Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes Hack 2023.1.1 + Redeem Codes
Edit Research Documents/Books
Developer: Jonas Myren Ribe
Category: Productivity
Price: Free
Version: 2023.1.1
ID: net.highlightsapp.universal
Screenshots
Description
"... an app that students, academics, and anyone who does substantial amounts of PDF-based research should try" - Macstories.net
"It’s the novel approach to PDF annotation that makes this app a cut above the rest"- TapSmart.com
*** "App of the Day" - App Store, US ***
USE HIGHLIGHTS FOR FREE
Highlights is a fast and lightweight PDF reader (under 10MB) packed with features to help you do your best research.
Free users have access to standard PDF reader features including document browsing, reading and annotating. There are NO ADS, time limits or tracking.
READ PDF DOCUMENTS
• Open PDF documents from anywhere
• Browse files using the familiar document browser
• Open PDFs in Single Page or Two Page scroll mode
• Double tap to Smart Zoom in on a paragraph or figure
• Scrub smoothly to the desired page
• Search the entire document in an instant
• Navigate using any connected keyboard or mouse
STORE YOUR FILES WHERE YOU WANT
• Full support for "Open In Place" lets you make edits to the file where it is
• Access your files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box using the document browser
• Or keep them privately on device only
HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE FASTER
• Select text with your finger, Apple Pencil or mouse pointer
• Highlight, underline, strikethrough text and make image selections
• Add comments to annotations or as individual sticky notes
• Annotate with fewer taps using context aware popovers
• Default annotation colors prevents you from having to repeatedly setting the color for the same type of annotation every time
TURN ANNOTATIONS INTO NOTES
• As you markup text and images the contents are extracted and sorted into notes
• Customize the formatting and contents of your notes
• Sort the annotations chronologically or create your own color coding
EXTRACT TABLE DATA AND RECOGNIZE TEXT
• Convert images containing text or tables to actual text and tables using machine learning - letting you get to the underlying data with a single tap
SMART COPY
Copy annotations to the desired format with one tap:
• Text markup as text
• Image selections as images
• Tables as CSV
• Citations as BibTex
LOOKUP CITATIONS
• Highlights will fetch DOI-links and metadata
• Markup any reference and tap the link icon to look it up
• If you have read the work already or have it in your reference manager library, Highlights will link you to it
EXPORT ANYWHERE
• Save or share your notes as portable files: Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive or PDF
• Share them to your favorite notes app: Apple Notes, Bear, Craft, Evernote, DEVONThink, Keep It, MindNode, Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research or Ulysses
• Or send them to a colleague via mail. It's your notes, you decide where they go
MUCH MORE
• Dark mode
• Multi-window support on iPadOS
• Keyboard shortcuts and navigation
• Support for system Copy and Undo gestures
• Alternative app icons
• Custom accent colors
• Apple Pencil double-tap gestures
• Power annotation tools
For a full list of features see: highlightsapp.net/features
HIGHLIGHTS PRO
The Highlights Pro subscription unlocks advanced features on your iPhone, iPad and Mac:
• Export options for other apps and easily editable formats
• Extract information using table and text recognition
• Customize accent colors and alternative app icons
• Power annotation tools
• Citation lookups
• Smart Copy
Highlights Pro includes a 14-day free trial. You can cancel your subscription at any time. The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off within 24-hour prior to the end of of the current period.
Payments will be charged to your iTunes account and your account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription.
For more information about Highlights Pro: highlightsapp.net/pro
Privacy Policy: highlightsapp.net/privacy
Terms: highlightsapp.net/terms
"It’s the novel approach to PDF annotation that makes this app a cut above the rest"- TapSmart.com
*** "App of the Day" - App Store, US ***
USE HIGHLIGHTS FOR FREE
Highlights is a fast and lightweight PDF reader (under 10MB) packed with features to help you do your best research.
