Annotate PDF
Highlight, strike through and comment on a PDF. All processing happens in your browser.
Drop files here or click to browse
Accepts .pdf
How to use this tool
- 1.Drop or select the PDF you want to review.
- 2.Choose Highlight, Underline or Strike-through and drag across the words; Pen, Rectangle, Ellipse or Arrow to draw; Text box to type on the page; or Note and click where the note goes.
- 3.Choose Select to pick a mark: change its colour, write a comment on it, move a note, or delete it. Use the arrows to move between pages.
- 4.Optionally type your name as the comments' author, or tick Flatten to draw the marks into the page, then Save & Download.
Frequently asked questions
Will the comments show up in Acrobat, Preview or my browser?
Yes. Highlights, underlines, strike-throughs, drawings, shapes, arrows and notes are saved as ordinary PDF comments, so Acrobat, Preview, Edge and Chrome list them in their comments panel, with the text you wrote. Anyone who opens the file can also move, edit, hide or delete them — that is what comments are for.
What does "Flatten markup" do?
It draws your highlights and other marks into the page itself instead of saving them as comments, so they look the same everywhere and cannot simply be dragged off or hidden. Notes and comments have nowhere to go on a flattened page, so they are left out — the tool tells you how many before you download. Flattening makes markup harder to remove, not impossible: anyone with a PDF editor can still cover or cut it.
Why does highlighting not work on my scanned PDF?
A scanned page is a picture of text, with no text for a highlight to snap to. On a page like that you can still drag a box over an area to highlight, underline or strike it through, but it will not follow the lines of text. The same works on any page: start the drag over an area that has no selectable text — a scanned stamp, a picture — and it marks a box. The scanned-vs-text guide explains how to tell which kind you have.
Does it put my name on the comments?
Only if you type one. Most PDF apps quietly sign every comment with your computer's user name; here the "Your name" box starts empty, a comment without a name is saved without one, and the name is never remembered — reload the page and it is gone. Each comment's time is saved in UTC, so it does not reveal your time zone.
Can I edit comments that were already in the PDF?
Not here. Comments already in the file are shown and kept exactly as they were, but only the marks you add in this session can be changed or deleted. Selecting text needs a mouse, finger or pen; from the keyboard you can place, move and delete notes, shapes and arrows. Your marks are not added to the document's accessibility tags, so a screen reader may not announce them.
What is the difference between a note and a text box?
A note is a small icon that opens to show your comment; a text box shows its text right on the page. Text boxes are limited to Latin characters for now; comments and notes can be written in any language.
Read next
Annotating a PDF Without Uploading It — and What Your Comments Reveal
Highlights and notes as real PDF comments, what the recipient sees, and the name your PDF app signs them with