How can I help you?
Annotations overview in JavaScript
12 Feb 20261 minute to read
Annotations in the PDF Viewer are interactive elements that allow users to add notes, highlights, or text boxes directly to a PDF document. These annotations add context and feedback to PDF files, simplifying collaboration during document reviews.
The PDF Viewer provides a complete set of annotation tools for reviewing, measuring, and marking up PDFs in JavaScript (ES5).
Supported annotations
- Text markup: Highlight, Underline, Squiggly, Strikethrough
- Shapes: Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Circle, Polygon
- Text boxes: Free Text
- Drawing: Ink (freehand)
- Stamps: Standard and custom stamps
- Notes: Sticky Notes (comments)
- Redaction: Mark and apply redactions
- Measurement: Distance, Perimeter, Area, Radius, Volume
Annotation manipulation capabilities
- Create annotations: Use the toolbar, context menu, or APIs to add highlights, notes, shapes, and more directly onto the PDF document.
- Edit annotations: Modify existing annotations by moving, resizing, or updating text and style properties like color, opacity, and thickness.
- Customize annotations: Adjust appearance and behavior—such as fonts, fill colors, and opacity—through the UI or configuration options.
- Undo and redo annotations: Revert or reapply annotation actions (add, edit, delete) using toolbar buttons or corresponding APIs.
- Import and export annotations: Save and load annotations in JSON or XFDF formats to persist markups across sessions or share them with others.
- Set Permissions: Enable or disable annotation permission, ensuring compliance with document permissions.
- Add and manage comments: Insert, edit, and delete comments or sticky notes attached to annotations for clearer feedback and collaboration.