PDF annotation: highlight, draw, and sign
Annotating a PDF means marking it up without changing the underlying document — a highlight, a note in the margin, a circled paragraph, a signature. Velox PDF builds a full annotation toolset natively into the Mac, so it works like drawing on paper instead of fighting a web form.
⬇ Download Velox PDF for Mac — freeWhat you can do
- Highlight, underline & strike through — select text and pick an action, no dialog box.
- Freehand drawing — ink that reads like a pen, for circling, pointing, or writing directly on the page.
- Shapes & lines — boxes, circles, and arrows for pointing at exactly what you mean.
- Notes & text boxes — a comment attached to a specific spot on the page.
- Signatures — draw one once, drop it onto any document at any size, forever.
- Redaction — permanently blacks out a selected area, not just a visual overlay.
Why native annotation beats a browser tool
Most free “PDF annotator” sites upload your document to a server to draw on it, then make you download the result. Velox PDF never uploads anything — every annotation tool runs locally, so a 200-page document opens and marks up as fast as a native app should, and nothing about a sensitive document (a lease, a contract, a set of grades) leaves your Mac.
Annotation is one part of the app
Velox PDF also reads and chats with your PDFs, cites the page an answer came from, and runs on-device OCR — all in the same native Mac app. Free to download, no subscription required to start.
Download Velox PDF for Mac — free →Frequently asked questions
Is PDF annotation free in Velox PDF?
Yes — highlighting, drawing, notes, shapes, and signing are all included in the free download, with no sign-in required to try them.
Do annotations stay editable, or do they flatten into the page?
They stay as real, editable PDF annotations (standard PDF annotation objects) unless you specifically flatten or redact them — so you can come back and adjust a highlight or move a note later.
Will my annotations show up if I open the PDF in another app?
Yes — Velox PDF writes standard PDF annotation objects, which any PDF reader (Preview, Acrobat, etc.) can display, not a proprietary format only Velox PDF understands.
Can I annotate a scanned PDF?
Yes — annotating draws on top of the page regardless of whether it has a text layer. To highlight specific text on a scanned page (rather than just drawing a box near it), run OCR first.
Does annotating upload my document anywhere?
No — every annotation tool runs entirely on your Mac. Nothing about the document leaves your machine unless you separately ask the AI assistant a question about it.