Annotations

Annotations are what people add on top of a page: highlights, sticky notes, shapes, stamps and text boxes. The annotation plugin shows the ones a PDF already has, lets people draw and edit new ones, and gives your code the same abilities. Every annotation is saved into the PDF, so it looks the same in every other PDF app.

Show the annotations in a PDF#

Loading live preview…

<script setup lang="ts">
import { DocumentGate, Viewer } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import type { OpenInput } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import { Stage, stagePlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/stage';
import { RenderLayer, renderPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/render';
import { interactionPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/interaction';
import { AnnotationLayer, annotationPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/annotation';
import { localEngine } from '@embedpdf/engine';
import AddAnnotations from './AddAnnotations.vue';
import Status from './Status.vue';

import '../layer.css';

const engine = localEngine();
const plugins = [stagePlugin(), renderPlugin(), interactionPlugin(), annotationPlugin()];

const ebook = async (): Promise<OpenInput> => {
  const response = await fetch('https://snippet.embedpdf.com/ebook.pdf');
  return { kind: 'bytes', id: 'ebook', bytes: new Uint8Array(await response.arrayBuffer()) };
};
</script>

<template>
  <Viewer :engine="engine" :plugins="plugins" :initial-documents="[{ source: ebook }]">
    <DocumentGate>
      <template #fallback><p class="loading">Loading…</p></template>
      <AddAnnotations />
      <Status />
      <Stage class="stage">
        <template #page>
          <RenderLayer />
          <AnnotationLayer />
        </template>
      </Stage>
    </DocumentGate>
  </Viewer>
</template>

Try it: click the rectangle and drag it, or a corner to resize it. Double-click the text box to type in it.

layer.vue

<script setup lang="ts">
import { AnnotationLayer, annotationPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/annotation';
import { interactionPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/interaction';
import { RenderLayer, renderPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/render';
import { Viewer } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import { Stage, stagePlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/stage';

import { engine } from './setup';

const plugins = [stagePlugin(), renderPlugin(), interactionPlugin(), annotationPlugin()];
</script>

<template>
  <Viewer :engine="engine" :plugins="plugins">
    <Stage>
      <template #page>
        <RenderLayer />
        <AnnotationLayer />
      </template>
    </Stage>
  </Viewer>
</template>

While the annotation layer is on the page, the render layer leaves the annotations out of the page picture by itself. The annotation layer draws them instead, so they can be selected, moved and changed.

interactionPlugin() is the shared input system. Every tool, from text selection to drawing, speaks through it; see Selecting & copying for how it works.

Let people draw#

A tool says what a click or a drag on the page creates. Activate one and people can draw:

Loading live preview…

<script setup lang="ts">
import { DocumentGate, Viewer } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import type { OpenInput } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import { Stage, stagePlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/stage';
import { RenderLayer, renderPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/render';
import { interactionPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/interaction';
import { SelectionLayer, selectionPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/selection';
import { AnnotationLayer, annotationPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/annotation';
import { localEngine } from '@embedpdf/engine';
import Toolbar from './Toolbar.vue';

import '../draw.css';

const engine = localEngine();
// The selection plugin lets the highlight tool mark the text you select.
const plugins = [
  stagePlugin(),
  renderPlugin(),
  interactionPlugin(),
  selectionPlugin(),
  annotationPlugin(),
];

const ebook = async (): Promise<OpenInput> => {
  const response = await fetch('https://snippet.embedpdf.com/ebook.pdf');
  return { kind: 'bytes', id: 'ebook', bytes: new Uint8Array(await response.arrayBuffer()) };
};
</script>

<template>
  <Viewer :engine="engine" :plugins="plugins" :initial-documents="[{ source: ebook }]">
    <DocumentGate>
      <template #fallback><p class="loading">Loading…</p></template>
      <Toolbar />
      <Stage class="stage">
        <template #page>
          <RenderLayer />
          <SelectionLayer />
          <AnnotationLayer />
        </template>
      </Stage>
    </DocumentGate>
  </Viewer>
</template>

Try it: drag on the page to draw a rectangle, then pick another tool. Highlight marks the text you select.

toolbar.vue

<script setup lang="ts">
import { useInteraction, useInteractionState } from '@embedpdf/vue/interaction';

const tools = ['pointer', 'square', 'ink', 'highlight', 'note'];

const interaction = useInteraction();
const { activeToolId } = useInteractionState();
</script>

<template>
  <button
    v-for="id in tools"
    :key="id"
    :aria-pressed="activeToolId === id"
    @click="interaction.activateTool(id)"
  >
    {{ id }}
  </button>
</template>

pointer selects: click an annotation to select it, then move, resize or turn it.
square draws a rectangle: drag, or just click for a default-size one.
ink draws freehand.
highlight highlights the text you select.
note drops a sticky note where you click.

After you draw, the new annotation is selected and the tool stays active, so you can draw another. You can change both; see What happens after drawing.

