QuireHow to add comments to a PDF
Short answer: on a Mac, use the Note tool in Preview’s Markup toolbar. On any computer, the free Adobe Acrobat Reader adds comments and sticky notes, and an extension such as Quire PDF adds notes in Chrome.
Google’s help for Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer mentions taking personal notes but describes no separate comment tool. Its Add text tool types on the page itself, which works for short remarks but isn’t a comment.
Updated 15 October 2026. Mac steps follow Apple’s Preview guide; menus can change between versions.
Add comments with Preview on a Mac
- Open the PDF in Preview
Choose File › Duplicate first if you want a copy without comments; Preview saves changes as you go.
- Show the Markup toolbar
Click the Show Markup Toolbar button if it isn’t showing.
- Add a note
Click the Note button and type your comment. Drag the note next to the text it’s about.
- Change its colour if you like
Control-click the note and choose a colour, for example one colour per reviewer.
- See all comments
Choose View › Highlights and Notes to list every note and highlight in the sidebar.
For a comment that points at something on the page, Apple’s guide also describes a speech bubble: choose Tools › Annotate › Speech Bubble.
Add comments on Windows
- Adobe Acrobat Reader is free. Adobe says it can add comments, highlights, sticky notes and free-text annotations.
- Microsoft Edge, the default PDF reader on Windows 10 and 11, lists Ctrl+Shift+M for adding notes in its PDF keyboard shortcuts. Save a copy with Ctrl+Shift+S when you’re done.
Add comments in Chrome with Quire PDF
Quire PDF is our extension. Its Note tool adds a comment to the page, alongside highlights, text and drawings.
- Open the PDF
Click the Quire PDF icon, choose Open a PDF, or drop the file on the page. For a PDF on a website, right-click the link and choose Open PDF in Quire.
- Highlight, then comment
Use Highlight to mark a passage, then Note to say what you think about it.
- Save a copy
Save a copy downloads the PDF with your comments. In our tests, highlights and comments were kept in the saved file as standard PDF annotations.
The document stays in Quire’s local library with a recovery copy, so you can add more comments over several sittings. That library lives in your Chrome profile and isn’t a backup; keep the copy you download.
Comments that other people can see
Comments made with these tools are saved inside the PDF. Whoever you send the file to sees them in their own PDF reader, but how they appear varies: some readers show a small note icon you click to open, others list comments in a sidebar. If your reviewer uses a viewer that hides comments, a short line placed with a text tool is visible everywhere.
Questions
Can I add comments to a PDF in Chrome without an extension?
Not as comments. Google’s help for Chrome’s viewer covers drawing, highlighting, adding text and signing. Use Add text for a short visible remark; see how to add text to a PDF.
Does adding comments upload the file?
Not with Preview, Acrobat Reader on your desktop, Edge or Quire PDF. Online PDF sites do. See how to edit a PDF without uploading it.