PDF Studio allows you to comment or annotate a document with text, graphics, sound, and hyperlinks.
PDF Studio supports the following annotations:
There are two ways to create a new annotation:
From the annotations toolbar, simply click on the appropriate annotation tool, then place the mouse on the desired location on the page and draw the annotation by dragging the mouse on the screen.
From the top toolbar, choose Comments, select a comment category menu, click on the appropriate annotation, place the mouse on the desired location on the page, and draw the annotation by dragging the mouse on the screen.
The selected tool's settings determine whether the annotation's property dialog is displayed after creating a new annotation and whether the tool remains selected.
The tool's properties determine its default appearance and how the tool behaves after the annotation is created. The properties can be accessed by right-clicking the tool icon in the toolbar or by navigating to Edit > Preferences to open the user preferences.
When the tool is "sticky," the tool remains selected after a new annotation is added to the document.
The Always Show Dialog check box determines whether the annotation properties dialog will be displayed after each new annotation is added to the document.
Edit any annotation, whether the annotation was created in PDF Studio or another software, such as Adobe Acrobat®.
To edit an annotation's properties, such as line width or color, right click (Mac: Ctrl+Click) on the annotation and choose Properties in the mouse menu. The annotation's properties dialog will be displayed. Each type of annotation has its own list of options.
To move an annotation, simply click on the annotation and move it to its new location on the page.
In the same way, to change the bounds or shape of an annotation, simply drag the mouse to change the bounds of the annotations to the new desired bounds.
To delete a specific annotation:
Click on the annotation with the hand tool, right-click on the annotation (CTRL + Click on Mac), choose "Delete" in the context menu.
To delete all annotations:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Delete All Comments.
To delete all annotations on any given page:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Delete Page Comments.
Flattening annotations is the act of painting the annotations directly on the page to which they belong so they are not editable anymore. This will permanently paint an annotation on a document. For instance, a custom signature stamp can be flattened so the signature is added to the document itself and doesn't sit on a document as an annotation anymore.
To flatten a specific annotation:
Click on an annotation with the hand tool, right-click on the annotation (CTRL + Click on Mac), choose "Flatten" in the context menu.
To flatten all annotations on any given page:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Flatten Page Comments.
To flatten all annotations:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Flatten All Comments.
All annotations can be copied using Ctrl+c (Mac: Apple+c) and pasted using Ctrl+v (Mac: Apple+v) or by right clicking and selecting copy or paste. The copy command will copy any selected annotation to the system clipboard. If an annotation is in the system clipboard when the paste command is pressed, a copy of that annotation will be placed in the center of the screen. On subsequent pastes at the same location, the annotation will be pasted at a slight offset.
To paste an annotation onto a different page:
1. Navigate to the page.
2. Click on the page with the mouse to select the page.
3. Paste the annotation using Ctrl+v (Mac: Apple+v).
A group of annotations is comprised of one parent annotations and one or more child annotations. Any operation (delete, move, etc) performed upon one annotation in a group will also be performed on the rest of group. Also, all children will display their parent's comments.
A group may be formed by selecting two or more annotations, right-clicking (Mac: ctrl +click) on one of them, and choosing Group from the mouse context menu. The annotation that was clicked will be the parent.
Annotations may be ungrouped by right-clicking (Mac: ctrl+click) on a grouped annotation and choosing Ungroup from the mouse context menu.
Note that the following annotations can not be included in a group: sound and text replace annotations.
When an image is on the system clipboard, it can be pasted onto a page by following the steps below:
1. Navigate to the page.
2. Click on the page with the mouse to select the page.
3. Paste the image using Ctrl+v (Mac: Apple+v) onto the page. Doing so will paste the image as a Rubber Stamp annotation that can be moved around or resized.
If Adjust To Zoom is selected in User Preferences, the initial size of the pasted image will depend on the zoom level of the document. Otherwise, the image will be initially pasted at its original size.
When text is on the system clipboard, it can be pasted onto a page by following the steps below:
1. Navigate to the page.
2. Click on the page with the mouse to select the page.
3. Paste the text using Ctrl+v (Mac: Apple+v) onto the page. Doing so will paste the text as a Text Box annotation using default properties. The annotation can be moved around and resized.
Setting the status or marking an annotation can be useful for keeping track of which annotations you have already reviewed. To set a status or checkmark, right click (Mac: Ctrl-Click) on the annotation and select Mark with Checkmark or select a status from the Review submenu.
The review history is saved each time the annotation status is modified and can be viewed in the Status History tab on the annotation property dialog.
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Text Box |
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Callout |
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Typewriter |
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Sticky Note |
To create a text box annotation (also called free text annotation), follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Text Box Annotation Properties:
Border Width
Border Color
Fill Color
Text Color
Text Horizontal Alignment (left, center, right)
Text Vertical Alignment (top, center, bottom)
Text Size, Bold, Italic
Text Content
Text on the System Clipboard can be pasted into a PDF document as a Text Box.
To create a callout annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Callout Annotation Properties:
Border Width
Border Color
Fill Color
Text Color
Text Horizontal Alignment (left, center, right)
Text Vertical Alignment (top, center, bottom)
Text Size, Bold, Italic
Text Content
To create a typewriter annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation. You can then type directly on to the page to add text to the document. This feature is useful to add text to PDF documents that do not have interactive forms.
Typewriter Properties:
Text Color
Text Font, Size, Bold, Italic
To create a sticky note annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Sticky Note Properties:
Sticky Note Icon Color
Transparency Percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
‘Open Initially' Flag indicates whether the sticky note should be showing when the document is first open.
