Foxit PDF Editor provides feature-rich annotation tools to help you comment on PDF files.
- Set the Annotation Author Name
- Access the Annotation Tools
- Add a Text Markup
- Add Text Comment
- Add a Note Comment
- Highlight an Area
- Add a Stamp
- Add a Drawing Markup
- Measure an Object
- Add an Image Annotation
- Undo and Redo the Last Action
- Work on Comments
- Import and Export Comments
- Summarize Comments
Set the Annotation Author Name
To help other readers recognize your annotations, you can follow the steps below to set your annotation identity.
- Tap Discover on the main interface;
- Tap Settings;
- Tap Annotation Author;
- Input a name, and tap Done (iOS) or OK (Android).
Access the Annotation Tools
The feature-rich annotation tools include Text Markup tools, Drawing Markup tools, Stamp tools, Measure tool, and Image Annotation tool. On the document pane, tap Drawing on the toolbar at the top to find all the Drawing Markup tools, and tap Comment on the toolbar at the top to find the Text Markup tools, Stamp tools, Measure tool, and Image Annotation tool. On the Comment or Drawing toolbar, swipe left or right to find more tools if your mobile device is in portrait mode. When you select an annotation tool, it will be kept as selected so that you can add the same annotation continuously. To deselect an annotation tool, tap it on the Comment or Drawing toolbar.
Foxit PDF Editor offers preset property settings for each comment tool. To change the properties (color, opacity, line width, icon type, etc.) of a comment tool, select the tool first, and then tap the property icon (like ) on the Comment or Drawing toolbar. Please note that the appearance of a comment tool displayed on the toolbar may vary after you change its property settings.
Add a Text Markup
Highlight Text
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Drag over text to highlight the selected text;
Add an Underline, Squiggly Underline, or Strikeout
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Choose the Underline tool , Squiggly Underline tool , or Strikeout tool as desired on the Comment toolbar;
- Long press and drag over text to add an underline, squiggly underline, or strikeout to the selected text.
Insert or Replace Text
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Choose the Insert tool , or Replacetool as desired;
- To insert text, tap on the document where you want to insert the text;
To replace text, long press and drag over text to select the text that you want to replace; - Input the text in the pop-up window, and tap OK.
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap the area on the document where you want the text comment to be added;
- Input the text as desired.
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap the area on the document where you want the text comment to be added;
- Input the text as desired.
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap the area on the document where you want the text comment to be added;
- Input the text as desired.
Add Text Comment
To add text comment without text box:
To add text comment with a callout:
To add text comment with a textbox:
Add a Note Comment
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tapon the Comment toolbar;
- Tap on the document where you want to add the note comment;
- Input the comment in the pop-up window;
- Tap OK.
Highlight an Area
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Drag over the area to highlight the selected area.
Add a Stamp
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap to open the Stamp panel. In the Stamp panel, tap to show the standard stamps, tap to show the “Sign Here” stamps, or tap to show the dynamic stamps. And then select a desired stamp from the preset list.
- Tap on the document where you want to add the stamp.
Add a Drawing Markup
Drawing tools help you make comments with drawings in line, rectangle, oval, arrow, polyline, polygon, cloud, and free-form figures.
Add a Line, Rectangle, Oval, or Arrow
- Tap Drawing on the toolbar at the top;
- Choose the Line tool , Rectangle tool , Oval tool , or Arrow toolon the Drawing toolbar;
- Drag over on the document to add the markup.
Add a Polyline, Polygon, or Cloud
- Tap Drawing on the toolbar at the top;
- Choose the Polyline tool , Polygon tool , or Cloud tool on the Drawing toolbar;
- Tap on each point on the document pane to create segments;
- When you finish all the segments, deselect the corresponding tool to complete the drawing.
Add a Free-from Shape
Foxit PDF Editor provides two different Pencil tools for you to add freehand drawing markups in a PDF file.
- Tap Drawing on the toolbar at the top;
- Choose the Pencil tool or Highlighter tool as desired on the Drawing toolbar;
- Tap the property icon (like ) to choose the brushwork style (for the Pencil tool only) and line color, thickness, and opacity as desired. Foxit PDF Editor will save the properties you specified for the Pencil tool automatically for future use.
- Draw on the document to add shapes as desired.
To erase the free-form shape during drawing:
- Tapon the Drawing toolbar;
- Drag over the shape that you want to erase.
Measure an Object
Foxit PDF Editor allows you to measure the distance between two points in a PDF file. The steps are as follows:
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap to specify the scale ratio, line color, and opacity, if necessary;
- Drag over from the start point to the endpoint. The measurement results can be previewed in real-time during the measurement. When the measurement completes, you can tap the measurement markup on the document pane or go to the Comments pane to check the measurement results.
Add an Image Annotation
- Tap Comment on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment toolbar;
- (For iOS users only) Tap on the place where you want to add an image annotation;
- Select one of the following options from the pop-up menu:
- From Document: Select an image file that is imported in Foxit PDF Editor or saved on your Android device.
- From Album: Select an image file from your album.
- From Camera: Take a photo using the camera.
- (For Android users only) Tap on the place where you want to add the selected image;
- (Optional) To change the properties of the image annotation, do the following:
- Deselect the image annotation tool on the Comment toolbar;
- Tap on the image annotation, and choose Appearance.
- Tap an option in the Property window to rotate the image annotation or change its opacity.
Undo and Redo the Last Action
- Tap to undo the last action;
- Tap to redo the last action.
