How to Copy Highlighted Text into PDF Comments on Android
Question details
The user wants highlighted text in a PDF document to be automatically copied into the associated comment field on a mobile application.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat for Android
- Device & OS
- Android
- Scenario
- Reading, highlighting, and annotating a PDF document on an Android device.
- Observed behavior
- Highlighting text simply creates an empty comment box instead of automatically populating the comment field with the selected text.
Ensure your PDF document is not restricted or password-protected against copying, as this will prevent you from selecting and copying the text to the clipboard.
Manually Copy and Paste Text into the Highlight Comment
Since automatic copying of highlighted text into comments is not supported in many mobile PDF apps, you can use a manual multi-step method to achieve the same result.
Mobile PDF applications often differ from their desktop counterparts and may lack the feature to automatically populate comments with highlighted text. You can bypass this limitation by copying the text to your device's clipboard before creating the comment.
Long-press the text you wish to annotate to select it. From the pop-up menu that appears, tap the 'Copy' option.
After copying, tap the highlight icon or select 'Highlight' from the pop-up menu to mark your selected text.
Tap directly on the newly highlighted text. This action will open the associated empty comment window for that specific annotation.
Press and hold inside the empty comment field, then select 'Paste' from the context menu to insert the text you copied in the first step. Save the comment to finish.
Easily Annotate and Comment on PDFs with WPS Office
WPS Office provides a highly optimized mobile PDF reader that makes highlighting, underlining, and commenting on your documents incredibly easy. Enjoy a smooth reading experience with robust annotation tools directly on your Android device.
- 1. Open your PDF file: Launch the WPS Office application on your Android device and open the PDF document you want to read.
- 2. Access annotation tools: Tap the 'Tools' menu located at the bottom of your screen and select the 'Annotation' tab.
- 3. Highlight text: Select the Highlight tool and drag your finger over the desired text to apply the highlight color.
- 4. Add your comments: Tap the highlighted area to instantly open the comment box, where you can paste copied text or type your own notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't the highlighted text copy into the comment automatically on Android?
Many mobile PDF applications are designed to be lightweight and may omit certain advanced desktop features, like automatic text-to-comment population, to optimize interface performance and memory usage on smartphones and tablets.
Does this manual copy-paste method work on iOS devices like the iPad?
Yes, this same manual workaround applies to iOS devices. You can copy the selected text to your iPad clipboard, apply the highlight, and then manually paste the text into the comment field.
Can I export my highlighted comments after adding them manually?
Yes, provided you have manually pasted the text into the comment fields, most robust desktop PDF editors will allow you to extract or summarize those comments when you transfer the document to a computer.