Annotation Note or Comment (optional)
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Circle |
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Line |
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Arrow |
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Square |
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Polygon |
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Cloud |
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Pencil |
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Polyline |
To create a circle annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Circle Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency Percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the circle border
Color of the inside of the circle
Annotation note or comment (optional)
To create a line annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
To draw horizontal, vertical, or lines at 45 degrees, press and hold the Shift key while drawing the annotation.
Line Annotation Properties:
Line width
Transparency percentage (100% transparency is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the line
Line Start Icon, none by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow
Line End Icon, none by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow.
Annotation
note or comment (optional)
To create an arrow annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
To draw horizontal, vertical, or lines at 45 degrees, press and hold the Shift key will drawing the annotation.
Arrow Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency Percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% transparent is completely opaque)
Color of the Line
Line Start Icon, none by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow.
Line End Icon, an Open Arrow by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow.
Annotation Note or Comment (optional)
To create a square annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Square Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency Percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the border of the square.
Color of the inside of the square.
Annotation note or comment (optional)
To create a polygon annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Polygon Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparent percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the border of the polygon
Color of the inside of the polygon
Annotation Note or Comment (Optional)
To create a cloud annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Cloud Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is opaque)
Color of the border of the cloud
Color of the inside of the cloud
Annotation note or comment (optional)
To create a pencil annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Pencil annotations can consist of multiple marks or gestures. The Delay property on the pencil tool specifies the amount of time to wait before completing the pencil annotation.
Pencil Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the pencil
Annotation note or comment
To create a polyline annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation.
Polyline Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the line
Annotation note or comment
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Distance |
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Perimeter |
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Area |
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Calibration |
To create a distance annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation. The Distance Measurement dialog will be displayed, which is used to set the scale and precision for the measurement. These values must be set prior to drawing the annotation. They may not be modified after the annotation is finished.
To draw horizontal, vertical, or lines at 45 degrees, press and hold the Shift key while drawing the annotation.
To set scale from drawing, click Calibrate button and follow the steps to calibrate.
Distance Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency percentage (100% transparent is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the line
Line Start Icon, none by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow.
Line End Icon, an Open Arrow by default. Available icons are Square, Circle, Diamond, Open Arrow, Closed Arrow.
Annotation note or comment is disabled for distance annotations.
To create a perimeter annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation. The Perimeter Measurement dialog will be displayed, which is used to set the scale and precision for the measurement. These values must be set prior to drawing the annotation. They may not be modified after the annotation is finished.
To draw horizontal, vertical, or lines at 45 degrees, press and hold the Shift key while drawing the annotation.
To set scale from drawing, click Calibrate button and follow the steps to calibrate.
Perimeter Annotation Properties:
Line Width
Transparency percentage (100% transparency is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the line
Annotation note or comment is disabled for perimeter annotations.
To create an area annotation, follow the standard steps to create a new annotation. The application will then display the Area Measurement dialog where you can set the scale and precision for the area measurement. The scale must be set before you begin drawing the annotation. Once the area annotation is created, the scale cannot be modified. The scale can be set using decimals or fractions.
To draw horizontal, vertical, or lines at 45 degrees, press and hold the Shift key while drawing the annotation.
To set scale from drawing, click Calibrate button and follow the steps to calibrate.
Area Annotation Properties
Line Width
Transparency percentage (100% transparency is invisible, 0% is completely opaque)
Color of the line
Annotation note or comment is disabled for perimeter annotations
Set the scale directly from measurement tools.
To calibrate:
Create a measurement annotation (Distance, Perimeter, or Area) and click Calibrate button.
Choose two points on the document. Click OK and draw a line.
Enter the measurement in the following dialog.
The new scale will show up in the measurement dialog now
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Sound |
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Hyperlink |
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Highlight |
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Attach File |
Sound Recording or Importing
When you add a Sound Annotation to a page (by following the standard instructions to create an annotation), the Sound Recorder dialog pops up. You have the following options to add the sound data:
Record an audio comment from a microphone: Choose the microphone in the microphone combo box. Then click the arrow button to start recording from a microphone and the red circle button to stop the recording.
Load an audio comment from a file: Click the load file button and browse to the appropriate sound file. Supported formats are .au, .aiff, .wav.
Sound Annotation Properties: Once the sound has been recorded or imported from a file, the application will open the Sound Annotations properties dialog. This dialog is also accessible by right-clicking (Mac: Ctrl-click) on an existing sound annotation and choosing the Properties option. The only option available for the Sound Annotation is the color of the speaker icon. You can change it by clicking the color button.
A highlight annotation is simply a square annotation with a transparent background and no border (line width = 0).
Add a highlight annotation to a page by following the standard instructions to create an annotation. After the annotation is added, the Highlight Properties dialog is displayed.
Highlight Properties are the same as the Square Properties.
Export comments from the current document into a file in FDF or XFDF format. Comments from Text Annotations, Graphics Annotations, and Sound Annotations will be exported. Hyperlinks are not considered comments in PDF format and thus are not exported.
To export comments:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Export
Select whether to export in FDF or XFDF format
The application will open a file chooser dialog. Select the file you wish to export to.
Import data from a file into the current form fields. The file can be in FDF or XFDF format. Comments from Text Annotations, Graphics Annotations, and Sound Annotations will be imported. Hyperlinks are not considered comments in PDF format and thus are not imported.
To import comments:
From the top toolbar, choose Comments > Import
Select whether to import in FDF or an XFDF format
The application will open a file chooser dialog. Select the file you wish to import from.
View the comments panel by selecting View > Comments.
From this panel, you can view, search, and modify all the comments in the document.
