Forum Discussion
How to draw on a PDF on Windows and save the changes?
I need to mark up a PDF with freehand notes, circles, arrows, and a few simple shapes without changing the original text. When I open the file in a browser on my Windows laptop, the pencil or drawing...
Firefox can do this with its built-in PDF viewer, so you do not need a separate PDF editor.
- Open the PDF in Firefox by dragging the file into a browser window.
- Click the Draw button in the PDF toolbar. Choose the pen color, thickness and opacity.
- Draw directly on the page with your mouse or stylus. You can handwrite notes and sketch circles or arrows without changing the original text.
- To remove an unwanted drawing, select it and use its delete/trash control. For a mistake you just made, use Ctrl + Z.
- Click the PDF viewer’s Save/Download button and save the edited PDF under a new filename. Reopen that saved file to check the annotations.
The marks are saved in the PDF, rather than only in the browser session. Processing a local file this way does not require uploading it to an online conversion service.
The main limitation is that Firefox’s drawing tool is freehand: it does not provide a full set of precise shapes or a stroke-by-stroke eraser. For everyday handwritten notes and simple circles or arrows, though, it is a practical free option. If the drawing button is missing, update Firefox first.