Free users have access to standard PDF reader features including document browsing, reading and annotating. There are NO ADS, time limits or tracking.
READ PDF DOCUMENTS
• Open PDF documents from anywhere
• Browse files using the familiar document browser
• Open PDFs in Single Page or Two Page scroll mode
• Double tap to Smart Zoom in on a paragraph or figure
• Scrub smoothly to the desired page
• Search the entire document in an instant
• Navigate using any connected keyboard or mouse
STORE YOUR FILES WHERE YOU WANT
• Full support for "Open In Place" lets you make edits to the file where it is
• Access your files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box using the document browser
• Or keep them privately on device only
HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE FASTER
• Select text with your finger, Apple Pencil or mouse pointer
• Highlight, underline, strikethrough text and make image selections
• Add comments to annotations or as individual sticky notes
• Annotate with fewer taps using context aware popovers
• Default annotation colors prevents you from having to repeatedly setting the color for the same type of annotation every time
TURN ANNOTATIONS INTO NOTES
• As you markup text and images the contents are extracted and sorted into notes
• Customize the formatting and contents of your notes
• Sort the annotations chronologically or create your own color coding
EXTRACT TABLE DATA AND RECOGNIZE TEXT
• Convert images containing text or tables to actual text and tables using machine learning - letting you get to the underlying data with a single tap
SMART COPY
Copy annotations to the desired format with one tap:
• Text markup as text
• Image selections as images
• Tables as CSV
• Citations as BibTex
LOOKUP CITATIONS
• Highlights will fetch DOI-links and metadata
• Markup any reference and tap the link icon to look it up
• If you have read the work already or have it in your reference manager library, Highlights will link you to it
EXPORT ANYWHERE
• Save or share your notes as portable files: Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive or PDF
• Share them to your favorite notes app: Apple Notes, Bear, Craft, Evernote, DEVONThink, Keep It, MindNode, Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research or Ulysses
• Or send them to a colleague via mail. It's your notes, you decide where they go
MUCH MORE
• Dark mode
• Multi-window support on iPadOS
• Keyboard shortcuts and navigation
• Support for system Copy and Undo gestures
• Alternative app icons
• Custom accent colors
• Apple Pencil double-tap gestures
• Power annotation tools
For a full list of features see: highlightsapp.net/features
HIGHLIGHTS PRO
The Highlights Pro subscription unlocks advanced features on your iPhone, iPad and Mac:
• Export options for other apps and easily editable formats
• Extract information using table and text recognition
• Customize accent colors and alternative app icons
• Power annotation tools
• Citation lookups
• Smart Copy
Highlights Pro includes a 14-day free trial. You can cancel your subscription at any time. The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off within 24-hour prior to the end of of the current period.
Payments will be charged to your iTunes account and your account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription.
For more information about Highlights Pro: highlightsapp.net/pro
Privacy Policy: highlightsapp.net/privacy
Terms: highlightsapp.net/terms
Version history
2023.1.1
2023-08-04
Highlights can now scan and OCR documents on device and it's available to everyone for free!
- Scan documents to searchable PDF files using the camera on your iPhone or iPad
- Smart OCR: Live Text let’s you select text in PDFs without a text layer on the fly. Now Highlights will detect and automatically embed the Live Text in the background. PDFs without a text layer will therefore be automatically OCR'd on device when needed without you having to tap a button. Smart!
- You can also manually OCR any document in the document browser from the action menu
These features require iOS/iPadOS 16 or later. Smart OCR works with English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian text on hardware that supports Live Text.
Minor improvements:
- Resolved a bug causing the 2023.1 version to crash on launch on devices running iOS 13
- Devices without hardware support for Live Text now hide the unsupported Scan and OCR actions
- Documents now show a spin indicator in the document browser while being processed for OCR
- Scan documents to searchable PDF files using the camera on your iPhone or iPad
- Smart OCR: Live Text let’s you select text in PDFs without a text layer on the fly. Now Highlights will detect and automatically embed the Live Text in the background. PDFs without a text layer will therefore be automatically OCR'd on device when needed without you having to tap a button. Smart!
- You can also manually OCR any document in the document browser from the action menu
These features require iOS/iPadOS 16 or later. Smart OCR works with English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian text on hardware that supports Live Text.
Minor improvements:
- Resolved a bug causing the 2023.1 version to crash on launch on devices running iOS 13
- Devices without hardware support for Live Text now hide the unsupported Scan and OCR actions
- Documents now show a spin indicator in the document browser while being processed for OCR
2023.1
2023-08-03
Highlights can now scan and OCR documents on device and it's available to everyone for free!
- Scan documents to searchable PDF files using the camera on your iPhone or iPad
- Smart OCR: Live Text let’s you select text in PDFs without a text layer on the fly. Now Highlights will detect and automatically embed the Live Text in the background. PDFs without a text layer will therefore be automatically OCR'd on device when needed without you having to tap a button. Smart!
- You can also manually OCR any document in the document browser from the action menu
These features require iOS/iPadOS 16 or later. Smart OCR works with English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian text on hardware that supports Live Text.
- Scan documents to searchable PDF files using the camera on your iPhone or iPad
- Smart OCR: Live Text let’s you select text in PDFs without a text layer on the fly. Now Highlights will detect and automatically embed the Live Text in the background. PDFs without a text layer will therefore be automatically OCR'd on device when needed without you having to tap a button. Smart!
- You can also manually OCR any document in the document browser from the action menu
These features require iOS/iPadOS 16 or later. Smart OCR works with English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian text on hardware that supports Live Text.
2022.6.3
2022-12-21
The big iPadOS 16 update! A whole new design optimized for Stage Manager and a desktop-class experience with powerful ways to do even more:
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Added a Help menu inside the More menu
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Added some missing accessibility labels
- The thumbnail selection now only changes in the currently selected window when changing the page with multiple Highlights windows open
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
- Fixed a crash caused by popover presentation when quickly switching between annotations
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Added a Help menu inside the More menu
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Added some missing accessibility labels
- The thumbnail selection now only changes in the currently selected window when changing the page with multiple Highlights windows open
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
- Fixed a crash caused by popover presentation when quickly switching between annotations
2022.6.2
2022-10-31
The big iPadOS 16 update! A whole new design optimized for Stage Manager and a desktop-class experience with powerful ways to do even more:
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Added a Help menu inside the More menu
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Added some missing accessibility labels
- The thumbnail selection now only changes in the currently selected window when changing the page with multiple Highlights windows open
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Added a Help menu inside the More menu
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Added some missing accessibility labels
- The thumbnail selection now only changes in the currently selected window when changing the page with multiple Highlights windows open
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
2022.6.1
2022-10-23
The big iPadOS 16 update! A whole new design optimized for Stage Manager and a desktop-class experience with powerful ways to do even more:
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvement:
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvement:
- Removed keyboard shortcut for toggling the sidebar on pre iOS 16 releases
2022.6
2022-10-23
The big iPadOS 16 update! A whole new design optimized for Stage Manager and a desktop-class experience with powerful ways to do even more:
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
- Customizable toolbars: The center area of the toolbar is fully customizable including functionality previously only available using keyboard commands. Select "Customize Toolbar" from the bottom of the More menu to make it your own.
- Document menu: The document title is always visible in the toolbar and when selected brings up the document menu with easy access to file operations including duplicate, move, rename, print and export actions.
- Thumbnail sidebar: The bottom bar is gone to free up space for more content and replaced by a collapsable sidebar with larger thumbnails similar to on the Mac.
- The segmented control in the center of the toolbar to control the View Mode has been replaced by a sleek button at the trailing end of the toolbar, giving space for customizable items at the center. Tap it for fast switching or long press to see the view options.