Tip: On phones, before choosing the Undo or Redo tool, you first need to tap on the toolbar at the top to access the Undo & Redo toolset.
Wok on Comments
View All Comments
Foxit PDF Editor lists all comments in the Comments pane, from which you can filter comments to quickly find the ones you need.
Open and Close Comments Pane
- On the document pane, do the following:
- On tablets, tapon the toolbar at the top;
- On phones, tapon the toolbar at the bottom;
- In the navigation panel, tap to open the Comments pane.
- To close the Comments pane, tap anywhere outside the Comments pane (on tablets) or tap Close (on phones).
Filter Comments
Foxit PDF Editor allows users to filter comments by comment type.
- In the Comments pane, tap Filter, and choose one or more comment types from the Filter Comments list. When you tap Close, Foxit PDF Editor will filter and display the comments that match the filtering criteria in the Comments pane.
- To show all comments after filtering, unselect the comment types in the Filter Comments list.
Select Multiple Comments
Foxit PDF Editor allows users to select multiple comments on the same page for easier group processing.
- On the document pane, choose Comment or Drawing on the toolbar at the top;
- Tap on the Comment or Drawing toolbar;
- Drag a rectangle on the document pane to select the comments inside the rectangle;
- A pop-up menu will be displayed above the selected comments. You can select the corresponding option to flatten or delete the selected comments by batch. For drawing markups and measurement markups, you can also find the Group option in the pop-up menu. Tap Group to group the selected drawing markups, and then you can move them to the desired place or add reply messages (for drawing markups only) to them like working on a single markup. To ungroup the markups, tap it, and choose Ungroup from the pop-up menu.
Add Notes to Comments
You can add notes to Text Markups, Drawing Markups, Sticky Notes, File Attachments (pinned in the document as comments), and Stamps. The notes will be displayed when you open the details of comments on the document pane or view comments in the Comments pane. To add notes to comments, please choose one of the methods below.
On the document pane
- Tap the comment that you want to add a note to;
Tip: For sticky notes, please tap and hold on the sticky note icon to open the pop-up menu. - Tap Open in the pop-up menu;
- In the pop-up window, tap the blank area under the comment creation time to activate the note input field, then input your notes, and tap OK.
- Tap Done (iOS) or Close (Android).
Tip: For file attachments pinned in the document as comments, tapping them on the document pane will open them in Foxit PDF Editor. Therefore, you need to go to the Comments pane if you want to add notes to them.
In the Comments pane
- Open the Comments pane, and find the comment that you want to add a note to;
- Tap beside the comment, and choose Note;
- Input your notes in the note input field, and tap OK.
Reply to Comments
You can reply to comments including Text Markups, Drawing Markups, Sticky Notes, Stamps, and Measurement Markups. The reply messages will be displayed when you open the details of comments on the document pane or view comments in the Comments pane. To reply to comments, please choose one of the methods below.
On the document pane
- Tap the comment that you want to reply to;
Tip: For sticky notes, please tap and hold on the sticky note icon to open the pop-up menu. - Tap Reply in the pop-up menu;
- Input your reply messages in the reply field, and tap OK.
- Tap Done (iOS) or Close (Android).
In the Comments pane
- Open the Comments pane, and find the comment that you want to reply to;
- Tap beside the comment, and choose Reply;
- Input your reply messages in the reply field, and tap OK.
Change the Appearance of an Existing Comment
- For text markups/drawing markups/measurement markups/image comments/new text comments, tap the comment or tap and hold on the comment first, and then choose Appearance from the pop-up menu.
- For note comments: tap and hold on the comment first, and then choose Appearance from the pop-up menu.
Tip: Stamps are preset by Foxit PDF Editor. You cannot change the appearance of stamps.
Resize a Comment
For a Drawing Markup, Stamp, Typewriter, Measurement Markup, Image Comment, and Textbox comment, you can tap the comment and then drag any of the handles to resize it. When you resize the text box of a typewriter and textbox comment, the text will be reflowed automatically within the adjusted comment box boundaries.
Move a Comment
- For drawing markups, measurement markups, image comments, and new text comments, tap the comment or tap and hold on the comment first, and then drag it to the desired place.
- For note comments, tap and hold on the comment first, and then drag it to the desired place.
Delete a Comment
- For drawing markups, measurement markups, image comments, and text comments, tap the comment or tap and hold on the comment first, and then choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
- For note comments, tap and hold on the comment first, and then choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
- You can also do any of the following to delete comments in the Comments pane.
- Find the comment that you want to delete, tap beside it, and choose Delete.
- If you need to delete multiple comments at a time, tap Edit in the Comments pane. Then select the comments that you want to delete (or tap Select all to select all the comments), and tap. Tap Done to complete your operation and exit the comment editing mode.
Import and Export Comments
To import comments:
- On the document pane, tap on the toolbar;
- Tap Comments & Fields, and choose Import Comments;
- Select the file (.fdf file), and tap Done.
To export comments:
- On the document pane, tap on the toolbar;
- Tap Comments & Fields, and choose Export Comments;
- Select the folder to which you wantto save the exported annotation file, and then tap Done;
- Input the file name, and then tap OK.
Summarize Comments
- On the document pane, tap on the toolbar;
- Tap Comments & Fields, and choose Summarize Comments;
- Choose an option:
- Documents and Comments: Summarize the comments together with the document content.
- Comments Only: Summarize the comments only.
- Select the folder in which you want to save the exported file, and tap Done;
- Input the file name, and tap OK.