Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

PDF reader that can highlight text

Delighted

Delighted

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 25, 2012
253
1
So far I have tried several apps on the ipad that can read PDF but strangely enough CAN NOT perform highlight on text. So either I don't know how to highlight text on a PDF(using these current apps) or I need to get another specific pdf reader that has the function. Please help.

Apps I've used: Kobo, iBooks, Adobe Reader, and Kindle.
 
Jessemtz25 said:
IBooks can highlight text.
Click to expand...

But not on a PDF.

OP, it's also going to depend on the PDF. Some PDFs are made from the app they're created in making text "readable" in other PDF apps. Other PDFs are created by scanning an image or document into a PDF. Therefore the text becomes more like an image instead of actual readable text.

I'm interested in this as well because my wife downloads PDFs every other day and has to read them and highlight manually for school. I don't think GoodReader highlights text on a pdf either.
 
PDF Expert.

Highlight, annotate, draw, etc. Dropbox integration as well.

I used it extensively in my MBA program with both scanned document PDFs and the "normal" PDFs. It would highlight stuff just fine in either case. It will retain the highlights and annotations as layers until you tell it to flatten the PDF (which I never needed to do).

With Dropbox sync, I just synced against the same class folders I had my macbook syncing against and it worked very smoothly.

$10 well spent.
 
Last edited:
GraphicsGeek said:
But not on a PDF.

OP, it's also going to depend on the PDF. Some PDFs are made from the app they're created in making text "readable" in other PDF apps. Other PDFs are created by scanning an image or document into a PDF. Therefore the text becomes more like an image instead of actual readable text.

I'm interested in this as well because my wife downloads PDFs every other day and has to read them and highlight manually for school. I don't think GoodReader highlights text on a pdf either.
Click to expand...

The PDFs are readable text, I am able to highlight them through Preview on my mbp. Also I know they are readable because I made them, but that is a god point you brought up.

----------
deeddawg said:
PDF Expert.

Highlight, annotate, draw, etc. Dropbox integration as well.

$10 well spent.
Click to expand...

I MAY consider this, just because you named some very impressive features. For now, I want to see if there are any free recommended alternatives, if not, PDF Experts sounds like the way to go.
 
Delighted said:
I MAY consider this, just because you named some very impressive features. For now, I want to see if there are any free recommended alternatives, if not, PDF Experts sounds like the way to go.
Click to expand...

You get what you pay for. $10 is cheap compared to twenty minutes of frustration fighting with a free/cheap app.

Consider this: pay $10 and be done and happy. Spend a couple hours messing with others apps, getting frustrated, and in the end spending the same $10 that would have solved things in the beginning. Which makes more sense? :D
 
GraphicsGeek said:
But not on a PDF.

OP, it's also going to depend on the PDF. Some PDFs are made from the app they're created in making text "readable" in other PDF apps. Other PDFs are created by scanning an image or document into a PDF. Therefore the text becomes more like an image instead of actual readable text.

I'm interested in this as well because my wife downloads PDFs every other day and has to read them and highlight manually for school. I don't think GoodReader highlights text on a pdf either.
Click to expand...

Highlights text for me.
Underlines also

40452ecf-bcdc-6318.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you're going to spend $10 on an app maybe look at this one http://appshopper.com/productivity/pdfpen

The company gets great reviews and they make software for desktops so its an iPad port of an established app which can be good or bad depending on your preference.

It may also help to just look at the other apps purchased by users part of the iTunes store page for an app like this.

Also, I have good reader on my iPad, it works great for PDFs but the file management part has a slight learning curve.
 
Last edited:
GoodReader is by far the most capable PDF app for viewing and commenting, plus it has robust file storage capabilities for all file types. Any annotations you make in GoodReader are 100% compatible with Adobe Acrobat.

But the UI is much more complex than your typical iOS app. It will take a bit of time to learn, and there are a few quirks. That said, this app is indispensable to me for business use.
 
redman042 said:
GoodReader is by far the most capable PDF app for viewing and commenting, plus it has robust file storage capabilities for all file types. Any annotations you make in GoodReader are 100% compatible with Adobe Acrobat.

But the UI is much more complex than your typical iOS app. It will take a bit of time to learn, and there are a few quirks. That said, this app is indispensable to me for business use.
Click to expand...

I am using GoodReader and agree completely about it's capabilities. But I really do not care much for the ugly, quirky interface.
 
I also use good reader and I love it. User interface has never been an issue so far.
 
stdwest said:
I also use good reader and I love it. User interface has never been an issue so far.
Click to expand...

It's never been an issue as far as getting around, but it's not very iOS-ish. And not very attractive. But it is functional.
 
richpjr said:
It's never been an issue as far as getting around, but it's not very iOS-ish. And not very attractive. But it is functional.
Click to expand...
yeah, maybe not so attractive but it doesn't bother me. It's functional, that's for sure :)
 
Goodreader all the way! I also have ReaddleDocs, but use Goodreader much more often because it does pretty much everything and also have very good security.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back