- Search is now inline
- A new export menu for fewer taps and a sleeker look
- Settings is now available from the top of the More menu at all times
- New edit menus and text selection popovers with support for light and dark mode
- Improved support for keyboard/pointer navigation
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iPadOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
2022.5.2
2022-10-07
The big iOS 16 update! A whole new design to bring even more functionality within reach:
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where images would not load correctly in notes when the notes view is hidden
- Fixed a crash where the metadata lookup popover on iPads would present before the navigation toolbar was visible
- Smoother transitions with matching window background colors to the light/dark appearance when collapsing or showing views
- The duplicate file action from the document menu now creates a new document and opens it without having to give it a new name
- Fixed a bug where making a new text selection using touch could change slightly after lifting your finger
- Fixed a bug where text selection actions would disappear from the popover when using touch
- Improved switching between the text selection popover for touch and pointer/Apple Pencil on iOS 16
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where images would not load correctly in notes when the notes view is hidden
- Fixed a crash where the metadata lookup popover on iPads would present before the navigation toolbar was visible
- Smoother transitions with matching window background colors to the light/dark appearance when collapsing or showing views
- The duplicate file action from the document menu now creates a new document and opens it without having to give it a new name
- Fixed a bug where making a new text selection using touch could change slightly after lifting your finger
- Fixed a bug where text selection actions would disappear from the popover when using touch
- Improved switching between the text selection popover for touch and pointer/Apple Pencil on iOS 16
2022.5.1
2022-09-21
The big iOS 16 update! A whole new design to bring even more functionality within reach:
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where images would not load correctly in notes when the notes view is hidden
- Fixed a crash where the metadata lookup popover on iPads would present before the navigation toolbar was visible
- Smoother transitions with matching window background colors to the light/dark appearance when collapsing or showing views
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where images would not load correctly in notes when the notes view is hidden
- Fixed a crash where the metadata lookup popover on iPads would present before the navigation toolbar was visible
- Smoother transitions with matching window background colors to the light/dark appearance when collapsing or showing views
2022.5
2022-09-09
The big iOS 16 update! A whole new design to bring even more functionality within reach:
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
- A new bottom toolbar with an improved share menu, segmented control for fast switching between your PDF and Notes and a whole new inline search experience.
- A new top toolbar showing the document name and giving you access to file functions directly, in addition to a sleeker More-menu exposing more functionality than ever before
- New text selection popover with support for light and dark mode
- Lots of minor UI tweaks
In iOS 16 you can also collaborate on PDF documents via iCloud links. Just share the document and select Collaborate instead of Send Copy. The documents show up in the new Shared-tab in the document browser. Tapping on the "Shared with You"-button below the document in the document browser will take you directly to the conversation where the document was shared in Messages or Mail.
2022.4.1
2022-08-10
Minor improvements to popover presentation including automatically hiding popovers when scrolling using the pointer (trackpad or mouse wheel) on iPad
2022.4
2022-05-07
Automatically fetch metadata for scientific articles from arXiv - the largest open-access archive with more than 2 million preprints and postprints.
2022.3.1
2022-04-23
Export PDFs without including your annotations (e.g. to share the original document with a colleague or friend)
Minor improvements:
- Fixes an issue with fetching metadata for DOI-links with extended prefixes
Minor improvements:
- Fixes an issue with fetching metadata for DOI-links with extended prefixes
2022.3
2022-04-05
Export PDFs without including your annotations (e.g. to share the original document with a colleague or friend)
2022.2
2022-03-19
Text translation right from the selection popover: just select text and tap the globe icon to try it!
The feature requires iOS/iPadOS 15 and works with the system supported languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin - China mainland), Chinese (Mandarin - Taiwan), English (US), English (UK), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain).
The feature requires iOS/iPadOS 15 and works with the system supported languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin - China mainland), Chinese (Mandarin - Taiwan), English (US), English (UK), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain).
2022.1
2022-01-19
New Table of Contents view for navigating books and other large PDFs.
