Annotating a PDF -- highlighting key passages, underlining important terms, adding margin notes, striking through deleted text, drawing attention to specific areas -- is core...
Open Edit PDFMark up documents for review without printing.
Drop PDF for interactive markup.
Highlight, add notes, draw. Navigate pages freely.
Markup embedded into PDF. Reviewable in any reader.
Choose a PDF from your device. Drag and drop or click to browse. Your file stays on your computer.
Your browser handles all the work using JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded to any server. Processing is instant.
Save the processed file to your device. That's it — no account, no email, no waiting.
Document review is an inherently sensitive activity. You are reading content closely, forming opinions about it, and recording those opinions as annotations. When you use a server-based tool, both the document content and your analytical commentary pass through a third-party service.
For legal review, the document is likely privileged and your annotations reveal litigation strategy. For business review, the document may contain proprietary information and your notes reveal organizational thinking. For academic review, the work may be pre-publication and your annotations constitute peer assessment.
ModernPDF keeps the entire review session local. The document renders in your browser, annotations are stored in browser memory, and the marked-up PDF is assembled on your device. Neither the original content nor your analytical notes ever leave your machine.
The full toolkit includes highlight (with multiple color options), underline, strikethrough, freehand drawing, rectangles, circles, line segments, text boxes for notes, and sticky note annotations. This covers standard markup needs for legal review, academic editing, and business document feedback.
Yes. During your active session you can undo recent annotations, delete individual markup elements, and modify existing annotations freely. Once you download the annotated PDF, the annotations are embedded in the file. Keep a copy of the original for a clean version.
Yes. Annotations are saved using standard PDF annotation formats recognized by all major PDF readers including Adobe Acrobat Reader, Apple Preview, Chrome's built-in PDF viewer, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and dedicated PDF applications like Foxit Reader.
Yes. Annotations overlay the scanned page images and work on any PDF regardless of content type. For searchable text highlighting specifically, run the document through OCR first to add a text layer, then highlight specific words and passages.
Yes. Highlight, strikethrough, note, and text box tools cover the standard markup vocabulary used in legal document review. Since the document and all your annotations remain on your device throughout the session, attorney-client privilege and work product protection are maintained.
Free to start. Files stay on your device. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited use.
Open Edit PDF