Notes & Annotation
Highlight, underline and box areas of a PDF, add notes, and review every note on a paper in one place.
Overview
You can read, mark up and take notes on a paper without leaving your library. Your highlights and notes stay attached to the paper, in every folder it's in.
Open a paper to read
Select a paper in your library to open its detail panel, then click View PDF. You can also open the paper's Notes tab and click View PDF and Annotate.
Mark up the PDF
The toolbar at the top of the reader has these tools:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Highlight | Select text to highlight it |
| Underline | Select text to underline it |
| Draw | Drag a box around an area, such as a figure or table, to capture the whole area |
| Colour picker | Choose the colour for your highlights, for example yellow for key findings and blue for methods |
Pick a tool
Click Highlight, Underline or Draw, and choose a colour.
Mark the text or area
Select a passage of text, or with Draw, drag a box around a figure or table.
Add a note
Write a note on the highlight to record why it matters while the thought is fresh.
Review your notes in the Notes tab
Back in your library, select the paper and open the Notes tab in its detail panel. It lists every highlight and note on the paper, each with the page it came from, so you can review them at a glance.
To edit or delete a note, open its Note options menu and choose Edit or Delete.
Quick notes
For thoughts about the paper as a whole, such as where it fits in your thesis, type in the Add quick note... box at the top of the Notes tab. Quick notes aren't tied to a page.
Notes in shared folders
When you share a folder, collaborators with Can Add Notes or Can Edit access can highlight and write notes on its papers too. Their notes appear alongside yours, with their names, so the discussion happens right on the page. See Share Library & Workspace.
Notes stay with the paper
A paper's notes and highlights belong to the paper, not to a folder. If the paper is in several folders, you see the same notes in each one.