All tools

Annotate

Highlight, draw, add notes, text and shapes

Highlight, draw, add notes, text and shapes

Choose one PDF. You can also drop files anywhere on this page.

Files are processed on this device and never uploaded.

Mark up a PDF without sending it anywhere

To annotate a PDF without uploading it, open the file here, highlight or underline its text, draw on the page, add notes, text boxes and shapes, and save a copy. Every mark is made in this browser tab, so a draft, a contract or a report under review never leaves your device.

How to annotate a PDF

  1. Choose a PDF

    Pick the file or drop it on the page, then go to the page you want to mark.

  2. Add your marks

    Drag over text and choose Highlight, Underline or Strike through. Or choose Draw, Note, Text box or a shape (rectangle, oval, line), pick one of five colors, and click or drag on the page. Undo takes back the last mark.

  3. Save

    Press Save and download the annotated copy. Your original stays as it was.

Your notes, on the page

  • Highlights, underlines and strike-throughs follow the lines of text you select. Drawings, notes, text boxes and shapes go where you put them, on any page.
  • The marks are saved as standard PDF annotations, so other PDF apps show them, and can edit or remove them. Flatten makes them a fixed part of the page.
  • The page’s own text and everything else in the file stays as it was: links, bookmarks, form fields and a password, if the file has one.
  • Text can be selected only where the PDF has real text. On a scanned page there is none, so use Draw, a shape or a note there.
  • A text box takes Latin letters only for now: letters such as the Polish ą and ł are refused. A note takes any language.

Questions

Is my PDF uploaded when I annotate it?
No. The file is read and marked up by code running in this browser tab. The page is not allowed to send anything to another site, and it keeps working with the network off once it has loaded.
Will other people see my annotations?
Yes. They are standard annotations, which PDF readers show, including the ones built into browsers.
Can annotations be removed later?
Before you save, Undo takes back your marks one by one. After saving they are ordinary annotations, which a PDF editor can delete. Flatten the copy if they should stay for good.
Can I highlight a scanned PDF?
Not by selecting text, because a scan is a picture with no text in it. You can still draw over it, or put a rectangle or a note on it.
Does annotating change the text of the document?
No. Marks are added on top of the page. A struck-through sentence is still there, and can still be copied and searched.

Related guides