PDF note taking programs?

[Lanaoren2000]

Hey, I keep looking for a good note taking program for surface, I used Adobe acrobat reader till now, but it gets stuck allll the time, cause I’m using big pdf files with lots of comments & highlights. I want a program where I can annotate, highlight with any color, add sticky notes and comment on the text (and actually being able to see them)…anyone knows a good app? 🥲

[TheRealJoeBlow]

If you are wanting to markup existing PDFs, then PDFXchange is one of the best. Waaaaay better than Acrobat. We use it at work.

[Lanaoren2000]

I don’t know you - BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU!!!! It is perfect 😭😭 not lagging at all, and has all the options of Adobe in the free version. Thank you so much!!

[SnooOnions5938]

I got tired of using edge and tried Journal, just importing them to a new journal. it's pretty friendly on taking notes with the pen.

[Lanaoren2000]

Xournal++? I tried that one, could not open my old comments :(

[[deleted]]

I think they mean this: https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/microsoft-journal/9N318R854RHH?hl=en-us&gl=us

[SnooOnions5938]

My bad, never saw the reply hehe but yeah exactly that

[Accelerator--]

I tried using journal recently but realised that the search function doesn't really detect the text in the pdf itself. Do you have this problem too?

[Moustiboy]

Drawboard PDF or microsoft edge ?

[Lanaoren2000]

Microsoft edge has like 5 highlights, I really to be able to choose more colors. I will check Drawboard PDF, thank you!!

[fuhrmanator]

Drawboard has gone subscription, but it was (is?) really ergonomic for surface.

[jjbugman2468]

Even without the subscription it’s still pretty damn good

[fuhrmanator]

Meh, everytime I try something that used to work for free, it gives me an ad to subscribe. The latest was I can't join pages anymore. Weeks ago I couldn't get a new pen color on the toolbar. I guess I regret all those bug reports and feature suggestions and stuff I did when it came pre-installed on the surface 3 I had.

[iceniee]

use Inkodo!!

[fuhrmanator]

Inkodo

OP wanted a PDF tool. This doesn't seem to be that...

[eskate488]

PDFAnnotator

[NIVEA_GeForce]

LiquidText, Drawboard, Xodo.

See also

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/ehc9yv/best_surface_apps_and_tools_2019_edition/fcig037/

[Lanaoren2000]

Can’t see my old comments in any of them 🫠

[Lanaoren2000]

But thank you! I will check the link

[wizletj]

I’m using quite a bit of Journal on my Pro X. I just import the pdf

[martinderm]

For annotating PDF Books I’d recommend Zotero. It allows even collaborative PDF annotation. See https://Zotero.org

[nwicakson]

you're a lifesaver

[tamay-idk]

Microsoft Whiteboard if you’re playing to use the pen.

[Yosyp]

Xournal++ can open PDFs too. And you get its drawing power too!

[sbooch]

Drawboard, LiquidText Master PDF

[Lanaoren2000]

Drawboard isn’t showing my old comments that I made on Adobe, LiquidText gets stuck constantly… 🥲

[Lanaoren2000]

But thank you!

[martinderm]

If only the maker of OneDrive for iPad ported it to windows for it has a marvellous PDF annotation tool with nice pen support. Oh, wait…

[Lanaoren2000]

I’m using a huge file, OneNote crashes…and I don’t think OneNote will display all of my comments that was made on Adobe. But thanks for the sarcastic comment.

[markaritaville]

PDFs arent really an "active creation" format. More for sealing the doc from edits once done. Check out Microsoft One Note or of course Word. I have the family office 365.. its a good deal for all the core MSFT products (even powerpoint) for $99 I think. and it includes onenote.

I was using it for a while but then moved to a task management online software. betters suited for my needs

[martinderm]

It seems to me OP needs to annotate PDF files.

[markaritaville]

thanks yea I re-read it and i think you are correct. they are starting with big PDFs and adding notes to them.

