Highlighting PDFs made easy.

Easily highlight text in PDFs, add notes, remove highlights, and keep important information visible for better readability and collaboration.

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Published by Adobe Acrobat India on 22 April 2025

PDF Editing, Collaboration

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How to highlight in a PDF using Adobe Acrobat

How to add notes to highlights

How to remove highlights in a PDF

How to print a highlighted PDF

Additional PDF editing and collaboration features

Frequently asked questions

Highlighting text in a PDF is a great way to emphasise important information, make notes for review, or collaborate with colleagues. Adobe Acrobat offers a PDF highlighter tool that allows users to highlight text, add comments to highlights, and even remove highlights when needed. Whether you’re using Adobe Acrobat online or the desktop application, this guide will show you how to highlight in a PDF, manage highlights effectively, and explore additional collaboration features to enhance productivity.

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How to highlight in a PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat provides intuitive tools for marking up text in PDFs. Follow these steps to highlight text in a PDF using the built-in highlight tool.

Highlight text in a PDF (desktop).

Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
Select the Highlight text tool from the toolbar.
Click and drag over the text you want to highlight.
The selected text will be highlighted in the default colour.
To change the highlight colour, right-click on the highlighted text and choose Properties, then select a new colour.
Save the file to retain your highlights.

Highlight text in a PDF online.

If you don’t have Acrobat installed, you can use Adobe Acrobat online to highlight text in a PDF without downloading any software.

Go to Adobe Acrobat online and upload your PDF.
Select the Highlight tool.
Click and drag over the text you want to highlight.
Adjust the highlight colour if needed.
Download the updated PDF once you’re finished.

How to add notes to highlights.

Adding notes to highlighted text is a useful way to add context, comments, or reminders for later review.

After highlighting text, right-click on the highlight.
Select Add note.
Type your comment in the pop-up box.
Click outside the note box to save it.
Notes will remain attached to the highlight and can be viewed by clicking on them.

How to remove highlights in a PDF.

If you need to remove highlights from a PDF, you can do so easily.

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
Locate the highlighted text.
Right-click on the highlight and select Delete.
Alternatively, select the highlight and press Delete on your keyboard.
Save the file to keep the changes.

How to print a highlighted PDF.

Sometimes, you may need to print a PDF while keeping your highlights visible. Here’s how:

Open the highlighted PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
Select File > Print.
Ensure the print settings include Document and Markups so that highlights appear in the printout.
Click Print to generate a hard copy with highlights.

Additional PDF editing and collaboration features.

Beyond highlighting, Adobe Acrobat offers a range of tools to help with PDF editing and collaboration:

Strikethrough and underline text - emphasise or remove text visually without editing the content.
Commenting tools - add sticky notes and annotations for better document review.
PDF editing tools - edit text, add images, and modify layouts directly within the PDF.
Cloud-based collaboration - share PDFs with team members for real-time commenting and feedback.

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Frequently asked questions.

Can I highlight text in a secured or read-only PDF?

If a PDF is secured, you may not be able to highlight text. Check the document’s security settings under File > Properties > Security. If highlighting is restricted, you may need to request permission from the document owner or use Adobe Acrobat’s Unlock PDF tool if authorised.

Why do my highlights disappear when I reopen my PDF?

If highlights disappear, the file may not be saving correctly. Ensure you save the document after adding highlights. Also, check if you’re opening the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another PDF viewer that fully supports markup tools.

Can I highlight text in a scanned PDF or image-based PDF?

Yes, but first, you need to convert the scanned document into an editable format using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in Adobe Acrobat. Once the text is recognised, you can highlight it like any other text-based PDF.

Adobe Acrobat allows you to extract highlighted text into a separate document. Use the Comments panel to filter only highlights, then export them as a summary file for easier review.

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