Reading an article, project guidelines, contracts, or any number of things that could be sent as a PDF, does not always require you to have a separate tab open or a pen and paper out to take notes. Writing on a PDF document takes the stress of multiple tools out of the equation. Plus, it gives your eyes an easy system to follow. As opposed to going back and forth between two documents to get all the information that’s needed.
PDFs were designed with ease in mind but fell short when it came to the ease of editing or annotating. Converting a document to PDF allows it and its format to stay the same no matter what software opens it. Think about if you sent a Google document to someone and they opened it by converting it to a Microsoft Word document. Typically that will change the layout and format slightly. Having it converted to a PDF from the beginning completely takes away that vehicle of change.
You can write on PDF files using these helpful steps. Though they are not conclusive to each software, application, or extension, the basics stay relatively the same. We will go into the specifics in a bit.
- Import to application/software, or open using application/software
- Edit/Markup or any other verbiage used for this button
- Add Comments, highlights, and notes
- Save
While you can’t open up a standard PDF and start editing or annotating, you can make notes depending on what extension or application you have downloaded on your computer. If you don’t have one, these can be used as a helpful start to your research of what extension, software, or application to use to best fit your needs.
Wondershare
Once opening the PDF through the Wondershare PDF Element software, you can click on comment, or markup if you have a Mac computer, and from there you will be able to make notes on the document. These notes can be edited further by changing their style, color, and author.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge has one of the only methods to edit a PDF without downloading any extra software or extensions. By opening the PDF in Microsoft Edge, you can right-click anywhere and select “add text”. From there, you can edit where the placement of the note is along with any colors and text edits as well.
Microsoft Word
Since this is an application rather than a browser, like Microsoft Edge, the process is slightly different as well. Once you open and write on the PDF through the app, you will be able to check that the PDF is editable. You will be able to make notes within the text, as well as transfer sections of the PDF to a separate page if needed.
One Note
Import a PDF to One Note simply by clicking the “add page” button at the bottom, followed by “insert” and then “printout”, where you choose a PDF to import to the page. After it is correctly inserted into the page, you will be able to comment by simply double-clicking the part you would like to notate and begin typing. It is as simple as that.
Desklamp
If you have never heard of Desklamp, it is definitely worth looking into for its productivity benefits. Once the software downloads, open a PDF and begin editing, note-taking, highlighting, and more. To do this, on the right side of the page there will be an “add” button, once clicked you can add notes by clicking and dragging certain areas of text and making comments on them. This does not change the layout of the PDF. But rather it highlights areas that were worth making note of for you.
Adobe
Using Adobe Acrobat, you can add notes and highlight parts of the text that are important to you. The first thing you need to do, similar to other software and applications, is open the document through the online PDF editor. From there, you can click “add comment” to add a note. Or use the highlighter icon to simply highlight a part of the text.
Conclusion
Now that you know several ways to edit a PDF, you can feel confident when converting and editing a document. While this list is not conclusive, it is a place to start and continue your research into PDF editing.
