Draw on a PDF in four steps
- Open the PDF editor and choose your PDF.
- Pick Draw for freehand, or open Shapes and choose a rectangle, ellipse, line or arrow.
- Drag on the page. Set the color, line width and opacity in the bar above the page — for rectangles and ellipses also a fill color.
- Click Download to save the annotated PDF.
The drawing tools
| Tool | Good for | Style options |
|---|---|---|
| Draw (pen) | Handwritten notes, underlines, check marks, sketches | Color, width, opacity |
| Rectangle | Framing a paragraph, marking an area, covering with color | Border, fill, width, opacity |
| Ellipse | Circling a number, a signature line or a detail on a drawing | Border, fill, width, opacity |
| Line | Underlining, strikethrough, connecting items | Color, width, opacity |
| Arrow | Pointing at the thing a comment refers to | Color, width, opacity |
Editing what you drew
After you draw a shape the editor switches to Select, so you can adjust it straight away: drag it to move it, drag a corner to resize it, and change its style in the bar above the page. The pen stays active after each stroke so you can keep writing; press Esc to switch back to Select.
- Click a short distance without dragging to place a shape in its default size.
- Press Delete to remove the selected item, Ctrl+D to duplicate it.
- Drag a selection rectangle over several strokes to move them as a group.
- Use the layer buttons to put a filled shape behind text you added.
Ideas
- Proofreading: strike through words with a red line and write the correction with Text.
- Floor plans and maps: mark rooms with semi-transparent rectangles in different colors.
- Teaching and feedback: circle mistakes and add arrows to your comments.
- Forms: tick boxes with the pen when a form has no checkboxes.