How to Highlight a PDF: Complete Guide [2026]
Learn how to highlight text in any PDF using Adobe Reader, Mac Preview, Microsoft Edge, online tools, and mobile apps. Plus: how to extract your highlights afterward.
Quick Answer
To highlight a PDF: Open your PDF in a reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader, Mac Preview, or Microsoft Edge), select the highlight tool from the toolbar, then click and drag over the text you want to mark. Save the PDF to preserve your highlights. Need to extract those highlights later? Use our free PDF highlight extractor.
How to Highlight a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free)
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the most popular free PDF reader and offers excellent highlighting capabilities. Here's how to highlight PDFs step by step:
Open your PDF
Launch Adobe Acrobat Reader and open your PDF file (File > Open or drag and drop).
Select the Highlight tool
Click the highlighter icon in the toolbar, or go to Tools > Comment > Highlight Text.
Highlight your text
Click and drag over the text you want to highlight. Release to apply the highlight.
Change color (optional)
Right-click the highlight and select "Properties" to change the color.
Save your PDF
Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmd+S (Mac) to save with highlights.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Cost: Free (Acrobat Reader) or Paid (Acrobat Pro)
How to Highlight a PDF in Mac Preview
Mac users have a built-in PDF highlighting tool. Preview comes pre-installed on every Mac and handles PDF annotation well:
Open PDF in Preview
Double-click your PDF file (Preview is the default PDF viewer on Mac).
Show Markup Toolbar
Click View > Show Markup Toolbar, or press Shift+Cmd+A.
Select Highlight
Click the highlight button (highlighter icon) or select text and choose "Highlight" from the dropdown.
Drag to highlight
Click and drag over text to highlight. Click the arrow next to the highlight button to choose colors.
Auto-save or manual save
Preview auto-saves by default. Press Cmd+S to save immediately.
Platforms: Mac only
Cost: Free (built into macOS)
How to Highlight a PDF in Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge has a built-in PDF viewer with highlighting capabilities. No extensions needed:
Open PDF in Edge
Drag and drop your PDF into Edge, or right-click the PDF and choose "Open with > Microsoft Edge".
Select the Highlight tool
Click "Highlight" in the PDF toolbar at the top. Choose your color.
Highlight text
Click and drag over the text you want to highlight.
Save the PDF
Press Ctrl+S to save. Edge will prompt you to save a copy with annotations.
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Cost: Free
How to Highlight a PDF Online
If you don't want to install software, online PDF editors let you highlight directly in your browser:
Smallpdf
Upload your PDF, use the annotation tools to highlight, then download the marked-up file.
Free with limits; Pro for unlimited
pdfFiller
Web-based PDF editor with highlighting, form filling, and annotation features.
Free trial; subscription required
Adobe Acrobat Online
Adobe's free online PDF editor includes basic highlighting tools.
Free with Adobe account
Google Drive
Upload PDF to Google Drive, open with "Google Docs" to add highlights (may affect formatting).
Free with Google account
How to Highlight a PDF on iPhone & Android
iPhone / iPad
- Files App: Open PDF, tap the markup icon (pencil), select highlighter
- Adobe Acrobat: Open PDF, tap Comment, select Highlight
- PDF Expert: Tap Annotate, select Highlight tool
Android
- Adobe Acrobat: Open PDF, tap the pencil icon, choose Highlight
- Xodo: Open PDF, select Highlighter from annotation bar
- Google Drive: Open PDF in Drive, tap annotation icon
Tips for Effective PDF Highlighting
Use Color Coding
Assign different colors to different types of information: yellow for key concepts, green for definitions, pink for important quotes.
Highlight Sparingly
If you highlight everything, nothing stands out. Focus on key passages, not entire paragraphs.
Add Notes
Most PDF readers let you add notes to highlights. Use this to record your thoughts or why you highlighted something.
Review Your Highlights
Regularly review what you've highlighted to reinforce learning and identify patterns.
Export for Study
Use a highlight extractor to export your highlights to a separate document for studying or reference.
Save Copies
Keep the original PDF untouched. Save highlighted versions separately to preserve the source document.
After Highlighting: Extract Your Highlights
Now that you've highlighted your PDF, you might want to extract those highlights into a separate document. This is useful for:
- Creating study notes from textbook highlights
- Compiling research quotes with page citations
- Building literature reviews from multiple papers
- Sharing key passages with colleagues
- Legal document preparation with page references
Our free PDF Highlight Extractor does exactly this. Upload your highlighted PDF, and get a Word document with all your highlights organized by page number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related PDF Guides
How to Extract Highlights from PDF
Complete guide to extracting your highlights to Word.
Export PDF Highlights to Word
Step-by-step guide to Word export.
Copy Highlighted Text from PDF
Methods to copy and paste highlighted text.
PDF Highlights for Research
How researchers use PDF highlighting and extraction.
Done Highlighting? Extract Your Notes
Upload your highlighted PDF and get all your notes exported to Word with page references. Free, private, and instant.