How to Highlight Text in a PDF Online for Free

Published 5 November 2026

Highlighting helps you find key points when you study, review a contract or mark up a report. Here is how to highlight a PDF for free, in your browser.

Highlight a PDF

1. Open EditPDFFree and add your PDF.
2. Choose Highlight.
3. Click and drag over the line or words you want to mark.
4. Release the mouse. A coloured box appears.
5. Click Download PDF to save the marked copy.

Change the colour

The default is yellow. Before you drag, pick another colour with the Color control. Pink, green and blue are good for separating topics, for example yellow for key facts and green for questions.

How it works

The highlight is a coloured box placed over the area, using a see-through effect so the words stay readable. It follows the place where you drew it, not the words themselves. That means it does not select text, and if you later change the text underneath, the box stays where it was.

Fix mistakes

• Press Undo (Ctrl+Z) to remove the last highlight.
• Switch to Select, click a highlight and press the Delete key to remove it.
• You can also drag a highlight to move it, or use the corner handle to resize it.

Tips

• Zoom in for small text so your box covers only what you need.
• Drag from the top-left of the first word to the bottom-right of the last word.
• Use one colour per meaning so the page stays easy to read.
• Do not highlight everything. Fewer highlights are easier to scan later.

Go further

Add short notes beside the highlights with Add text, or circle something with the Draw tool.

Highlight your PDF now. Free, private and no signup.