How to Highlight Text in PDF on Desktop or Mobile
If you’ve received orcreated a documentand wish to highlight important points, chances are there is no native solution on your mobile or desktop. Fortunately, there are some easy alternatives available. This guide will show you some of the easiest ways to highlight text in a PDF on mobile or desktop.
Table of Contents
Highlight Text in PDF on Mac/PC
1. Using Web Browser
One of the easiest methods for highlighting text in a PDF is to use theMicrosoft Edgebrowser. It features a built-inPDF editorthat is sufficiently robust, even allowing you to highlight text in different colors. Here’s how it works:
1.Right-clickon the PDF file, hover your cursor over theOpen withoption and selectMicrosoft Edge.

2.Next, click on theHighlightericon and thenselect the textyou want to highlight.
Refer to the below image for a better understanding.
3.If you wish to change the color, click on thedown arrownext to the Highlighter icon and choose thecoloralong with itsthickness.
4.If you wish to remove any highlighted text, simply select theErasebutton, then click on thehighlighted text, and it will be removed.
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5.Once you’ve finished highlighting the text, click theSaveorSave Asbutton to save the file separately.
2. Using Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you’re not interested in installing an additionalweb browseron your computer, you can useAdobe Acrobat Reader. The app is simple and easy to use, and it also offers a few additional features, which we will discuss later. So here’s how to use this app:
1.Open thePDF filein Adobe Acrobat, then click on thePenicon in the toolbar and select theHighlightoption.

2.If you’re not fond of the default highlight color, simply click on thecolor bubbleand choose a differentcolor. You can also customize theopacity.
Moreover, you have the option to adjust thehighlight thicknessby clicking on the 3-bar icon beneath the color bubble.Drag the sliderto achieve your desired thickness.

3.After that, you may click and drag toselect the textyou wish to highlight.
4.If you later decide to change the color of the highlighted text or want to erase it, simply select thehighlighted textand choose thecolor bubbleordeleteicon, respectively.

5.Once the job is done, you can hit theSavebutton to save your changes.
Highlight Text in PDF on the Phone
If you don’t have access to your PC or Mac, there’s no need to worry. With the help of the Microsoft 365 (Office) app, you can easily highlight text in a PDF file from your smartphone. Here’s how:
1.Open theMicrosoft 365app on youriPhoneorAndroidphone, then jump to thePDFtab and select thePDF filethat you want to edit.
NOTE:If you’re not seeing the PDF tab on your iPhone, tap on theMorebutton and then hit thePlusicon next toPDFto add it to your home page.
2.Afterward, hit theEditbutton and select theHighlightericon.
3.If you want to change the color of the highlighter, tap on thecolor bubbleat the bottom right corner, and then choose anycolorfrom the provided list. you’re able to also adjust theopacityof the selected color.
4.Once done, tap and drag toselect the textyou want to highlight.
5.If you want to undo or remove certain parts of the highlighted text, you can use theUndoorEraseroption.
6.Finally, hit theTickorCheckmarkicon to save your changes, and voila, you have successfully highlighted text in the PDF document.
- How to highlight text in a scanned PDF?
You can highlight text in a PDF using a method similar to what was demonstrated in the above guide. However, if thedocument is likely scanned from your smartphone, it may not automatically detect text. Therefore, you need to manually highlight the text, resulting in visible signs of uneven highlighting.
- How to highlight text in a PDF with images?
Like scanned documents, automatic highlighting won’t work on images with text, but you can manually highlight text on the image.
TIP:Learn how toextract text from images on a Windows PC.
Spice up Your PDFs With Highlights
Now that you know how easy it is to highlight a text in a PDF document, we hope the above guide has assisted you in doing so. Now before you close your browser, you may also be interested in learning how toexport WhatsApp chat to PDFor how toremove a password from PDF.
Rahul is your go-to guide for fixing Windows, Steam, Android, Samsung TV, and Google Chrome. An engineering college dropout who followed his passion for tech, he brings 3 years of troubleshooting experience and 2+ years of running his own tech blog to the table. When he’s not solving your tech problems, you’ll find him unwinding with the latest anime or K-drama.