How to Add Notes and Annotate a PDF in OS X Preview

Thanks to the power of the Mac OS X graphics software engine based in Quartz and using PDF vector based graphics, making and editing a PDF file is easy to do without any extra software. Learn how to add notes and annotate PDF files using OS X Preview.

Things You'll Need

• Apple OS X 10.5
• Apple Preview

Instructions

1. Your Mac should already have PDF files associated with Preview. Double clicking should open your PDF file in the Preview application. If your Mac has PDF Files associated with another application, such as Adobe Acrobat, and you wish to use Preview to add notes and annotate PDFs, simply drag and drop the PDF file on the Preview icon in your "Applications Folder" to launch the PDF file in Preview.

2. 

   To annotate text in Preview, simply select the text you wish to mark up with your "I Beam" text cursor, or if you are going to add a note, oval or rectangle, select the area of the PDF where you wish to place the object. To add an oval, select “Tools," "Annotate" and "Add Oval" from your menu bar or use the hot key (⌃ ⌘ O). To add a rectangle, select "Tools," "Annotate" and "Add Rectangle" from your menu bar or use the hot key (⌃ ⌘ R).

3. 

   Preview also allows you to add notes with text and date information. To add a note, select "Tools," "Annotate" and "Add Note” from your menu bar or use the hot key (⌃ ⌘ N). The text for the note to your PDF file will appear to the left of the PDF file in a sidebar.

4. 

   With Preview you can also edit in links to your PDF. The links can be for URLs (Web addresses) or the links can link to other pages and areas of your PDF file. In the image, the PDF has been edited with a link to a URL on the signature of the letter.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish