Overview
PDF markups let you add drawings, shapes, and comments directly to PDF files.
This makes reviews clearer, speeds up approvals, and supports real-time collaboration. Read more in Review & Approve Documents.
Currently PDF markups are only available for PDFs saved in Documents > All files including File Approvals, Favorites and, Shared Items. Read more in View & Find Files/Folders.
PDF markups are not yet available for Ticket attachments and Project reports. There you still cannot save markups directly in the current version. Read more in PDF Viewer > Sign Document / Add Annotations.
This feature is already released for the Webapp. The mobile app release will follow later.
Access & Permissions
Only Pro and Enterprise accounts created after February 2022 are eligible for PDF markups.
If you have an older Pro or Enterprise account contact us to upgrade your account.
To create and manage markups you need an in-house user with permission to edit the PDF file.
PDF markups are visible to all users who have permission to view the PDF. Read more in Permissions and in File/Folder Access Control.
Collaboration and Visibility
- Markups are saved automatically in the current version of the PDF.
- Markups appear instantly for all users, enabling real-time collaboration.
- Markups can be edited or deleted by any user with edit permissions, even if they were created by someone else.
- Markup changes are recorded in the file activity log.
Read more in View Activity Log for Files & Folders in the Webapp. - In the file list, there is a column called 'Last modified markups' and you can filter for files with markups.
Read more in View & Find Files/Folders > Filter.
How to access
To view a PDF in Documents:
- Click Documents
- Select a Project
- Click All files or Favorites or Shared Items
- Click the PDF
Create Markups
There is a limit of 500 markups per PDF.
To add markups in a PDF:
- Enable the Edit markups toggle
- Click on one of the markup tools. Read more below in Markup Tools & Options.
- Click or draw anywhere in the PDF to add the markup there
-
Optional: Adjust the markup options
Markup Tools & Options
There are several markup tools that allow you to add and customize annotations.
Some of the markup tools offer additional tools in the drop-down menus. All tools offer formatting options depending on the selected tool e.g. to change the thickness or colour of the line and more:
- Select the tool e.g. Drawing
- Select a tool from the drop-down e.g. Freeform Highlighter
- Adjust the formatting options in the left panel
The following markup tools are available:
Drawing
Draw a freeform line.
Freeform Highlighter
Draw a thick transparent line to highlight areas.
Eraser
The eraser partially removes your freehand drawings.
Text Highlighter
Select a text and highlight it.
There are also inline formatting options when selecting a text for strikethrough, underline, and red wavy underline:
Lines & Shapes
Add a line or shape including:
- Line
- Arrow
- Rectangle
- Ellipse
- Polygon
- Cloudy Polygon
- Polyline
Text & Callout
Add text or a callout. A callout is a textbox with a flexible arrow.
Note
Add a note to place an icon that shows your text when clicked.
Link
Add a link to a page within the PDF or to an external website URL.
Links are transparent, so you can place them on top of other markups.
To select or edit a link, use the selection tool — see Select Markups below.
Links behave similarly to markups, but they are not classified as markups.
As a result, they are not included when indicating whether a PDF contains markups or when applying markup filters.
Signature
Add a signature by freehand drawing, uploading an image or typing your name.
Edit Markups
To edit a markup:
- Click on the markup
- Apply your changes as described above
- OR Move or Delete a markup as described below
Select Markups
To select one or multiple markups:
- Click on the Select Multiple Annotations icon
- Select an area by holding the mouse button
Move Markups
To move a markup:
- Drag the markup to the desired position
Delete Markups
To delete a markup:
- Click the Trash icon
- Or press Del or Backspace on your keyboard
Undo & Redo
You can undo or redo changes while you are in a markup-editing session.
To undo an action:
- Click the Undo icon
To redo an action (after undoing):
- Click the Redo icon
Show/Hide Markups
Showing or hiding markups applies only to your current PDF viewer session. This setting is not saved and does not affect what other users see. When you open a PDF, markups are shown by default.
To hide all markups:
- Click the Hide markups icon
To show all hidden markups:
- Click the Show markups icon
Print & Download
Markups are only included in the printed PDF if they are visible. When saving a PDF to your computer, export it to include markups or download it to exclude markups.
To print a PDF including markups:
- Click the Show markups icon
- Click the Print icon
To print a PDF excluding markups:
- Click the Hide markups icon
- Click the Print icon
To export a PDF including markups:
- Click the Export PDF icon
To download a PDF without markups:
- Open the More menu
- Click Download
Find PDFs with Markups
Find PDFs with markups by filtering. Read more in View & Find Files/Folders > Filter.
You can recognise if a PDF has markups without opening the file:
- By the icon and time stamp in the Last modified markups column in the file's list view:
- By the icon on the thumbnail in the file's grid view:
- By the icon in the approval request details under Items to review:
Behaviour of markup modification info
(Last modified markups timestamp, icon, filter, and activity log)
- The system intentionally waits up to a few minutes before updating the modification info to avoid unnecessary repeated updates when many markups are created in a short editing session. If the PDF view is closed using the close button, the update happens immediately. This behaviour does not affect the live collaboration experience when working on PDF markups.
- PDFs with markups that were uploaded before this feature’s release in December 2025 will only be recognised as containing markups, i.e. shown in the filter, once they have been opened at least once after the release.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.