Download or Print a PDF With Highlights
Once you have highlighted a PDF in the Web Highlights viewer, you can take those highlights with you: download a copy with the highlights embedded as real PDF annotations, or print the document with the highlights baked into the pages. Chrome's built-in PDF viewer cannot do either — this works in the Web Highlights viewer.
Download a PDF With Highlights Embedded
Click the Download button in the viewer toolbar (top right). The saved file contains your highlights as real, standards-compliant PDF annotations:
- One annotation per highlight, in the highlight's original color
- Your note attached as a native comment in plain text, so it shows up in the comment panel of other PDF apps
- Editable everywhere — Adobe Acrobat, macOS Preview, Microsoft Edge, and other standard PDF readers open the file with your highlights visible and editable
- Text stays selectable — the highlights sit on top of the original content; nothing is flattened into an image
Imported highlights are not duplicated
If some of your highlights were imported from the PDF itself, their annotations already exist in the file — the download keeps the original annotation instead of adding a second copy.
Print a PDF With Highlights
Click the Print button in the viewer toolbar (or use your browser's print shortcut). Your highlights are baked into the printed pages in their original colors, with the text still readable beneath them.
This also works with "Save as PDF" in the print dialog — choose it as the destination to get a PDF where the highlights are part of the rendered pages.
Which one should you use? Use Download when you want a portable annotated file: the highlights stay editable annotations, and your notes travel along as comments. Use Print when you want paper or a visual snapshot — the printout shows the highlights only, without your notes.
No Highlights, No Changes
When the PDF has no highlights, both buttons behave exactly like the standard viewer: Download saves the original file, and Print prints it unchanged.
Next Steps
- Follow the full tutorial: Highlight and annotate PDFs
- Import annotations from Acrobat and other apps — the reverse direction
- Prefer your notes in your knowledge base? Export them to Notion or Markdown instead
- Keep your PDF library tidy with tags
Common Questions
Will my notes be in the downloaded PDF?
Yes. Each highlight's note is attached to its annotation as a native comment in plain text. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat or macOS Preview and the notes appear in the comment panel, just like comments made in those apps.
Can other people see the highlights without Web Highlights?
Yes. The highlights follow the PDF annotation standard, so anyone can see them — and edit them — in whatever PDF reader they already use. No extension or account required.
Is the text in the downloaded PDF still selectable?
Yes. The original document content is untouched; the highlights are added as annotations on top, not flattened into an image.
What happens to highlights I imported from the PDF?
Their annotations are already part of the file, so the download keeps the original annotation instead of adding a duplicate. Highlights you created in Web Highlights are added as new annotations.