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How to Fix Drawing and Highlighting Tools Not Working in Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile
Question details
Users are unable to use the drawing and highlighting markup tools when viewing PDFs in the mobile app.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile
- Device & OS
- Android and ChromeOS
- Scenario
- Attempting to annotate, highlight text, or freehand draw on a PDF document using an Android tablet or Chromebook 2-in-1 device.
- Observed behavior
- The drawing and highlighting tools are either unresponsive, grayed out, or fail to apply markups to the PDF document.
Ensure your device is connected to the internet to check for app updates, and verify that you have logged into your Adobe account to access necessary markup features.
Update Adobe Acrobat Reader and Restart
Updating the application resolves bugs and glitches that cause annotation tools to stop responding.
Software updates often include critical bug fixes for mobile and 2-in-1 devices. If the application is outdated, certain features like the drawing and highlighting tools may become unresponsive.
Navigate to your device's home screen or app drawer and launch the Google Play Store.
Tap your profile icon, select 'Manage apps & device', and find Adobe Acrobat Reader in the 'Updates available' list. Tap 'Update' if a new version is present.
Once updated, close the application completely from your recent apps view, then reopen it and test the highlighting tools again.
Test for Document Restrictions and Compatibility
Determine if the issue is caused by the specific PDF file rather than the application itself.
Highlight and Draw on PDFs Easily with WPS Office
If you continue experiencing issues with PDF markup tools, WPS Office provides a robust, built-in PDF editor. It offers a smooth and reliable experience for highlighting text, drawing freehand shapes, and adding comments to your PDFs directly from any mobile device or tablet.
- 1. Install WPS Office: Download and launch the WPS Office app from the Google Play Store on your device.
- 2. Open your PDF: Tap 'Open' on the home screen and select the PDF file you wish to annotate.
- 3. Access annotation tools: Tap the 'Tools' menu at the bottom of the screen and select the 'Annotation' tab.
- 4. Start highlighting and drawing: Choose the 'Highlight' or 'Pen' tool to easily mark up your document, then tap 'Save' to preserve your annotations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I highlight specific text in my PDF document?
If a PDF is created from a scanned image rather than a digital text document, standard text highlighting tools will not be able to select the words. You will need to use a freehand pen tool or run OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the file to convert the image into selectable text.
How do I know if my PDF has editing restrictions?
Restricted PDFs typically display a 'Secured' tag in the document title bar or show a padlock icon. When opening a secured PDF, most editing and annotation tools will be grayed out or hidden until the correct permissions password is provided.
Are annotations saved automatically in the mobile app?
While some mobile applications cache recent changes, it is highly recommended to manually save your document after making extensive highlights or drawings. If the app crashes unexpectedly, unsaved markups may be lost.
