# How to highlight text in a PDF: Acrobat, Edge and Preview

Official steps to highlight text and add notes in a PDF with Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Edge or Preview on a Mac, without uploading it, and print the highlights.

Editorial responsibility: Eduardo · October 8, 2026

![A hand highlights a document beside a tablet and a note.](<https://www.keepanalog.com/images/blog/ka-066-f6538c6997cb.webp>)

Editorial illustration created with AI assistance for KeepAnalog.

To highlight or underline text in a PDF without uploading it anywhere, use what you already have: in Adobe Acrobat, select the text and choose the highlighter; in Microsoft Edge, right-click the selection and pick a highlight; on a Mac, Preview has **Highlight Selection**.

The steps come from Adobe, Microsoft and Apple official help, checked on October 8, 2026.

This guide is part of the [Guide to saving articles to read later](</blog/saved-reading/guide-to-saving-articles-to-read-later>), which organizes every guide on the topic.

## How do I highlight text in a PDF in Adobe Acrobat?

According to [Adobe's guide to highlighting a PDF](<https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/how-to-highlight-a-pdf.html>):

1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.
2. Click and drag the cursor to select the text.
3. A small toolbox appears above the text: select the highlighter icon and the text is highlighted.
4. To change it, click the highlight: the new toolbox lets you add a note, change the color or remove it.

[Acrobat's help on commenting selected text](<https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/share-and-review-documents/review-documents/add-comments.html>) (updated August 31, 2026) adds that, with text selected, the floating toolbar offers **Add a comment**: type the comment and select **Post**.

## What if I want to print it with the highlights?

Adobe warns that printing a PDF prints only the document by default, without your markup. To include it, in **File** > **Print** (**Ctrl + P** on a PC, **Command + P** on a Mac), select **Document and Markup** in the **Comments & Forms** menu, then print.

## How do I do it in Microsoft Edge?

Edge opens PDFs with nothing to install. According to [Microsoft's documentation on the Edge PDF reader](<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-pdf>):

1. Open the PDF in Edge and select the text.
2. Right-click, select the highlight option in the menu and choose the color.
3. For a note, select the text, right-click, choose **Add Comment**, type it and click the check mark. The text is highlighted and a comment icon appears.

The same page describes inking, to write by hand on the PDF with a color and stroke width, and **Read aloud** to listen to the PDF.

## What about Preview on a Mac?

According to [Apple's guide to annotating a PDF in Preview](<https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/preview/prvw11580/mac>):

1. Open the PDF in Preview.
2. If the **Markup** toolbar isn't showing, click its button.
3. Select the text and use **Highlight Selection**. Use **Note** to add a comment.

Apple explains how to save: **File** > **Save**, **Export** or **Export to PDF** keep annotations editable; **File** > **Print** > **Save as PDF** flattens them so they cannot be edited.

## What if I cannot select the text?

The steps above highlight selected text. If your PDF will not let you select it, Apple's guide describes a highlight shape in Preview (**Shapes** > **Highlight**) that you drag over the area and resize with the blue handles, and Microsoft describes inking in Edge to mark by hand.

## Before you highlight everything: three checks

These checks are an original KeepAnalog suggestion, not steps from Adobe, Microsoft or Apple:

1. **Work on a copy** of the PDF, with the date in the file name, so the original stays clean.
2. **Use one color for one thing** (say, yellow for ideas and another for data), so the highlights still make sense later.
3. **Write a note in your own words** on what matters most, not only a color: the highlighting guide below explains why marking alone helps little.

## What next?

For what research says, see [Does highlighting help? What the evidence says about marking](</blog/reading-habits/does-highlighting-help-reading>). If the PDF is long and you want it on paper, [How to print a PDF as a booklet](</blog/reading-habits/print-pdf-as-booklet>), and if it is still a web page, [How to save a web page as a PDF on your phone](</blog/saved-reading/save-web-page-as-pdf-on-phone>). And if you prefer paper, KeepAnalog turns eligible public links chosen by one person (HTML pages or PDFs) into a monthly printed issue. Nothing is printed or charged until that person approves the issue. For now, KeepAnalog's pilot is in Argentina only, with no delivery in the United States.

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## Sources

1. [Adobe Acrobat, How to highlight a PDF](<https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/how-to-highlight-a-pdf.html>)
2. [Adobe Acrobat Desktop Help, Add comments to selected text or images](<https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/share-and-review-documents/review-documents/add-comments.html>)
3. [Microsoft Learn, PDF reader in Microsoft Edge](<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-pdf>)
4. [Preview User Guide for Mac, Annotate a PDF in Preview on Mac](<https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/prvw11580/mac>)

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