Other Improvements:
- Placeholder image and text shown when notes are empty
- Keyboard navigation using arrow keys on iOS 15 works again
- Trying to open search while search is open in compact layouts no longer crashes
Other Improvements:
- Placeholder image and text shown when notes are empty
- Keyboard navigation using arrow keys on iOS 15 works again
- Trying to open search while search is open in compact layouts no longer crashes
2021.2.3
2021-12-04
Support for iOS 15 with Quick Note and a new keyboard shortcuts menu on iPad, text input via Live Text and flexible half height sheets for improved search and document settings on iPhone.
Other improvements:
- Optimized interface for the new iPad Mini (2021)
- Better support for larger text sizes
- No longer crashes when attempting to open corrupt PDF files
Other improvements:
- Optimized interface for the new iPad Mini (2021)
- Better support for larger text sizes
- No longer crashes when attempting to open corrupt PDF files
2021.2.2
2021-10-27
Support for iOS 15 with Quick Note and a new keyboard shortcuts menu on iPad, text input via Live Text and flexible half height sheets for improved search and document settings on iPhone.
Other improvements:
- Optimized interface for the new iPad Mini (2021)
- Better support for larger text sizes
Other improvements:
- Optimized interface for the new iPad Mini (2021)
- Better support for larger text sizes
2021.2.1
2021-09-20
Support for iOS 15 with Quick Note and a new keyboard shortcuts menu on iPad, text input via Live Text and flexible half height sheets for improved search and document settings on iPhone.
2021.2
2021-09-19
New keyboard shortcuts menu on iPad, text input via Live Text and flexible half height sheets for search and document settings on iPhone running the latest version of iOS.
2021.1.4
2021-09-06
Improved keyboard shortcuts with more verbose titles for accessibility purposes
2021.1.3
2021-07-04
A new color palette: Light! Light is a semi-transparent color palette for those of you who wanted something even more subtle than Pastel for your annotations and notes.
2021.1.2
2021-06-19
Improved keyboard shortcuts with better organization, state dependent descriptions and a more consistent user experience with macOS including a new keyboard shortcut for Smart Copy (Option-Command-C).
2021.1.1
2021-03-05
Lots of new tutorials! (Help > Tutorials)
And much more:
- #hashtags in annotation comments are now recognized as inline tags and displayed in your notes
- Bear export now supports ::highlight::, ~underline~ and ~~strikethrough~~ text markup
- DEVONthink To Go export now supports ==highlight== and ~~strikethrough~~ text markup
- Keep It export now supports {==highlight==} and {~~strikethrough~~} text markup
- The text wrapping setting now also applies for Markdown export with markup (bold, underlined, strikethrough..)
- Improved DOI-link recognition (incl. PNAS, The Lancet)
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where the notes view would not sync scroll position for pages with different page label from index
- Citation links in Markdown documents now use Markdown syntax instead of HTML syntax
And much more:
- #hashtags in annotation comments are now recognized as inline tags and displayed in your notes
- Bear export now supports ::highlight::, ~underline~ and ~~strikethrough~~ text markup
- DEVONthink To Go export now supports ==highlight== and ~~strikethrough~~ text markup
- Keep It export now supports {==highlight==} and {~~strikethrough~~} text markup
- The text wrapping setting now also applies for Markdown export with markup (bold, underlined, strikethrough..)
- Improved DOI-link recognition (incl. PNAS, The Lancet)
Minor improvements:
- Fixed a bug where the notes view would not sync scroll position for pages with different page label from index
- Citation links in Markdown documents now use Markdown syntax instead of HTML syntax
2021.1
2021-02-12
Lots of new tutorials! (Settings > Tutorials)
Other improvements:
- Improved DOI-link recognition (incl. PNAS, The Lancet)
- Fixed a bug that broke navigating PDFs using internal links
- Tapping to stop a decelerating PDF scrollview no longer toggles show/hide bars
Other improvements:
- Improved DOI-link recognition (incl. PNAS, The Lancet)
- Fixed a bug that broke navigating PDFs using internal links
- Tapping to stop a decelerating PDF scrollview no longer toggles show/hide bars
2020.3
2020-11-12
A fresh new look to match our macOS redesign:
• New app icon!
