Highlighting Text in a PDF

In addition to Adding a Note to a PDF, you can add highlights to call attention to text in a PDF. The process is similar to adding a note.

To add highlights to text:

1. Open a PDF, and find a line you want to highlight.
2. Click the Comment button to open the Annotations pane.
3. Click the Highlight Text option in the Annotation pane. Your cursor changes from an arrow to an I beam. 
4. Hold down your left mouse button and run your cursor over the text you want to highlight.
5. Let go of your mouse button at the end of the text you want to highlight. 
6. Look for notation for the highlight in the Annotations pane.
   
   

If you make a mistake while highlighting, use the undo (Ctrl + Z) to remove it and try again. You can also use the undo key combo if you add a note by mistake and want to remove it.

You can use the highlight in combination with notes, or you can use them separately. All notes and highlights appear in the Comments List of the Annotations pane. Each entry in the pane is a link. In a long PDF, you can click a note or highlight to scroll to that place in the PDF.

When adding notes or highlights, I've had you click the Comment button to open the Annotations pane. However, you should also notice that there are buttons for Notes and Highlight on the toolbar.

 

When you click the Sticky Note or Highlight Text option in the Annotations pane, the Notes and Highlight buttons in the toolbar are also selected. If you just want to add notes and highlights without displaying the Annotations pane, you can use the buttons. The main reason for knowing about the Annotation pane is that you can use it for quick navigation and to do several other tasks, including replying to notes or highlights...as in collaboration. 

More Please...Part 3

Click the graphic to display a larger version, and then press the Esc key to close it. 

In a previous post I promised to look at options on the Format drop-down.

Format Button on Find and Replace Dialog
Click in the Find or Replace field--depending on which text you want to affect--and then click the Format button to display a drop-down list of formatting options.

Select an option--for example, Font--to apply formatting options.

Depending on the field in which you've clicked to place your cursor, you might be affecting the Find or the Replace version of the text and the name of the corresponding dialog that appears. For example, in the sample above, the Font dialog is titled Replace Font because I click in the Replace field and the selections I'm making affect replacement text.

In the example above, I'm looking for every instance of plain text Tremé and I'm going to replace it with Tremé, which has bold and small caps without all caps applied. In a long document, 100 pages, Word will find every instance of Tremé and replace it with Tremé. 

Depending on what you've applied in your document, some or all of the options on the drop-down list will be of interest because you can sweep through a document and make massive changes in one sweep. 

Following is a list of the available options. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, the options corresponds to a dialog that you've already used. I'll add the links to the past posts. Remember that Word never presents a new dialog if it has an existing dialog...it just reuses the existing dialog...usually with a slight twist. However, if you've already used the dialog, you have a running chance of understanding what is happening when you see the dialog. 

Format Button Options

• Font = Select this option and you get the Find/Replace Font dialog, which has the same options on it as the Font dialog. You worked with this dialog in the post Format-->Font. I rarely use this option because I usually make changes using a style. However, if you under the gun, knowing how to find text with a narrowed search and/or making massive replaces on the fly might be helpful. 
• Paragraph = Select this option and you get the Find/Replace Paragraph dialog, which has the same options on it as the Paragraph dialog. You worked with this dialog in many posts, for example, the post Format-->Paragraph. Again, I usually affect paragraphs using styles; however, you should know that you can find/replace using Paragraph-related options.  
• Tabs = Select this option and you get the Find/Replace Tabs dialog, which has the same options on it as the Tabs dialog. You worked with this dialog in the post To Tab or Not to Tab. I rarely use this option. 
• Language =  Select this option and you get the Find/Replace Tabs dialog, which has the same options on it as the Language dialog. You worked with this dialog in the post Suppressing the Spell Checker with a Style. I rarely use this option. 
• Frames = I don't use frames...if you've hacked your way thru it, God love you...you're a patient soul. I never use this option. 
• Style = Select this option and you get the Find/Replace Styles dialog, which has the same options on it as your Styles list. Select a style that has been applied to the text. For example, if you are looking for the word settler and you want to find it in a Heading 1 title, select the style from the list and Word will only look for settler with Heading 1 applied to it. In a very long document, being able to target your find or replace can save you lots of time and trouble. Because I always apply styles to text (Always!), I use this option when finding and replacing.

• Highlight = Did you apply highlighting to your document? Highlighting areas of your document can help you when editing. If you want to find all highlighted text, don't enter anything in the Find field, select Highlight from the Format list, click the Find Next button and off you go to ever spot you applied the highlight. This option is most convenient when you're doing a final clean-up and you want to make sure you've removed all highlighting. I frequently use this option because I frequently use highlighting (different colors) to mark different areas of text that might need different types of attention. 

Next Post
In the next post we'll look at the options on the Special drop-down list.

I realize the Find/Replace posts are tedious. However, understanding how to narrow your find criteria and use your replace criteria to make changes on the fly can help you greatly when you're in a rush...or if you just want to learn to work more efficiently.

Highlighting Areas of Text in a Word Document

When you are editing several pages of text, you can think of any number of things along the way. You can jot down what you want to do on a list. You can add an electronic comment (sticky note). However, I like to highlight text on which I need to do more work. I've been known to color code my highlights. For example, yellow means add the source citation. Blue means call the person who provided the info and confirm that it's correct. Green means check the spelling to confirm that it is correct; for example, a place name that isn't in the Word dictionary.

Highlighting text is easy.
1. Select the text with your cursor.
2. Click the Home tab.
3. Click the arrow beside the highlight button. A color palette appears.
4. Select a color from the palette and a highlight appears on the text.


Removing the highlight is basically the same process.
1. Select the text with your cursor.
2. Click the Home tab.
3. Click the arrow beside the highlight button, and select No Color at the bottom of the color palette.

You can change your cursor to a highlighter. Click the highlight button to engage the highlighter; that is, change your cursor to look like the highlighter and select text to highlight. The highlight appears in the last color you selected. To stop highlighting, click the Esc key and your regular cursor appears again.