Finding a low-cost program that can edit or add notes to a PDF file can be hard. Finding one that can collate all of the changes as well seems almost impossible. However, Skim For Mac might be able to solve your dilemma, as it allows users to place marks and notes into PDF files and save all of those adjustments separately as well.
Skim For Mac allows for a variety of marking and annotations to be inserted into PDF files. This free program includes movable text boxes for notes as well as highlighting, underscoring and strike-through functions. You can even change the color of the different editing marks and the notes. Hiding the marks can be done easily and can be undone just as quickly. Notes and marks can be saved as separate text files which can be useful for editing and studying. The program also allows for text searches within the PDF file. Extra tools are available to help with reading longer PDF files, including bookmarks and reading lines. The interface is easy to use but lacks a comprehensive toolbar, so you are forced to use the drop-down menus at times.
- The tables below compare features of notable note-taking software.
- Note by clicking on the [ _ ] in the upper right corner of the note, and you can make it appear again by double-clicking the note symbol. To delete the note completely, click on the symbol and press Delete. Note: in this illustration, the line between the symbol and the note only shows when the cursor is over the note or the symbol.
- The Best Note-Taking Apps of 2018 Jot down thoughts, take pictures of things you want to remember, and keep it all at your fingertips, across your devices, with a top-rated note-taking app.
Adobe Acrobat Pro — Adobe actually created the PDF file format back in 1991, so you might think that Adobe Acrobat Pro would be the hands-down favorite for the best PDF editor for Mac. While it’s true that Adobe Acrobat Pro is an extremely powerful PDF editor, it’s also incredibly expensive.
Overall, Skim For Mac seems to be a useful tool for annotating and editing PDF files with few limitations and many options. This program would be suitable for both students and personal use with editing, noting and reading PDF files.
What do you need to know about free software?
PDFs are great, portable, cross-platform documents that you can read on your Mac, your iPad or iPhone, or on a PC. But this ubiquitous file format is also useful when you need to share works in progress with your colleagues. You don’t need to buy an expensive program to add comments or notes to a PDF. Distribute a PDF document for comments, get back the annotated files, and make changes in your original—all using Apple’s free application, Preview (in your /Applications folder).
Turn on annotations
To start with, open a PDF in Preview, and then click on the toolbar button that looks like a pencil. (You can also choose View -> Show Annotations Toolbar or press Command-Shift-A.) This displays the annotation toolbar, which contains a dozen buttons that let you access a variety of annotation features.
Best Computer Program For Taking Notes
Activate any of these features by clicking its button; you can also activate each of them from the Tools -> Annotate menu, where you will see keyboard shortcuts for each tool as well. You might want to commit to memory those which you use frequently.
Highlight text
Why Taking Notes
Highlighting text is an easy way to mark sections you want to remember, or to mark parts of a text you want to point out to others. To highlight text, click the second button in the annotation toolbar—the one that looks like the tip of a highlighter—then select the text you want to highlight. (Or, press Command-Control-H.) Click and drag the cursor to highlight long sections of text. Double-click to highlight a word. Triple-click to highlight a full line. If you mistakenly highlight something and want to undo it, just press Command-Z.
Add notes
After you’ve highlighted something in a PDF, you may want to add a note to explain why you’ve highlighted it or to offer a proposal for a change. To do this, click the notepad button in the annotations toolbar (or press Command-Control-N). The content of your PDF will slide to the right, and a gray sidebar will appear to the left; this is where the texts of your notes will go.
Computer Program For Taking Notes
Your cursor is now a crosshair; click it where you want to place your note. A yellow section will appear in the sidebar, with your name and the date. (You can choose to not display your name; go to Preview -> Preferences -> PDF and uncheck Add Name to Annotations.) Start typing to replace the selected text, or move your cursor to the end of the yellow box to retain it. Add any comments you wish.
You can move notes; just click on a note icon and move it where you want. To delete a note, click on the icon to select it, then press the Delete key. Hide note texts by clicking the x icons in their yellow boxes; click on a note icon on the PDF again to display the text.
Choose From More Annotation Options
Preview’s other annotation features let you add rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows to highlight different sections of your documents. You can strike through or underline text. You can even add text boxes, speech boxes and thought bubbles.Most of these annotations transfer correctly to the free Adobe Reader X and $800 Adobe Acrobat X Pro. Try out the different options, and you’ll find that these annotation features make Preview a great tool for marking up documents and collaborating with others.
Senior contributor Kirk McElhearn writes about more than just Macs on his blog Kirkville. Twitter: @mcelhearn Kirk is the author of Take Control of Scrivener 2.
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