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Annotate and highlight a PDF

Highlight or frame an area and add a visible note. Local browser processing without modifying the original file.

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Drop a PDF here

Choose Highlight, Box or Text, then work directly on the PDF. You can add as many annotations as needed.

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Use multiple editing tools in one workspace, with your open file and its current edits.

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How does this tool work?

Annotating and highlighting a PDF lets you review a document as you would on paper: run a highlighter over key passages, circle a mistake, draw an arrow to a point to fix, write a remark in the margin. It is handy for correcting a thesis, approving a mock-up, preparing a meeting or revising a course. Everything happens in your browser, with no software to install.

Three groups of tools are offered. Highlight: pick a colour and drag over the area; the highlight is applied semi-transparently. Shapes: rectangle, ellipse, line or arrow, with a colour and, for closed shapes, a light fill. Text: a free note, with font, size, bold, italic, underline and colour.

Each annotation can be selected, moved, resized or deleted until download, and Undo steps back. You can add as many as you need, on every page.

On download, annotations are drawn into the page content. They therefore look and print the same in every reader, but they are not PDF comments that the recipient could hide, move or delete one by one in their own software.

How to use this tool

  1. Import the PDF

    The document opens in the editor with the Highlight, Shapes and Text tools.

  2. Annotate the pages

    Choose a tool and a colour, then drag or click on the page; adjust each annotation.

  3. Download the annotated version

    A new copy contains all your marks; the original stays clean.

Use cases

Correct a document

Circle the mistakes in a report or thesis and note the correction in the margin.

Approve a mock-up

Use arrows to point at elements to change on a poster, a plan or an exported web page.

Revise a course

Highlight definitions and formulas in different colours before an exam.

Examples

Reviewing a contract

The marks are part of the page: they print as they are, and the contract text stays selectable under the transparent highlight.

Input

Yellow highlight on clause 4, red rectangle around a date, arrow to the margin and the note “Check with legal”

Result

PDF whose page shows the three marks and the note, identical in every reader

Tips and best practices

  • Keep a simple colour code: yellow for important points, red for mistakes, green for what is approved.
  • For one very visible remark, a lightly filled rectangle catches the eye more than a highlight.
  • If the recipient needs to reply comment by comment, use the commenting feature of their PDF software instead.

Frequently asked questions

Are the annotations editable PDF comments?

No. They are drawn into the page so they look the same everywhere. The recipient sees and prints them but cannot edit them one by one.

Does highlighted text stay selectable?

Yes. The highlight is semi-transparent and sits over the text without replacing it.

Which shapes can I draw?

Rectangle, ellipse, line and arrow, in any colour; rectangles and ellipses can have a light fill.

Can I annotate several pages?

Yes. Move between pages with the thumbnails and add as many annotations as you need before downloading.

How do I remove an annotation later?

Before download, select it and delete it. Afterwards it is part of the page, so start again from the original file.

Is the document sent online?

No. Annotating and creating the PDF happen in your browser.

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