Scan a PDF for comments, highlights, links, stamps, notes, ink, and other page annotations, then remove selected items without guessing which PDF object they belong to.
PDF comments, highlights, sticky notes, free-text boxes, stamps, ink marks, shapes, and links are stored as page annotations. This tool scans the page annotation list and lets you remove individual annotation references from that list.
Links are annotations too. Removing a link annotation normally leaves the visible words or artwork on the page but removes the clickable area associated with that annotation.
Form fields and signature widgets are deliberately excluded. They are tied to the PDF's AcroForm structure, so deleting only their page widget annotation can leave a damaged or inconsistent form.
Markup annotations can also have linked popup windows and reply threads. The remover treats a linked popup as part of its parent annotation and refuses to remove a parent while an unselected reply still points to it.
A page can contain several highlights, notes, links, or stamps with the same subtype and even similar rectangles. Matching only by type or position can therefore remove the wrong annotation.
PDF.js exposes the underlying indirect object reference as the annotation ID when one exists. The remover maps that reference to the matching entry in the page's /Annots array and removes only that exact entry.
If an annotation is stored directly rather than through an indirect object reference, the scanner can display it but intentionally does not make it selectable because this implementation cannot identify it with the same certainty.
Removing an annotation removes that page annotation entry from the rewritten PDF. It does not erase ordinary page text or images underneath a highlight, rectangle, or comment marker.
The underlying annotation object can also remain as unreachable PDF data after the document is rewritten. This tool is therefore for cleaning visible review markup and interactive annotations, not for secure sanitisation or confidential-data redaction.
A highlight is a good example: removing the highlight annotation removes the colored markup, but the highlighted text remains part of the PDF page content.
Signature widgets are protected from selection here, but that does not mean a cryptographic PDF signature will remain valid after another annotation is removed. Saving a modified PDF changes document bytes and can invalidate an existing signature.
If signature validity matters, verify the modified copy with the signing or validation software used in your workflow rather than relying on the presence of the visible signature widget.
Yes, when the annotation has an indirect PDF object reference. The remover targets the exact reference selected in the list rather than deleting every annotation with the same subtype.
The link annotation is removed. The visible text or artwork underneath usually remains because that belongs to the page content rather than the link annotation.
Form widgets belong to the PDF AcroForm field tree as well as the page annotation list. Removing only the widget reference can leave the form structurally inconsistent, so this tool keeps them.
A popup is normally linked to a parent markup annotation. The tool removes a linked popup together with its selected parent instead of letting the two halves of that relationship be edited independently.
Markup replies can point back to another annotation through an in-reply-to reference. If a selected parent still has an unselected reply, the tool asks you to select the full thread rather than leave an orphaned reply reference.
PDF.js can assign generated IDs to annotations stored directly in a page array. This remover only enables deletion when it can map an annotation to a unique indirect PDF object reference.
No. Annotation markup is separate from normal page content. Removing a comment, note, or highlight does not delete ordinary text or images on the PDF page.
The signature widget is not selected for removal, but modifying and saving a signed PDF can invalidate the cryptographic signature. Always re-check signature validity after modification.
Yes. Several PDFs can be loaded at once, but annotation scanning and removal are performed on the currently selected file so each output remains a separate PDF.
No PDF upload request is made by this component. PDF.js scans the selected browser File locally and pdf-lib rewrites the selected document in the browser.
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