’t add text annotations in the Chrome browser, so Gallery is the better choice for forms without fields.
Fill in and sign with Quire PDF
Quire PDF is our extension. It runs in Chrome, so it installs on a Chromebook like any other extension. We tested it in Chrome on a Mac, not on a Chromebook; if anything misbehaves, please report it. It needs Chrome 154 or later.
- Open the form
Click the Quire PDF icon in Chrome’s toolbar, then Open a PDF, or drop the file onto the page (up to 100 MB). For a form on a website, right-click the link and choose Open PDF in Quire; Quire asks for access to that one website first. If the site needs a sign-in or redirects, download the form normally and open the file.
- Fill in the fields
Click into each field and type, and tick the checkboxes. A recovery copy is kept in your browser after each change, so a closed tab doesn’t lose your work.
- Sign
Use Sign to place a typed or drawn signature. You can save it and reuse it on the next form.
- Save a copy
Click Save a copy (Ctrl+S). Quire downloads a filled PDF and never overwrites your original file.
Where Quire PDF helps, and where it doesn’t
- It helps with long forms you finish over several sittings (the form stays in a local library, with a recovery copy), a typed signature if you don’t want to draw one, and forms that need extra pages or attachments merged in (two forms with the same field names can’t be combined).
- It doesn’t support XFA forms, an older Adobe form type. If a PDF opens with only a message asking for Adobe Reader, it may be one of these, and Adobe’s own software is the reliable way to fill it.
- PDF scripts are turned off, so fields that calculate totals or check entries with scripts won’t do that.
- A signature is a visual mark, as in Gallery. There is no certificate-based digital signing.
- Your library and recovery copies live in your Chrome profile, which is not a backup. Keep the copy you download.
Questions
Is a signature drawn on a Chromebook a real signature?
It is an image of your signature placed on the page. Plenty of everyday forms accept that. It isn’t a verified digital signature: Google says Gallery’s signature tool doesn’t provide verification or security, and the same is true of Quire PDF. If you aren’t sure which kind the sender needs, ask them.
Can I reuse my signature?
Yes. Gallery saves the signatures you draw and offers them the next time you choose the signature tool. Quire PDF can also save a typed or drawn signature for reuse.
Does Quire PDF upload my form?
No. Quire PDF processes documents on your computer, with no account and no upload to the developer. The library and recovery copies stay in your Chrome profile.