How to annotate a PDF
- Open the PDF you want to review by selecting it or dropping it onto the page.
- Pick Highlight, Underline or Strikethrough and mark the passages you want to call out.
- Use Draw for freehand notes, Shapes for boxes, circles and arrows, and Add text for written comments.
- Remove any mark you no longer want with the Eraser or Undo; your original page content is never erased.
- Click Download to save the annotated copy.
Markup tools for proofreading and review
Annotating is the quickest way to give feedback on a contract draft, a student essay, a design proof or a long report. Instead of describing changes in an email ("third paragraph on page six"), you show them on the page:
- Highlight important sentences or figures to check.
- Underline terms that need a definition or citation.
- Strike through wording that should be removed.
- Arrows and boxes point at charts, signatures or missing information.
- Text notes explain what to change and why.
How your annotations are saved
While you work, every annotation is a separate object you can select, move, recolour or erase. When you download, the markup is merged into the page so it looks exactly the same in any PDF reader, on any phone and when printed. Highlights are semi-transparent, so the text underneath stays readable.
Because the downloaded markup becomes part of the page, make your final changes before downloading. Your session is autosaved in your browser, so an accidental refresh does not lose your work.
Tips for clear feedback
Agree on a colour code with your team, for example yellow for questions, red for deletions and green for approved text. Keep notes short and put them in the margin where they do not hide content. If you need to send a clean copy and a marked-up copy, download the annotated version, then open the original again in the PDF editor to make the actual changes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I remove a highlight after adding it?
Yes, before you download. Select it and delete it, use the eraser, or press Undo. After download the markup is part of the page in the new file, so keep the original if you may need an unmarked copy.
Will highlighting hide the text?
No. Highlights are drawn semi-transparently, so the words underneath remain visible and printable.
Does annotating work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. Highlights, shapes, notes and drawings are drawn over the page, so they work on scanned pages as well as on text-based PDFs.
Does the eraser delete original content?
No. The eraser only removes annotations you added in this session. To change the document's own text, use Edit PDF.
Is the document uploaded for annotation?
No. Annotating happens in your browser and the file never leaves your device.