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VellumPDF

Annotate a PDF

Write on the document as you would with a pen — without heavy software.

Your files never leave your device

Drop the PDF to edit

or click to browse your files

How to annotate a PDF, step by step

Eight tools add text, highlighting, freehand drawing, shapes, check marks, crosses or an image to the pages of a PDF, right in your browser.

  1. Drop in the PDF to edit

    Drag the file onto the drop area, or click to choose it.

  2. Pick a tool from the toolbar

    Select, Text, Highlight, Draw, Shape, Check mark, Cross or Image; a help line under the bar recalls the gesture expected by the active tool.

  3. Place your elements on the page

    Click to type text, drag to highlight or draw, or choose an image that lands centered on the page; the arrows move between pages.

  4. Set font, size and colour

    For text: font (Helvetica, Times, Courier), bold and size (10 to 32 pt). For text, drawing, shapes, check marks and crosses: one of the four colours or a free colour; drawing and shapes have three stroke widths, highlighting four colours. Changing a setting while an element is selected applies it to that element too.

  5. Fix things up as needed

    In Select mode, click an element to move, resize, or delete it with the cross.

  6. Click “Apply and download”

    The annotated file downloads; “Continue editing” then returns to the editing screen without dropping the file again.

“Clear everything on the page” only empties the page currently shown — unlike “Undo”, which always removes the very last element added, even if it sits on another page.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of annotations can I add to a PDF with this tool?

Free text at a precise spot (Helvetica, Times or Courier, bold if needed), highlighting in four colours, freehand drawing, shapes (rectangle, ellipse, line, arrow), check marks and crosses to fill in a paper form, and an image as a stamp. Everything happens on screen, with no software to install.

Can I highlight a contract or annotate a quote before sending it back?

Yes, that’s a common use: highlight the clauses to discuss, add margin comments or stamp a logo, then download the annotated PDF ready to share.

Is the annotated document sent to a server, and is the tool free?

No, annotation is computed entirely in your browser, with nothing uploaded to a server, and the tool is free.

Does the “Undo” button undo the last action on the displayed page, or the very last one anywhere in the document?

The very last action, across all pages. If you switched pages after your last change, “Undo” will undo it on the other page, not on the page currently shown.

Can I pick a custom color for text or drawing?

Yes. On top of the four suggested colours, a free colour picker applies to text, drawing, shapes, check marks and crosses; highlighting has its own colours (yellow, green, pink, blue).

Can I write in Greek, Russian, Arabic or Chinese?

Yes. Text in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese stays in the standard font you chose (Helvetica, Times or Courier). A line in another alphabet goes through a suitable open font (Noto, IBM Plex for Arabic): Greek, Cyrillic, Central European letters, Arabic and Hebrew (right to left), Chinese, Japanese and Korean — the font for these last three is downloaded once from GitHub. Only what no font can draw (emoji, rare scripts) becomes a question mark.

What can be undone?

Any change: an addition (text, highlight, drawing, shape, tick, cross, image), a move, a resize, a deletion, “Clear everything on the page”, a text correction or a change of colour, size, font or thickness. The Undo and Redo buttons in the toolbar undo and redo these steps, up to fifty. A plain click that moves nothing does not count. Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac), Ctrl+Shift+Z and Ctrl+Y work too, except while typing text.