Better annotation support

Submission

infeeeee

May 15, 2022

Board: Features
Status: Pending

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Better annotation support

The basics of annotation tools are already present, and they work really well! But compared to other pdf viewers, the tools are quite limited and not really user friendly.

infeeeee

May 15, 2022

20

abcJun 6, 2022

i have never tested annotations on sumatrapdf. can i put an annotation on a pdf-file (let's say on the first page) and save it and then open it with sumatrapdf and the annotation is still there and even edible? can i open it with other pdf-viewers too and watch/edit there sumatrapdf-annotations too?

dominiosclaveDec 30, 2022

abc: Yes, update to beta releases.

Giovanni Henrique BertarelloOct 20, 2022

it would be great if I could save the config for free text annotations like color, font, etc !! and be able to make text annotations without having to exit fullscreen

dominiosclaveDec 30, 2022

Please consider double click edit the annotation. And way to save annotation templates.

GJoeMar 3, 2023

There is an issue when visualizing the annotations, sometimes the boxes entities overlap each other making hard to see what comment correspond to another. https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sumatrapdf/discussions/3313

Andrew PawlikMay 7, 2023

Better Free-text. Boxes need to be resizable and a more intuitive editing would really help. Foxit free-text resizing is now broken, and current Sumatra feels even more awkward. Also, area highlight (like Foxit, but movable); it's much more versatile and looks better than line highlights. As mentioned elsewhere, signature stamps (not cryptographic signatures) is a major time saver and recently got nerfed in Foxit as well.

LeePheonJul 5, 2023

This application is currently a lightweight PDF reader that consumes minimal memory and responds quickly. However, I would like to enhance its functionality to include quick annotation capabilities with **ink annotation** features. By incorporating these additions, SumatraPDF will transform into an ideal PDF reader for individuals who frequently work with PDFs. Though I have discovered it in the command palette, it is not functioning yet. I eagerly anticipate the implementation of this functionality.

Diego JacobiOct 8, 2023

Yes, It would be handy for me to quickly add green check marks, red cross marks and yellow attention !-sign marks with just some right clicks. As a further addition, semaphore-colored square boxes to highlight an area, instead of text, would be used with the same goal.

LoZioOct 12, 2023

Inserting image annotions would be great, when you are required to "sign" the document

AlexOct 16, 2023

Additionally, I have a more specific proposal that could significantly enhance the user experience. Allowing users to save their color settings would be a game-changer. It's currently inconvenient to keep switching between color settings for annotations. By enabling the storage of user settings—such as ten favorite colors—you could greatly improve usability. Essentially, there are two parameters to store: color name and opacity setting. Please see the attached screenshot for a visual proposal. (P.S.: Sumatra is fantastic, and the developers are doing an excellent job! My utmost respect and support go out to their work.)

AlexOct 16, 2023

Why not integrate the Annotations window similar to how Bookmarks are integrated? Having Annotations open in a separate window is inconvenient. I usually place it right next to the PDF body anyway.

Je Sian Keith HermanOct 26, 2023

Please add some simple/quick keyboard shortcuts for different colors for highlights. It would be quite a big quality-of-life over just pressing `a` for one color (yellow). Or a hover menu for annotation colors if possible like other PDF readers.

Nicola RossiJul 8, 2024

I came here to propose what Alex already proposed. A window showing all the annotations in the document (with the respective comments). One of the main reasons of annotating is to be able to quickly find these highlights later when needed.

Jesús Adán Torres MárquezJul 21, 2024

i just use highlights, so could be amazing if we could change the color of highlights, more... handly and more colors, the rest is amazing: tabs, resources, size.. everything (to me).

Nicola RossiSep 17, 2024

It would be great to see the comment for all annotations in a column, just like Acrobat, without having to click on each annotation to see it's comment. The way it is now, it is impossible to look for something which was commented in a book with many annotations (and comments), bacause you would need to click on every annotation to see what's the comment. Also, free-hand highlighting for documents without OCR.

Steven WarwickJan 2, 2025

1. free text annotations need to have box size auto-adjust to surround text 2. should be able to move free text boxes around 3. set font/font size/border/color once and have it stay as you make new free text boxes free text is critical when you are trying to quickly add things like fingerings to music scores. Making this very fast would be of great value.

Rob PowersMay 12, 2025

We love SumatraPDF, please help us to love it more. Thx!

TobiasJun 5, 2025

It would be amazing if some keyboard shortcuts could be added to "strike-out" and "squiggly", in addition to the already existing ones for "highlight" (a) and "underline" (u).

月Lei_YanghuaJun 12, 2025

Tobias这个可以通过自定义快捷键命令实现，在高级设置里

Vladimir ZubkovOct 27, 2025

YES. BE ABLE TO CHANGE COLOR FOR COLOR PRESETS. NOW THEY ARE ALMOST USELESS.