How to Edit PDFs in Notes in MacOS Sonoma?(Quick Guide)

With the macOS Sonoma (14) update, the Notes app is getting some major upgrades, and the one in our focus today will be about the PDF-related features. Since most users want to have a built-in tool for editing PDF documents, this guide explains how to edit PDFs in Notes in MacOS Sonoma.

Part 1. Can I Edit the PDF in Notes on MacOS Sonoma?

Since Apple has just rolled out the new features related to PDF documents, there is a lot of confusion about the support for PDF documents and the capabilities the newer updates unlock for the Notes app. If you are thinking of using the Notes app on MacOS Sonoma as your main PDF editing tool, then you must wait.

It is because the Notes app is not capable of doing things like editing text inside a PDF document or organizing pages in the PDF file. While there is currently no word about such features, the PDF-related features that have come to the Notes app include annotating PDF documents and leaving your comments or filling PDF forms. Besides these features, you don't get a lot of in-depth PDF editing options.

Part 2. How to Edit PDFs in Notes in MacOS Sonoma?

Although the new updates for the Notes application do not bring any in-depth PDF editing features, it still makes it possible to fill the forms in PDF format without converting them or annotating PDF documents for ease in the future. The best part here is that working on these things is very easy, thanks to the intuitive interface of the Notes app. Here are the steps you need to follow for annotating PDFs or filling out PDF forms.

1. Open Markup tools in PDF and click Highlight

As you open the PDF document in Notes app, you can click the "Markup" button to go inside the Markup options. Now you have multiple editing options, and we will start with highlighting. Click "Highlight" from top and click-drag your mouse over any text to highlight it.

2. Click Pencil for freehand sketching on PDF

Click the "Pencil Draw" button from top and use the cursor of mouse as a pencil to draw anywhere on the PDF document. This can be useful for underlining or free-hand sketching on the PDF.

3. Click signature and create your digital signature

If you want to add a signature in your PDF document, you can click the "Signature" button from the top and then click "Create Signature". Once you have created your signature, clicking anywhere in the PDF will add it and you can also resize and reposition that signature.

In the similar way you can click the text button on top denoted by "A" enclosed in a box for adding text to your PDF wherever you want.

Part 3. What PDF Features Does the Notes App Have on MacOS Sonoma?

The Notes app previously didn't support any good PDF features, and working with PDF documents in this app wasn't a good experience at all. However, the MacOS Sonoma update for Notes app brings some exciting new features. The Notes app is getting several new features and updates like the rest of the OS and apps, but here we have listed the most important PDF features that are coming to the Notes app this time:

1. Store and open multiple PDFs together

With the new Notes app, you can now store and open multiple PDF documents together. It is now possible thanks to the updates in MacOS 14 that allow users to not only work on their PDF repository with the Notes app, but users can open and use multiple documents together within the Notes app.

2. An inline PDF usage experience

This new update for Notes app makes it very efficient for managing PDF documents in Notes along with all other documents. Exporting PDFs or working with scanned documents is efficient. Now, you don't get an image thumbnail, but there is a full-width document whenever you open a PDF document in Notes.

3. A different way to view PDFs with different sizes

The Notes app now allows users to use the show thumbnails feature like all other PDF viewer tools. This way, users will see the whole PDF page on their screen, along with page thumbnails in 3 different sizes ranging between small and large. Hence, it will be much easier to navigate through longer documents.

4. Auto-filling PDF forms

The Notes app has now become powerful enough to support auto-filling PDF forms. The experience is like filling out Web forms on a Mac, where the Mac automatically identifies the type of fields and fills it with your saved data, so you don't have to do that manually. Now, you can do the same with PDF documents using the Notes app.

5. Markup tools supported for PDFs

Notes app now supports markup tools for PDF documents. Now, users can add text comments, highlight their content, use pencil for freehand drawing or underlining, and even digitally sign their PDF documents with the Notes app in macOS Sonoma.

Part 4. Bonus Tip: The Best PDF Editor on MacOS Sonoma

While the Notes app is considered to now support fully featured PDF editing, that's not the case. It is only capable of annotating PDF documents, which include signatures, highlights, and comments. Moreover, it can fill PDF forms, and these editing options still do not give you complete control over PDF documents. So, once you edit the document, it gives a very unprofessional look with a bad experience.

So, if you are looking for a better PDF working experience and a complete range of features, then you need to install the best PDF editor for MacOS Sonoma. UPDF is your best choice since it supports MacOS Sonoma and brings every PDF feature that you need. With its PDF editing features, all your requirements will be fulfilled, and you will never miss out on any important task.

So, download UPDF on your Mac and purchase the UPDF Pro version to unlock all the premium features for a premium experience. This way, you will get the best PDF experience on a Mac with the following features available:

1. UPDF AI

UPDF AI is among the best features users get from UPDF because it is an intelligent chatbot that will assist you through the process of working on PDF documents. It supports summarizing, explaining, and translating content in PDF documents, and users can use it like a regular chatbot to ask things regarding their content.

2. UPDF Cloud

UPDF comes integrated with a Cloud feature, and every user gets free cloud storage for managing their PDF documents. The documents stored in the Cloud are synced across all the devices active with your account, so you don't have to manually transfer files between different devices.

3. OCR

Working on scanned documents or text images has never been this easy, thanks to the UPDF OCR feature. The built-in OCR feature supports multiple languages and brings a high accuracy of over 99% when converting graphic text to editable text inside a PDF document. Now, there is no need to manually type content from images or scans.

4. Batch Processing

With the batch processing feature in UPDF, users can work on multiple PDF documents simultaneously and process batches in seconds. The batch processing features include converting, combining, and securing. Inserting, printing, and Bates numbering.

5. PDF Protection

UPDF supports PDF protection features where you can set and remove document permissions or document access. Moreover, it can be used to remove the previous authentication set on a PDF document if you have the password for it.

6. PDF sharing

UPDF makes sharing PDF documents very easy, where we can use links or QR codes for sharing the documents publicly or privately. However, if you want to directly share a document with someone, you can use the email sharing option as well.

Final Words

Editing PDF documents has always been a major use case for many individuals. While the previous versions of the Notes app on Macs didn't provide any good features for PDF documents, the Sonoma version and its upgrades for the Notes app are one step in the right direction. Users can now annotate their documents and fill out PDF forms using the Notes app on their Mac.

However, these features still may not be useful enough for many users since they need in-depth working experience. So, if the options to edit PDFs in Notes in macOS Sonoma do not fulfill your requirements, you can try UPDF. It not only brings all the features from the Notes app but offers much better value with the complete experience.