Annotate A PDF In Preview On Mac - Apple Support

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  • Welcome
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  • Open PDFs and images
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    • View PDFs and images
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  • Edit PDFs
    • Fill out and sign PDF forms
    • Select and copy text in a PDF
    • Highlight, underline, and strike out text
    • Add notes and speech bubbles to a PDF
    • Annotate a PDF
    • Combine PDFs
    • Add, delete, or move PDF pages
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    • Crop, resize, or rotate an image
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    • Remove a background or extract an image
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Although you can’t edit the text of a PDF in Preview, you can use the markup tools to provide feedback or write down something you want to remember. The editing tools in the Markup toolbar are ideal for collaborating—use them to suggest changes to a PDF and to respond to suggestions.

The Markup toolbar for marking up a PDF.

Open Preview for me

  1. Go to the Preview app on your Mac.

  2. Open the PDF you want to annotate.

  3. Click the Show Markup Toolbar button (if the Markup toolbar isn’t showing).

  4. Use the tools in the toolbar to mark up the PDF.

    Note: To save a PDF and allow annotations to be edited later, choose one of the following: File > Save, File > Export, or File > Export to PDF. (PDFs are also saved with editable annotations when they’re saved automatically.) To save a PDF and flatten annotations (so that they can’t be edited), choose File > Print, then select Save as PDF.

    Tool

    Description

    Text Selection

    Select text to copy or delete. See Select and copy text in a PDF.

    Rectangular Selection

    Select a rectangular area in an image to copy or delete.

    Redaction Selection

    Select text to permanently remove it from view. You can change the redaction as you edit, but once you close the document, the redaction becomes permanent.

    Sketch

    Sketch a shape using a single stroke.

    If your drawing is recognized as a standard shape, it’s replaced by that shape; to use your drawing instead, choose it from the palette that’s shown.

    Draw

    Draw a shape using a single stroke. Press your finger more firmly on the trackpad to draw with a heavier, darker line.

    This tool appears only on computers with a Force Touch trackpad.

    Shapes

    Click a shape, then drag it where you want. To resize the shape, use the blue handles. If it has green handles, use them to alter the shape.

    You can add a highlight shape or zoom lens using these tools:

    • Highlight  : Drag the highlight where you want. To resize it, use the blue handles.

    • Zoom : Drag the lens where you want. To increase or decrease the zoom, drag the green handle; drag the blue handle to change the lens size.

    Text

    Type your text, then drag the text box where you want.

    Highlight Selection

    Highlight selected text.

    Sign

    If signatures are listed, click one, then drag it where you want. To resize it, use the blue handles.

    To create a new signature, see Fill out and sign PDF forms in Preview on Mac.

    Note

    Type your text. To change the note color, Control-click the note, then choose a color. To move the note, drag it to a different location.

    See Add notes and speech bubbles to a PDF.

    Shape Style

    Change the thickness and type of lines used in a shape, or add a shadow.

    Border Color

    Change the color of the lines used in a shape.

    Fill Color

    Change the color that’s used inside a shape.

    Text Style

    Change the font or the font style and color.

    Rotate Left or Rotate Right

    Click the Rotate Left tool to rotate an item to the left. Continue clicking to keep rotating.

    To rotate an item to the right, press and hold the Option key, then click the Rotate Right tool until you’re done rotating the item.

    Crop

    Hide part of a PDF. Click and drag over the PDF so that a frame appears. Drag the corner handles until just the area you want to keep is shown within the frame’s border. You can also drag the frame to reposition it. When you’re ready, click the Crop tool.

    Form Fill

    Type your text in the fields of a PDF form.

See alsoAnnotate an image in Preview on MacCrop or rotate a PDF in Preview on MacAdd effects to a PDF in Preview on Mac Helpful? Yes No Character limit: 250 Please don’t include any personal information in your comment. Maximum character limit is 250. Submit Thanks for your feedback.

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