Can text under a highlight still be selected?

Yes. The highlight is a translucent overlay.

Can this hide private content?

No. Use Redact PDF for permanent removal.

Can I highlight several pages?

Yes. Each rectangle records its source page.

Can an individual older highlight be selected?

The current controls provide last-action undo and clear-all rather than arbitrary rectangle selection.

Are pages rasterized?

No. Rectangle annotations are drawn over existing PDF pages.

PDF Tools

PDF Annotator

Draw page-specific highlights on a PDF with a live visual preview.

Free browser toolRuns in your browserNo sign-up

PDF annotation studio

Highlight important areas visually

Draw page-specific highlight regions, tune their colour and opacity, and keep the source document private.

Visual

drag marking

Multi-page

annotations

Local

processing

Drop a PDF here, or click to choose

Processed locally in your browser.

About the PDF Annotator

PDF Annotator lets you drag translucent rectangular highlights over text, table cells, or visual regions. Highlights are tied to the active page and remain available while switching among pages.

A colour picker and opacity slider control all created highlights. Undo removes the most recent rectangle, and Clear all resets the complete annotation set before saving.

Highlights are PDF rectangle overlays; they do not alter or remove underlying text. This makes them suitable for review, but never for hiding sensitive information.

Key features

Drag-to-highlight page preview
Multi-page annotation
Custom highlight colour
Opacity from 10 to 80 percent
Annotation count
Undo and clear-all controls
Non-rasterized PDF overlays

How to use

1Upload the PDF and choose an active page.
2Set the highlight colour and opacity.
3Drag over each region that needs emphasis.
4Switch pages and continue adding highlights.
5Undo mistakes or clear all, then save the annotated PDF.

Examples

Review a contract

Input: Yellow 35% highlights on clauses across pages 2 and 5

Output: Annotated PDF with selectable source text

Frequently asked questions

Can text under a highlight still be selected?: Yes. The highlight is a translucent overlay.
Can this hide private content?: No. Use Redact PDF for permanent removal.
Can I highlight several pages?: Yes. Each rectangle records its source page.
Can an individual older highlight be selected?: The current controls provide last-action undo and clear-all rather than arbitrary rectangle selection.
Are pages rasterized?: No. Rectangle annotations are drawn over existing PDF pages.

Open a related tool to prepare your files or refine the finished result.