• Alternative app icons (requires Pro)
• Light-themed popovers
• Updated popover and toolbar buttons with a cleaner look and improved iconography
• Improved contrast in the info popup
• New launch screen image
New features:
• Dictionary lookup right from the text selection popover
• New text/table recognition languages (added German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese)
• Export as WebArchive (requires Pro)
Other improvements:
• Made keyboard commands list easier to read
• Changed previous/next page commands to match macOS (Alt-Up/Alt-Down)
• Info popup now displays correctly beneath the toolbar when the toolbar is visible
• New app icon!
• Alternative app icons (requires Pro)
• Light-themed popovers
• Updated popover and toolbar buttons with a cleaner look and improved iconography
• Improved contrast in the info popup
• New launch screen image
New features:
• Dictionary lookup right from the text selection popover
• New text/table recognition languages (added German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese)
• Export as WebArchive (requires Pro)
Other improvements:
• Made keyboard commands list easier to read
• Changed previous/next page commands to match macOS (Alt-Up/Alt-Down)
• Info popup now displays correctly beneath the toolbar when the toolbar is visible
Cheat Codes for In-App Purchases
| Item | Price | iPhone/iPad | Android |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlights Pro: Monthly (Monthly Subscription to Highlights Pro) |
Free |
CI215796744✱✱✱✱✱ | 7E84F75✱✱✱✱✱ |
| Highlights Pro (Convert PDF Annotations into Notes and Export) |
Free |
CI299256704✱✱✱✱✱ | 0A8EB27✱✱✱✱✱ |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade (Yearly Subscription to Highlights Pro) |
Free |
CI456999045✱✱✱✱✱ | DBE8069✱✱✱✱✱ |
Ways to hack Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
- Redeem codes (Get the Redeem codes)
Download hacked APK
Download Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes MOD APK
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Ratings
4.5 out of 5
947 Ratings
Reviews
Insomniaczxzv,
Just downloaded this app
I use this for online school but I do have to save the web pages (lessons) as PDFs in order to use this app, which is not a big deal bc iOS makes it so simple. After using it for a couple of hours, I can already say, the free version is soooo good, I’m bout ready to buy the pro version. Well done. PLEASE keep up the good work. All I would change is that when you want to add a comment, it should just show the input box instead of having to click “add comment” and THEN the input box shows up. Also more color options for highlighting.
I was using Weava before this, and between that app and this one, this one takes the cake. Awesome. I just wish they would add more color options like Weava. I’m bouncing between both apps because I love that I can choose whatever color I want on Weava.
I was using Weava before this, and between that app and this one, this one takes the cake. Awesome. I just wish they would add more color options like Weava. I’m bouncing between both apps because I love that I can choose whatever color I want on Weava.
Dsqrtx,
I want to like this but I don’t
I really like the highlighting capabilities, when they work that is. Plain highlighting usually works ok, but little details have bugs. Like, say I have a highlight that spans multiple pages. Half the time, that doesn’t work, and some strange area vaguely related to what I selected ends up being highlighted. So I have to delete the highlight and try again. Usually I end up making two separate highlights. Or, say I select some text and I end up missing a word or two, so I want to expand the selection. Good luck getting that to work. It’s easier to delete the selection and try again. And again. But I could deal with little nits lick that if only the app could remember what location I’ve read up to in the document. I don’t know how many times I’ve read 10 or 20 pages of a document, then come back the next day, and the app places me on page one again, and I have to figure out where I left off. Then I read another 10 or 20 pages, come back the next day, and the app puts me on page one again. So, I wrote to the developer to ask for help with that. No response. Nothing. I like the idea, but this app doesn’t feel complete. I see the other reviews and I wonder how they aren’t seeing the same problems I am.
