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Highlights and comments

In short: In the PDF viewer, select text, then click Highlight, Comment or RIF it. Choose from five highlight colors. Each highlight and comment is saved automatically as a note in the project, titled "Highlight (p. N) — Title" or "Comment (p. N) — Title".

Before you start​

Open a publication's PDF from the Library with View PDF. See PDF viewer.

Highlight text​

  1. Select text on a page by dragging over it.
  2. In the small menu that appears, optionally pick a color: Orange (the default), Yellow, Green, Blue or Pink.
  3. Click Highlight.

Comment on text​

  1. Select text on a page.
  2. Optionally pick a color.
  3. Click Comment.
  4. Type your comment in "Add a comment…".
  5. Click Save, or Cancel to discard it.

Send a passage to Research in Formation​

  1. Select text on a page.
  2. Click RIF it ("Save to Research in Formation").
  3. The Add to Research in Formation dialog opens with the quoted text and page number. Add it to an existing research object, or create a new one.

The passage becomes evidence with the origin "PDF reader". See Research in Formation.

Change a color or remove an annotation​

  1. Right-click a highlight on the page, or right-click its entry in the Annotations panel.
  2. Click a color to change it, or click Erase (for a highlight) or Delete (for a comment).

Removing a highlight or comment also deletes the note it created.

Where your annotations are saved​

Each highlight and comment becomes a note attached to the publication.

You makeNote titleNote text
A highlight"Highlight (p. N) — Title"The quoted text, then the publication title and page
A comment"Comment (p. N) — Title"The quoted text, your comment, then the publication title and page

You find these notes:

  • In the Notes tab, where highlights are orange and comments green by default. See Notes.
  • In the PDF viewer's Annotations panel, with page numbers. Click an entry to jump to it.
  • In any chat about the publication. The assistant reads your newest 25 notes on it. See Attachments and what the assistant sees.

Deleting one of these notes in the Notes tab also removes its highlight from the PDF.

note

The colored marks on the PDF page are stored in your current browser. The notes are saved to the project. In another browser or on another device you still see the notes, but the marks don't appear on the page. Clearing your browser's site data removes the marks, not the notes.

Download with your annotations​

Click the download button in the viewer's toolbar. When a PDF has annotations, the download includes your highlights on every page and a summary page of all quotes and comments. See PDF viewer.

Tips​

  • Select text within one page. For a passage that runs onto the next page, highlight each part.
  • Use colors for your own system, for example yellow for methods and green for findings. Colors are for you; they don't change how notes are filed.
  • To recolor the notes themselves, use Note colors in the Notes tab.

Troubleshooting​

  • The Highlight menu doesn't appear. Make sure you dragged over text. A scanned PDF without a text layer has no text to select.
  • My highlights are missing on another computer. The marks are stored per browser. Your highlight notes are still in the Notes tab.
  • The Annotations panel says "Select text in the PDF to highlight it or leave a comment." This PDF has no annotations in this browser yet.

FAQ​

Where do my highlights go?​

Into the project's Notes tab as notes titled "Highlight (p. N) — Title", attached to the publication.

Can my collaborators see my highlights?​

Highlights become notes, and notes are private to you by default, even in a shared project.

Does removing a highlight delete its note?​

Yes. Erasing a highlight deletes its note, and deleting the note removes the highlight.

Can I highlight a scanned PDF?​

Only if it has selectable text. If you can't select text in it, upload a version with a text layer.