Rectangle Tool

Drawing Rectangular Annotations

Introduction

The Rectangle Tool allows you to draw rectangular shapes directly on a document as a form of annotation. It is commonly used to highlight areas, frame content, or mark regions for review without modifying the original PDF.

Step 1: Open the Rectangle Tool

Locate the Rectangle Tool, represented by a rectangle icon, in the toolbar on the left side of the screen. Click the icon to activate the tool.

Shortcut: R

Draw a Rectangle

With the Rectangle Tool active:

  1. Click and drag on the document to draw a rectangle.
  2. Release the cursor to place the shape.

Step 2: Move or Resize the Rectangle

  • Move: Click and drag the rectangle to reposition it.
  • Resize (corner): Select the rectangle and drag any corner handle to resize it freely, without restriction.
  • Resize (edge): Select and drag an edge handle to adjust only that side of the rectangle.

Step 3: Delete the Rectangle

  • Desktop: Select the rectangle and press the Delete key.
  • iPad: Select the rectangle and tap the trash icon at the top of the screen.

Step 4: Customize Rectangle Appearance

With the rectangle selected, click the Properties icon on the right side of the screen.

From the Properties panel, you can adjust:

  • Stroke (Border): color, weight, opacity
  • Fill: color, opacity

These settings allow you to clearly distinguish highlighted areas or match annotation styles across documents.

The Rectangle Tool provides a simple way to mark and highlight areas within a PDF using customizable stroke and fill options.