How to annotate images and PDFs in Evernote
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.
Annotate any image in Evernote
Available on Mac; Windows; iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch; Android
Premium users can annotate PDFs and include an Annotation Summary
Start annotating
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Mac
Images
Ctrl+Click on an image and select Annotate this Image from the pop-up menu.
PDFs
Ctrl+Click on a PDF and select Annotate this PDF from the pop-up menu.
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Windows
Images
Right-click on an image and select Annotate This Image from the pop-up menu.
PDFs
Right-click on a PDF and select Annotate this PDF from the pop-up menu.
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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).
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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.
Use Annotate 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.
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.
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.
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 on Mac.
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 Annotate 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.
Note: For Windows desktop, 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: You can annotate a note even if it doesn't have images or PDFs. Simply select Annotate Entire Note as PDF and Evernote converts the entire note into a single PDF page for you to annotate.
Annotating an entire note as an annotated PDF is currently available on Evernote for Mac.
Include an Annotation Summary
Note: This only applies to PDFs and is currently not available in Evernote Web.
Make it easier for your friends and co-workers to review all your PDF annotations by appending an Annotation Summary page as the first page of the PDF you plan to share.
This Annotation Summary displays the following information and appears in the Note Editor view:
- Annotation count: A running count of the number of times each type of annotation is used in a document.
- Snippet summary: Cropped areas of a PDF that show precisely where on a page each annotation appears. This makes it easy for others to quickly review and reference your ideas and comments, without having to search through the entire document.
To include an Annotation Summary:
- Mac: select the Include Annotation Summary option while in PDF annotation view.
- iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: Select Include Summary from the Document Options menu (three dots (...) to the left of "Save" in the upper right).
- Android: Tap the three vertical dots in the upper right corner and check Include Annotation Summary.
- Windows: Select Edit > Include Annotation Summary from the annotation window menu bar.
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