Add Shapes & Arrows to PDF

Runs in browser PDF Editing & Annotation

Frame a paragraph, circle a figure, point an arrow at a detail. Hold Shift for squares, circles and straight 45° lines; move, resize and recolour anything afterwards. Shapes are vector page content, sharp at every zoom.

Privacy: Processed locally in your browser. Your file is not uploaded.

What is a PDF annotation, and why does whiting-out text not remove it?

An annotation is an object attached to a page on top of its content: highlights, underlines, strike-throughs, sticky notes, free text, ink drawings, shapes, stamps and signature fields are all annotation types defined in ISO 32000, stored in the page's /Annots array and editable or removable later. Flattening draws them permanently into the page content. The PDF editor on this site keeps only highlights, underlines, strike-throughs (unless you choose to flatten them) and sticky notes as annotations; the text, drawings, shapes, stamps and signature images it adds are written straight into the page content and are permanent. A white rectangle drawn over text is exactly that — a shape on top — so the text beneath still exists, copies and searches; only redaction, which deletes the underlying content, removes it.

Security note: Covering text with a shape is not redaction: the hidden text remains in the file and can be selected, extracted or found by search. Use a redaction tool that removes content, then check the result by searching for the removed text.

Read the guide: How to Edit a PDF Without Uploading It

How to use Add Shapes & Arrows to PDF

  1. Drop a PDF.
  2. Pick a shape and drag on the page.
  3. Set colour, fill and width.
  4. Click "Save PDF" and download.

Add Shapes & Arrows to PDF features

  • Rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, freehand
  • Outline and fill colours, width, opacity
  • Shift for squares, circles and 45° lines
  • Move, resize, recolour after drawing
  • Vector page content
  • Local processing

Add Shapes & Arrows to PDF example

Point at a detail in a drawing

Input:

Arrow, blue, 2 pt, from the margin to the detail; a translucent yellow rectangle around the area

Output:

plan-shapes.pdf — an arrow and a filled rectangle in the page content

Frequently asked questions about Add Shapes & Arrows to PDF

Can a shape be filled and semi-transparent?

Yes — tick Fill, pick the fill colour and lower the opacity to make a translucent overlay that keeps the text underneath readable.

How do I draw a perfect circle or a straight arrow?

Hold Shift while dragging: rectangles become squares, ellipses become circles, and lines and arrows snap to 45° steps.

Are the shapes annotations or page content?

Page content (permanent, always displayed and printed). If you need reviewers to be able to move or delete them, use highlights and notes, which are annotations.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The file is opened and processed by your browser with WebAssembly and JavaScript; nothing is sent to Mutqan Soft or anyone else. Close the tab and the file is gone. Downloading the result needs a free account — no subscription, no payment.

Can I use it on a password-protected PDF?

Yes, if you know the password: the file list asks for it once and every operation then works on the decrypted pages. The output is saved without a password unless you protect it again.

Technical notes

Rectangles and ellipses use pdf-lib’s drawRectangle / drawEllipse with separate fill and border opacity; lines are stroked with round caps and arrowheads are filled triangles. Nothing is an annotation, so the marks print everywhere.

References