How to Annotate a PDF: Highlight, Draw, Comment

Reviewing a document means marking it up: highlighting the sentence that matters, circling the figure that is wrong, drawing an arrow to the thing that should move, and leaving a note explaining why. PDFkitt has two menus for this. Mark text works on the words already in the PDF; Draw puts free-form shapes anywhere. Sticky notes are exported as genuine PDF comments, so reviewers using Acrobat, Preview or a browser can read and reply to them.

Highlight, underline or strike through text

1. Choose Mark text → Highlight text. Or Underline text, or Strike through. Every line of text on the page gets a faint outline.
2. Pick a color. Highlights offer yellow, green, blue, pink and orange; underline and strike-through use the drawing color.
3. Click a line. It is marked immediately. Click the next line to continue; each mark is its own object.
4. Change your mind? Click a mark to select it, then press Delete, or use undo.

Draw shapes, arrows and free-hand marks

1. Choose a tool from the Draw menu. Pen for free-hand, Highlighter for a translucent marker stroke, Rectangle, Circle, Line or Arrow.
2. Set color and width. The options bar under the menu shows swatches (plus a custom color picker) and a stroke width from 1 to 12.
3. Drag on the page. Rectangles and circles are dragged from corner to corner; arrows from tail to tip. The pen follows your pointer or finger.
4. Adjust later. With no tool active, click any drawing to select it: drag to move, use its small toolbar to recolor, or delete it.

Add a sticky-note comment

1. Choose Insert → Sticky note. Pick a note color from the options bar.
2. Click where the note belongs. A note icon appears and a text box opens.
3. Type the comment and click away. Hover or click the icon to read it again. Drag the icon to move it.
4. Download. Notes are written as standard PDF text annotations that other readers show in their comments panel.

Tips

• The Highlighter tool (in the Draw menu) is for scans and images, where there is no text to click. It blends with what is underneath, like a real marker.
• Straight lines with the pen: use the Line tool instead; it is easier and cleaner.
• White rectangle as a cover. Pick the Rectangle tool, choose white and a thick width, and you have a quick way to hide a region on a scan. Remember that, as with text editing, the original stays in the file underneath.
• Reviewing on a phone works, but a stylus or a larger screen makes free-hand drawing much easier.
• Done marking up? Click Done at the right end of the tool strip (or press Escape) to put the tool away so clicks select objects again.

Frequently asked

Can I highlight text in a scanned PDF?

A scan has no text layer, so Mark text finds nothing. Use Draw → Highlighter and drag over the words instead.

Can someone remove my highlights?

They are part of the page after download, like a printed mark. Add a password if you want to prevent editing; see password protection.

Can I annotate and also change the text?

Yes; all tools work together in one session. See adding and editing text.