How to Highlight an Area in Adobe Acrobat for Android
Question details
The user needs to highlight a specific non-text region or graphic in a PDF document using an Android device.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader for Android
- Device & OS
- Android
- Scenario
- Reviewing or marking up a PDF document on a mobile device where standard text selection is impossible or a whole block needs emphasis.
- Observed behavior
- The standard highlight tool only functions on selectable text, preventing users from emphasizing flat images or non-selectable document regions.
Ensure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your Android device and that the PDF document permissions allow for commenting and annotations.
Use the Freehand Drawing Tool to Create an Area Highlight
Since the default highlight tool strictly selects text, using the freehand drawing tool with adjusted opacity is the best way to highlight an image or a specific area on a PDF.
Acrobat Reader for Android features a robust commenting toolset. By leveraging the drawing tool and modifying its transparency, you can simulate a highlighter pen over any part of your document, regardless of whether there is selectable text.
Launch your PDF in Adobe Acrobat for Android and tap the blue pencil icon in the bottom right corner, then select 'Comment'.
From the bottom toolbar, tap the 'Draw' icon (it looks like a pencil) to activate freehand annotations.
Tap the color palette icon to select a classic highlighter color, like yellow. Then, adjust the opacity slider to a lower percentage (e.g., 30-40%) so the underlying document content remains visible.
Use your finger or a stylus to draw a box or color over the desired area. Tap the checkmark at the top right to save the annotation.
Highlight Any Area Easily with WPS Office for Android
WPS Office offers intuitive and comprehensive PDF annotation tools, making it incredibly simple to highlight text, draw transparent shapes over areas, and manage documents seamlessly on your mobile device.
- 1. Open the Document: Launch WPS Office on your Android device and open the PDF file you wish to annotate.
- 2. Access Annotation Tools: Tap 'Tools' at the bottom of the screen, navigate to the 'Annotation' tab, and select the 'Pen' or 'Highlighter' feature.
- 3. Customize and Highlight: Adjust the thickness and choose your preferred transparent color, then drag your finger across the area you want to highlight.
- 4. Save Changes: Tap 'Done' to finalize your edits, ensuring your highlighted area is permanently saved to the document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I highlight a scanned PDF document normally?
Scanned PDFs are typically flattened image files containing no selectable text. Standard highlight tools look for text data, so you must either use an area drawing tool to manually mark regions or run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) first.
Are area highlights created on Android visible when viewing the PDF on a PC?
Yes, any annotations, drawings, or shape highlights added to a PDF using Android apps like Adobe Acrobat or WPS Office are embedded into the file and will display perfectly on any desktop PDF reader.
Can I remove a drawn highlight area later?
Absolutely. You can tap on the highlighted area you drew, which will select the annotation object. A menu will appear allowing you to delete, resize, or change the color of the highlight.
