How to Fix Choppy Surface Pen Annotations in Adobe Acrobat
Question details
Users experience incorrect smoothing and choppy lines when using a Surface Pen for freehand annotations in Adobe Acrobat.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- Windows 10
- Scenario
- Drawing freehand annotations or handwriting text using a Surface Pen and the Pencil tool in a PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat automatically smooths the input incorrectly, distorting handwritten letters, line endings, and dots, making the annotations look choppy or unreadable.
Ensure your Surface Pen is fully charged and its drivers are updated, and confirm whether the smoothing issue occurs only in Acrobat or across all handwriting applications.
Disable Automatic Smoothing in Acrobat Settings
Check if your version of Adobe Acrobat allows you to adjust or disable the Pencil tool's smoothing feature.
Acrobat applies an automatic smoothing algorithm to Pencil tool inputs to help steady mouse-drawn lines. Unfortunately, this can interfere with high-precision styluses.
Launch Adobe Acrobat, click on the 'Edit' menu at the top, and select 'Preferences'.
In the left pane of the Preferences window, navigate to the 'Commenting' category.
Look for an option related to 'Pencil Tool Smoothing' or 'Automatic Smoothing'. If it is available, disable it and click 'OK'.
Update Adobe Acrobat and Windows
Applying the latest software patches can sometimes resolve known bugs affecting stylus input on Windows 10.
Use WPS PDF for Smooth Handwriting and Annotations
If Acrobat's automatic smoothing makes your handwriting unreadable, try WPS Office. It includes a powerful, free PDF editor that supports smooth, accurate freehand annotations with the Surface Pen, alongside full compatibility with Microsoft Office formats.
- 1. Open PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your PDF document.
- 2. Access Annotation Tools: Navigate to the 'Comment' tab located on the top ribbon.
- 3. Draw Smoothly: Select the 'Graffiti' or 'Pen' tool and use your Surface Pen to write and draw without automatic distortion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat change my handwriting after I draw it?
Acrobat uses an automatic line-smoothing algorithm for its Pencil tool to make mouse-drawn lines look cleaner. However, this algorithm often misinterprets the precise input of a stylus like the Surface Pen, over-correcting loops and dots.
Can I completely turn off pen smoothing in Adobe Acrobat?
In many modern versions of Acrobat, there is no direct toggle to disable Pencil tool smoothing completely. It remains a known limitation reported by many Windows 10 and Surface users.
Is the choppy annotation issue caused by my Surface Pen?
Usually not. If your Surface Pen writes smoothly in other applications like OneNote or WPS Office but appears choppy in Acrobat, the issue stems from Acrobat's internal drawing rendering engine, not your hardware.