beckyobecskter,
More colors and connectivity across devices than you think
I incidentally found out that I have more color options by re-highlighting different colors over each other. Makes my notes much prettier. In addition, I was on the go once with only my phone, not my tablet. I was easily able to sync up to my tablets progress and pick up where I left off since I saved it to the iCloud. Thank goodness for this feature! Saves me time and gives me relief to be able to use this app to keep track of all my research articles for school. Now if I can only figure out how to use some type of subfolders to organize everything even more…
DrJJWMac,
Lacks essential export feature and has annoyances
I had high hopes for this app to annotate PDFs collected as a background bibliography for review to prepare a science/engineering publication. But not in its current version.
* Markdown export does not include the images. This eliminates my intent to use sophisticated, markdown-aware tools (e.g. Obsidian) to manage the exported annotation content. The lack of this ability alone leaves me with no greater power than my current go-to PDF editor app across macOS and iPadOS.
* There is no way to clear the (exhaustive) list of recent files on the iPadOS app.
* As another review noted, you will end in the File Editor and can inadvertently delete a folder or file from some other app (this may be a problem for other iPadOS apps due solely to the poor control in the Files app itself and if so should raise a red flag that apps should only be able to READ in the File directory, not muck about in it fully).
* After you highlight a text region, you will not easily be able to adjust it. Essentially, the best if not only viable way to short or lengthen the highlight is to delete it and remake it.
On the plus side, Highlights appears to work well dynamically with other PDF-editing apps (e.g. Devonthink, Bookends), both on macOS and iPadOS.
Finally, I hope that a future update will allow a user to put tags on annotations (as possible in apps such as MarginNote or ZenReader).
* Markdown export does not include the images. This eliminates my intent to use sophisticated, markdown-aware tools (e.g. Obsidian) to manage the exported annotation content. The lack of this ability alone leaves me with no greater power than my current go-to PDF editor app across macOS and iPadOS.
* There is no way to clear the (exhaustive) list of recent files on the iPadOS app.
* As another review noted, you will end in the File Editor and can inadvertently delete a folder or file from some other app (this may be a problem for other iPadOS apps due solely to the poor control in the Files app itself and if so should raise a red flag that apps should only be able to READ in the File directory, not muck about in it fully).
* After you highlight a text region, you will not easily be able to adjust it. Essentially, the best if not only viable way to short or lengthen the highlight is to delete it and remake it.
On the plus side, Highlights appears to work well dynamically with other PDF-editing apps (e.g. Devonthink, Bookends), both on macOS and iPadOS.
Finally, I hope that a future update will allow a user to put tags on annotations (as possible in apps such as MarginNote or ZenReader).
Tripp88,
Pretty darn close
Key feature that would make this near perfect: the ability to group highlights together. I'm studying med/surgery texts, so frequently highlight only short segments of sentences/paragraphs, rather than entire paragraphs. Would be awesome if I could group these together e.g. if a paragraph is describing a surgical technique, I could group the 2-3 highlights I made and add a group title with the name of the surgery. This is how my notes would ideally look if i was writing them out myself - will save significant time creating notes (especially going back over old highlights), which can then be exported and turned into flashcards e.g. with RemNotes. Liquidtext and Marginnotes kind of do this, but the output and user interface is bad and most of us don't need mind maps for everything.
Draw/pen tool would also be cool but not as cool as the above feature.
Draw/pen tool would also be cool but not as cool as the above feature.
