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How to Add Notes to a PDF on Mac

Download Highlights for free. Not on a Mac? Checkout the iPad and iPhone guides.

1. Open the PDF document in Highlights

From the menu bar choose File > Open. Locate and select the file you want to open, then click Open:

Window for opening PDF file in Highlights on macOS 11 Big Sur

The PDF opens in a document window:

Highlights document window for macOS 11 Big Sur

2. Select the note tool in the toolbar

Note icon

3. Click where you want the note in the PDF

The note appears at the selected location and an annotation popover window appears:

Annotation popover

4. Type your comment in the popover

Annotation popover with text comment

Click outside the popover to close it. Your note is added to the PDF and the comment shows up in your notes which you can easily share.

You can also add comments to other types of PDF annotations including highlighted text and image selections by clicking on them and typing in the text field of the annotation popover.