How it fits together#

Everything on these pages is one of five things:

Thing	What it is	Where you use it
Annotation	A record in the PDF: its kind, position, colors and text.	`annotation.list()`
Tool	What a click or drag creates, with which defaults, cursor and preview.	`annotationPlugin({ tools })`
Layer	What each page draws: the annotations, the selection box and handles, the preview.	`<AnnotationLayer>`
Overlay	Your own UI attached to an annotation, such as a menu or a hover card.	`<AnnotationMenu>`
API	Reading, creating, changing and deleting annotations, and listening for changes.	`useAnnotation()`

An annotation here is the same record the engine reads and writes: the same kinds, the same fields and the same names. What you learn in the engine’s annotation pages holds here too.

The built-in tools#

Tool	Makes	How
`square`, `circle`	A rectangle or an ellipse	Drag, or click for a default size
`line`	A line	Drag, or click for a default length
`polygon`, `polyline`	A closed or open shape of points	Click each point, double-click to end
`ink`, `ink-highlight`	Freehand drawing, or a see-through marker	Draw
`free-text`, `free-text-callout`	A text box, or one with a line pointing out	Click or drag, then type
`highlight`, `underline`, `strikeout`, `squiggly`	A mark over text	Select text
`insert-text`, `replace-text`	A suggested insertion or replacement	Select text
`note`	A sticky note	Click
`stamp`	An image or a PDF drawing	Click, then pick a file
`attachment`	A file pinned to a spot	Click, then pick a file
`link`	An area that opens a page or a website	Drag

Measurement tools (distance, perimeter, area) and redaction (redact) are annotation tools too. Their plugins add the rest of what they need.

You can change any tool, or add your own; see Tools & defaults.

Who wrote it#

Every annotation records who made it and who last changed it (author, createdAt, modifiedAt). You don’t set these on the annotation: they come from the user the document was opened for.

Tell the viewer who the user is, once. Every document it opens uses it:

Loading live preview…

<script setup lang="ts">
import { DocumentGate, Viewer } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import type { OpenInput } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';
import { Stage, stagePlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/stage';
import { RenderLayer, renderPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/render';
import { interactionPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/interaction';
import { AnnotationLayer, annotationPlugin } from '@embedpdf/vue/annotation';
import { localEngine } from '@embedpdf/engine';
import AddNote from './AddNote.vue';
import Authors from './Authors.vue';
import Toolbar from './Toolbar.vue';

import '../identity.css';

const engine = localEngine();
const plugins = [stagePlugin(), renderPlugin(), interactionPlugin(), annotationPlugin()];

const ebook = async (): Promise<OpenInput> => {
  const response = await fetch('https://snippet.embedpdf.com/ebook.pdf');
  return { kind: 'bytes', id: 'ebook', bytes: new Uint8Array(await response.arrayBuffer()) };
};
</script>

<template>
  <Viewer
    :engine="engine"
    :plugins="plugins"
    :identity="{ userId: 'u_381', displayName: 'Dana Smith' }"
    :initial-documents="[{ source: ebook }]"
  >
    <DocumentGate>
      <template #fallback><p class="loading">Loading…</p></template>
      <AddNote />
      <Toolbar />
      <div class="viewer">
        <Stage class="stage">
          <template #page>
            <RenderLayer />
            <AnnotationLayer />
          </template>
        </Stage>
        <Authors />
      </div>
    </DocumentGate>
  </Viewer>
</template>

Try it: draw a rectangle. The list says Dana Smith made it, and when.

identity.vue

<script setup lang="ts">
import { Viewer } from '@embedpdf/vue/runtime';

import { contract, engine, plugins } from './setup';
</script>

<template>
  <Viewer
    :engine="engine"
    :plugins="plugins"
    :identity="{ userId: 'u_381', displayName: 'Dana Smith' }"
    :initial-documents="[{ source: contract }]"
  />
</template>

displayName becomes the author other PDF apps show, and userId records who owns the annotation. The same identity decides which annotations count as the user’s own when permissions say “only their own”.

To open one document as someone else, give its entry in initialDocuments its own identity. It replaces the viewer’s for that document:

const initialDocuments = [
  { source: contract, identity: { userId: 'bot', displayName: 'Import job' } },
];

A document keeps the identity it was opened with. If you change the viewer’s identity, documents you open afterwards use the new one.

Settings#

Set them when you register the plugin. snap, chrome, afterCreate and editable can change while the app runs, with annotation.updateSettings({ … }); annotation.resetSettings() goes back to what you registered, and useAnnotationSettings() gives you the current settings.

Setting	What it does	Page
`tools`	Change the built-in tools, or add your own	Tools & defaults
`afterCreate`	Select a new annotation? Keep the tool active?	What happens after drawing
`chrome`	The selection’s outline, handles and rotation handle, and their colors	Change the handles
`snap`	Snapping to other annotations and to angles	Snapping
`editable`	Which annotations people may change by hand: `true`, `false`, or kinds	What people may change

Every color in chrome can also come from CSS, for dark mode or a different look per viewer: see Colors & theming.

Next steps#

Annotations in codeRead, create, change and delete annotations from your own code.Events, saving & sharingListen for changes, save them into the PDF, or move them to your own server.Tools & defaultsDefault colors, your own tools, the cursor, and a preview before placing.Selecting & editingSelection, a menu, a style panel, and your own handles.Your own annotation lookDraw an annotation with your own component, and show cards on hover.Comments & repliesBuild a comments sidebar with threads, replies and review states.

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