Annotate images and PDFs

Sample annotations on an image

Evernote provides you with all the tools you need to visually communicate ideas, share feedback, and collaborate with friends and co-workers. Easily annotate images and PDFs with lines, shapes, arrows, and more.

Note: Image annotation is available for all customers. PDF annotation is only available for Evernote Premium and Business customers.

Annotate an image or PDF

Mac

Images

The new Evernote for Mac: Click on an image from inside a note and select the pencil icon above the image, or right-click and select Annotate this Image from the pop-up menu.

Older version of Evernote for Mac: Right-click on an image from inside a note and select Annotate this Image from the pop-up menu.

PDFs

The new Evernote for Mac: Right-click on a PDF from inside a note and select the pencil icon above the PDF, or select Annotate this PDF from the pop-up menu.

Older version of Evernote for Mac: Right-click on a PDF from inside a note and select Annotate this PDF from the pop-up menu.
Windows

Images

The new Evernote for Windows: Click on an image from inside a note and select the pencil icon above the image, or right-click and select Annotate this Image from the pop-up menu.

Older version of Evernote for Windows: Right-click on an image from inside a note and select Annotate This Image from the pop-up menu.

PDFs

The new Evernote for Windows: Right-click on a PDF from inside a note and select the pencil icon above the PDF, or select Annotate this PDF from the pop-up menu.

Older version of Evernote for Windows: Right-click on a PDF from inside a note and select Annotate This PDF from the pop-up menu.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Images

Tap to open an image from inside a note, then select the annotate button (letter 'a' in a circle).

PDFs

Tap to open a PDF from inside a note, then select the annotate button (letter 'a' in a circle).
Android

Images

Tap and hold on an image from inside a note, then select Annotate from the pop-up menu.

PDFs

Tap and hold on a PDF from inside a note, then select Annotate from the pop-up menu.

Annotation Tools

Arrow tool

Use the Arrow tool to point out an exact spot or item on an image or PDF with arrows:

Select the arrow tool.
Hold and drag to the spot on the image you want the arrow to point. The arrow points and stretches in the direction you drag.

Line & Shape tools

Use the Line & Shape tools to call attention to specific areas.

Line and shape tool options

To annotate your image or PDF with lines and shapes do the following:

Select the Line & Shapes tool icon to show all of the available shapes
Select the icon corresponding to the shape you want to use (lines, circles, and squares)
Hold and drag over the area of the image where you want the shape to appear

Text tool

Use the Text tool to add text to your image or PDF:

Select the Text tool icon
Click the spot where you want the text to appear. A text cursor appears.
Type the text you want to display
To edit the text or change the text format, select the text you want to edit to bring up the options slider or click inside the text box to edit text
Use the switch to toggle between plain or outlined text

Pen & Highlight tools

Use the Pen tool to freehand draw with digital ink. Use the Highlighter tool to add a transparent color overlay.

Pen and Highlight options

To draw and highlight areas on your image do the following:

Select the Pen & Highlighter tools icon to show the available tools
Select the Pen tool icon to freehand drawings, or the Highlighter icon to highlight anything with transparent ink.
With either tool, hold and drag over the image to draw with digital ink.

Stamp tool

Use Stamps to quickly give visual feedback about parts of an image. This is a good way to let others know what aspects of the image you like, dislike, or need more information about. You can add short text notes to stamps as well.

Stamp options

Add a stamp:

Select the Stamp tool icon. A menu of the available stamps will be displayed.
Select a stamp you want to use
Click anywhere on the image or PDF page to add the stamp

Add text to a stamp:

Select the stamp you want to add text to. The stamp editing options will be displayed around the stamp.
Select the Stamp tool text icon, identified by the letter "a". This icon will change to a text field.
Start typing to add text to the stamp. You may add up to 16 characters.

Add a pointer to a stamp:

Select the stamp you want to add a pointer to. The stamp editing options will be displayed around the stamp.
Select the + icon. The + icon will change to a solid blue anchor point, and a pointer will appear on the left side of the stamp.
To rotate the pointer to another spot on the stamp, hold and drag the blue anchor point to any point around the stamp.

Pixelate tool

(available only for images)

Use the Pixelate tool to blur portions of an image you don't want to share, such as faces or other personal information:

Tap the Pixelate icon
Hold and drag over the area you want to pixelate.

Crop & Resize tool

(available only for images)

Crop tool: Use this tool to select only the part of the image you want, and remove the rest

Select the Crop tool icon. On a Mac, a toggle switch lets you alternate between the Crop and Resize tools.
Hold and drag over the area you want to include in the image. Once you release your finger, everything outside of the selected area will be removed.

Resize tool: Use this tool to enlarge or reduce the image size:

Select the Resize tool icon (a toggle switch lets you alternate between the Resize and Crop tools).
Select the percentage or enter the dimensions you’d like to enlarge or reduce the image size to.

Note: The Resize tool is currently only available in Evernote for Mac.

Resize

Color & Stroke options

Select a color for your text, arrow, and shape annotations.

Select a stroke size for your text, arrow, and shape annotations.

More editing options

In addition to the annotation tools, Evernote provides other ways you can change the general layout of your images and PDFs. You can access these options while in Annotate view by selecting the Options menu, usually located near the top of the screen.

The following editing option is available on all platforms and devices:

Clear Annotations: Removes all annotations on a particular image or on a PDF. For PDFs, this means that annotations made on every page in a PDF are removed. On Windows, select Edit > Clear Annotations.

The following editing options are available on the Mac and iPhone, iPad, iPod touch:

Flip (only applies to images on a Mac): Images are flipped horizontally (just as a page in a book is flipped from left to right or vice versa), and any annotations on the image are mirrored as well. Blocks of text, rather than individual characters or words, appear as mirrored reflections of the original text once the image is flipped.
Rotate: Rotates the current image (or PDF page on a Mac) 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Delete PDF Page (only applies to PDFs): Deletes the PDF page currently being edited (available on desktop clients.)

Note: In Evernote for Mac, you can annotate a note even if it doesn't have images or PDFs. Simply right-click and select Annotate Entire Note as PDF and Evernote converts the entire note into a single PDF page for you to annotate.

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Keywords:

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Annotate images and PDFs