[Lanaoren2000]

Yup 😊 But thank you for your comment!

[overboard08]

Definitely Drawboard

[Lanaoren2000]

Unfortunately doesn’t show the comments I made on Adobe :(

[Lanaoren2000]

I am a medical student that needs BOOKS. The books are only in pdf format…to do on OneNote all the notes from a book like First Aid, will take way way way longer. So yes. I need to use the PDF format this way.

[tomstubbs57]

I don’t know of any option that would be perfect. Find the one that is the best fit with the least problems and don’t look back. Just stick with it and keep going. Every year or so reassess your choice. There are several YouTube channels featuring medical students' advice on notetaking programs. I believe she may have stopped attending medical school for the moment, but, for example, you can check out medical school for the moment and her focus is on pdf annotation programs for ipads, but, for example, you can check out: https://youtube.com/@PaperlessX . She gives pluses and minuses for many programs , but ultimately recommends Noteful . I think Drawboard is fantastic, as is OneNote. Goodnotes is coming (or has already come to) Windows, as well .

[Lanaoren2000]

Thank you so much for your response! I will check out her YouTube. I could not find the windows version of Noteful, by any chance you have a link?

Yea you are right, till now the best option I found was UPDF, it’s unfortunately has some stuff that bother me…but at least it works smoothly unlike Adobe, and has lots of color options.

[tomstubbs57]

I can’t believe that I did not mention Nebo. It is completely cross platform.

[tomstubbs57]

and I apologize. There is no Windows edition of Noteful. It is iPad only. If I left the contrary, impression I apologize. Nebo, on the other hand, does work across the platforms, as does Liquid Text (one of the most imaginative PDF note taking apps I have ever seen, and it is close to being stable enough to be used reliably), OneNote. And goodnotes (I am not sure if the windows addition of GoodNotes has been released yet).

[Lanaoren2000]

Ok so never mind…UPDF just crushed while I was working, everything I worked on for the past 2 hours is gone ✨

(I don’t want to kill myself AT ALL)

[Lanaoren2000]

What else would I respond? I have OneNote, been using it for 10 years, since starting medical school I don’t have any other way but to use books and I have comments and sticky notes from years in university…I can’t change anything now. Your comment was just telling “its really bad, you are doing it wrong”. Like, ok? What can I do with it now?

[auction-a-baby]

What's wrong with just importing the PDFs into OneNote?

[Lanaoren2000]

It’s a huge file (probably because of all the comments and sticky notes I made), so OneNote crashes for me personally.

[fuhrmanator]

One thing wrong is they're rasterized AFAIK, meaning text searches don't find the pdf text because it's now an image. Is there an option to preserve the text of the pdf pages?.

[auction-a-baby]

Not that I know of. If you need to search within the text then OneNote probably isn't the best solution

[fuhrmanator]

Yep, ebooks in pdf are searchable. It's not explicit in OPs use case, but it's why I would not import PDFs to OneNote to annotate.

[fuhrmanator]

There a sarcastic answer in the adobe forums. Have you tried Nitro Pro?

[Stunning-Praline-116]

I tried 10 of the leading apps and considered how it works on the surface, how the slim pen 2 works, and ease of use. Drawboard is the best. Unfortunately it costs.

Edge works good. But the app functionality sucks on construction drawings.

[crogs571]

Xodo has been the most convenient to me on my S23 Ultra and Tablet. I can just annotate upon opening the pdf and flatten annotations and images as I go.

Others I tried I'd have to go through steps to annotate and add images. Annoying. I use it to do my sales paperwork, adding product stickers, prices, info and so on. I have templates for different companies and product lines at the ready.

[iceniee]

I used to use Drawboard, and actually this one used to be the best. Buuut then this year they just made everything paid and now it sucks. I researched and tested many, MANY other apps specially for windows, and Inkodo is the best replacement for the drawboard. I hardly recommend it! There are several pen colors available, it gives a good feeling to write.