Bride of Squid,
Love the idea; execution isn’t there
I love the idea of this app; being able to easily pull out all my highlighted material from an article I’m reading into a separate file is a functionality I’ve been looking for for a while (LiquidText kind of does this, but I find the interface clunky and less useful than I had hoped). But too often the highlighting doesn’t work: I select text, and it randomly highlights the whole page (guessing superscripts are the problem, as someone else mentioned). Some of my highlights stick while others randomly disappear. I also dislike that I can’t write annotations in the margins—the whole advantage of the Apple Pencil for research is that I don’t have to use the keyboard when I’m reading to mark down quick notes in the margins. I would enthusiastically pay for this app if it did what it advertises reliably, and even more so if I could write marginalia; but in its present form it isn’t really useable.
Kim Ok-Jin,
So close, but a few critical bugs
Desktop version is much more stable, but on iPad my initial text selection highlight is invisible so I can’t see what is going to be highlighted. It’s a major bug that makes it unusable on iPad. Similar comments to others that it has issues highlighting text across page breaks and will sometimes capture footnotes and page numbers. Additionally, when the annotations are ordered by color, I can’t click on them to jump to the highlight, which is the primary way I organize my notes. This is so close, but a few major bugs or missing features that make it incomplete. It’s such a great concept, and I paid for pro, but unfortunately after close to 6 months there have been few noticeable improvements.
BruceJiangcs,
life saver for researchers
As a researcher, I have to read extensively for a number of topics; this means that I need a good tool to collect important points (argument, evidence, conclusion, future directions...). Before I used Highlights, I jotted down all the possiblly useful quotes on a notebook (traditional or electronic one). By so doing, i have felt more comfortable as i knew i kept the records of those significant points. However, it is illusionary, because i often forgot where I put those notes. Hightlights can a life-saver, because the hightlighted lines can be easily exported as a searchable pdf. Toegther with pdf search tools, notes and hightlighted quotes can be easily accessible, no matter how many pdfs I have on my computer.
Jacob R. Campbell,
Love Highlights, But Needed Improvements on Search
I love highlights, but it is most useful for reading and going through and doing just what the name implies. The one thing that I feel like it lacks is the search within a PDF is not as intuitive or easy to use. It is still there but is inferior. Sometimes I find myself having to open up even preview to improve my searching (gives me a visual display of pages that have the terms, highlights them, and gives me arrows to scroll through the results along with a presented number of results). Highlights has none of these, unfortunately.
Asi Es Cierto,
This is a very good app but...
As much as I really like this app, it still does not allow for deep linking. This is a huge oversight.
When Skim, a PDF program far inferior (and free) to this one can do it there's no real reason why this one shouldn't be able to do it.
I will continue to reduce stars until it is or becomes available or we're down to one.
Being able to get my notes out in markdown is spectacular. The App also is very stable.
The developer tries to use the excuse that he's a one-man shop. That is certainly his prerogative. However the price does not reflect that. It is a premium priced app. It very much needs to have deep linking.
The developer, basically just doesn't respond as you can tell by the reviews if you read any of them, even though in the documentation he says he will.
I'm very happy to pay for this (and I do pay for the pro) and deep linking needs to be included ASAP along with being able to export pictures and images.
There is a number of things that could take this app from real good to incredible. Let's get a move on.
7 Aug. 2022 - still no deep linking. One more star knocked off. Three stars now. ***
When Skim, a PDF program far inferior (and free) to this one can do it there's no real reason why this one shouldn't be able to do it.
I will continue to reduce stars until it is or becomes available or we're down to one.
Being able to get my notes out in markdown is spectacular. The App also is very stable.
The developer tries to use the excuse that he's a one-man shop. That is certainly his prerogative. However the price does not reflect that. It is a premium priced app. It very much needs to have deep linking.
The developer, basically just doesn't respond as you can tell by the reviews if you read any of them, even though in the documentation he says he will.
I'm very happy to pay for this (and I do pay for the pro) and deep linking needs to be included ASAP along with being able to export pictures and images.
There is a number of things that could take this app from real good to incredible. Let's get a move on.
7 Aug. 2022 - still no deep linking. One more star knocked off. Three stars now. ***
