PDF Inking on Microsoft Edge

Using a digital pen or touch to write directly on PDF files has been one of the top feature asks from Microsoft Edge insiders. We are pleased to announce that inking mode for PDF files has rolled out to all Insider Preview channels. With this new inking mode, users can fill out PDF forms and sign using ink or take notes directly on PDF files and save for later reference.

How to access inking mode

To access this feature, open any PDF file from your computer or from the web. In the toolbar that is seen on the top, you will see two new options – Draw and Erase. You can click or tap on the Draw button to enter inking mode. Once in this mode, you can use a digital pen, touch or even mouse to write on any part on the PDF file. You can use two finger swipe for panning the file or use pinch gesture to zoom in/out if you want to navigate the file while in inking mode.

If you make any mistakes while writing or drawing on the document, you can use the eraser by clicking or tapping the Erase button. To erase ink strokes in the erase mode, just move the pointer across any ink stroke to erase it.

Once you are done marking up the file, you can use the Save button in the toolbar to save your work and all the annotations you made will get saved onto the file. You can reopen the file at any point to see the ink annotation on the file or edit them. You can also print the file along with the annotations in case you want to send out a copy of the annotated form, for example.

What’s next?

This is just the first step for inking support for PDFs. For inking, right now we offer basic support with one pen color and stroke size. We will build on this over time, supporting additional capabilities and quality enhancements. Following is the list of inking features the team is working on:

Support for the pen back button (eraser button) to erase while in inking mode.
Ability to select color and stroke thickness for ink
Selection of additional pens, like highlighter pen

If you have any feedback or suggestions for the current version of inking support in Microsoft Edge, please do write as well. To send any feedback use the Send feedback in the top right corner of the app or leave a comment to this post. We are listening!

Juergen_Soltau
Iron Contributor
Nov 19, 2019

I miss the possibility to write a note into a PDF with my keybord .....
I don't want to draw my notes!
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Nov 21, 2019
  Juergen_Soltau glad you brought this up. Writing text notes with keyboard is definitely useful and it is in the pipeline. While we are on that topic, do you like the way you can add text notes on PDFs in legacy Microsoft Edge or is there anything you would like us to change there?
  - Benoit Lamarche
    Brass Contributor
    Nov 21, 2019
    I like the way it is done in legacy edge and also ability to select and highlight text with the mouse.
- larryms
  Microsoft
  Dec 04, 2019
  Juergen_Soltau Agreed! would love to see "typewriter" annotations in addition to inking!
larsschellhas
Brass Contributor
Nov 19, 2019
1) Really nice to be able to annotate again!
2) Typed annotations should be possible as well.
3) Why can't I use the "eraser" of my surface pen? It would be good if all Windows Ink features were available - comparable to annotating websites in the old Edge.
4) Will we be able to annotate websites again? And add these annotations to our collections?
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Nov 21, 2019
  larsschellhas we are making rather quick progress on this. Support for Surface pen eraser button is now in Canary. Do try. For your last point about adding notes to webpages and send it to Collections, in what scenario would you use it? Would you like parts of annotated web page to go into Collections or save entire webpage to Collections?
  - larsschellhas
    Brass Contributor
    Nov 21, 2019
    I would say both. I would like to be able to mark parts of a website with my pen and drop them easily into collections, but it would also be nice to be able to annotate on a website just as in a PDF and save these annotations with the real website (not a screenshot of it) to collections. Therefore, you could go back to the website, see your annotations and maybe advance on them.
Shakur_Rahman
Brass Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
epub support
bookmarks
built in dictionary
these three supports are crying need for people like me who want to rely on single software for pdf reading and web surfing simultaneously. waiting for long but 😐 Elliot Kirk
parth3791
Brass Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
Elliot Kirk I thinks highlight and annotate option is very much important for a researcher like me. And also epub support (pretty please??!!).
adamsmith34
Brass Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
Elliot Kirk I suggest a cloud connector (OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.) to allow saving marked up PDFs back to the same file for more efficient document workflow. Having to select a name/location for each save and then sharing the file again can quickly become a nuisance.
- jupagose
  Copper Contributor
  Nov 20, 2019
  adamsmith34 Or at least a second button one to save into self file, and another to save as.
Benoit Lamarche
Brass Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
Elliot Kirk Great progress but we also need to be able to highlight text, using a mouse or trackpad.
smithy_dll
Copper Contributor
Nov 26, 2019
This is not even basic, now the third PDF reader Microsoft are launching Since Windows 8. It took until 1803 to get basic features in the Spartan Edge PDF reader.

List of issues:
Cannot select ink colour
Cannot select ink stroke width
Cannot use surface pen eraser, a device Microsoft charges $130 for
Cannot turn off responding touch ink and only use the pen
There are no highlighter pens like OneNote
Ink colour is low res while pen is down
Ink stroke lags pen position, doesn't appear to use Windows Ink

Other issues:
Cannot turn continuous scrolling off for touch screen left-right swiping between pages.
Cannot scrub through pages using touch screen.
pbilk
Brass Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
Elliot Kirk These look great! I am excited for the support for the Surface Pen's eraser coming back and the different pen types. sizes and colours! I hope annotating on the web and typing up notes is next.
shuluck
Copper Contributor
Nov 20, 2019
希望荧光笔功能在对扫描件PDF的支持能好一些
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Nov 21, 2019
  shuluck This is an interesting suggestion and something that we will keep in mind while supporting highlighting PDF content.
FrankGJohnson
Copper Contributor
Nov 22, 2019
Elliot Kirk
Features to add to PDF Inking on Microsoft Edge:

1. Separation of the touch interface from the pen interface so that the left hand can pan-and-zoom using the touch interface, and the right hand can write using the pen interface. This is invaluable for presenting pdf material to an audience (e.g., a classroom). To see how this feature works, see Drawboard PDF. It is available in the Windows 10 Microsoft Store.

2. "Laser pointer": Create a pen that marks on the screen like a regular pen but then slowly erases itself. The "laser pen" is a feature available in Drawboard PDF and is VERY useful for presenting pdf material to an audience (e.g., a classroom) without clattering the pdf with permanent ink (or the need to keep erasing temporary marks). To see how it works, see Drawboard PDF. It is available in the Windows 10 Microsoft Store.
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Nov 23, 2019
  FrankGJohnson just trying to better understand the need here. For #1, you can use your fingers to pinch zoom in/out or use two fingers to swipe up and down to scroll the PDF. Does that solve your problem or you need an explicit mode where you can switch off inking with touch. Or touch inking should be automatically turned off when inking with pen?
  
  For #2, it is a great suggestion. We will definitely track this in our product backlog.

Forum Discussion

PDF Inking on Microsoft Edge

How to access inking mode

What’s next?

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