Documentation – Add, Delete, and Get PDF Annotations in Java

Java: Text Based Annotations using Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Add a text annotation

Open the input PDF and target the page where the text annotation should be placed.
Create the TextAnnotation, define its rectangle, and set its title, subject, flags, and color.
Add the annotation to the page and save the updated document.

public static void textAnnotationAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextAnnotation textAnnotation = new TextAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(299.988, 613.664, 428.708, 680.769, true));
        textAnnotation.setTitle("Aspose User");
        textAnnotation.setSubject("Inserted text 1");
        textAnnotation.setFlags(AnnotationFlags.Print);
        textAnnotation.setColor(Color.getBlue());

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(textAnnotation, false);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Add a free text annotation

Load the source PDF and select the target page and rectangle for the free text note.
Create the FreeTextAnnotation, initialize its default appearance, and set the title and color.
Add the annotation to the page and save the result.

public static void freeTextAnnotationAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        FreeTextAnnotation freeTextAnnotation = new FreeTextAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1),
                new Rectangle(299, 713, 308, 720, true),
                new DefaultAppearance());
        freeTextAnnotation.setTitle("Aspose User");
        freeTextAnnotation.setColor(Color.getLightGreen());

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(freeTextAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Java: Markup Annotations using Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Add highlight, underline, squiggly, or strikeout annotations

Open the input PDF and select the page area where the markup annotation should appear.
Create the required annotation type and configure its metadata or visual properties.
Add the annotation to the page collection and save the document.

public static void addTextHighlightAnnotation(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        HighlightAnnotation highlightAnnotation = new HighlightAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(300, 750, 320, 770, true));
        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(highlightAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

public static void addTextUnderlineAnnotation(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        UnderlineAnnotation underlineAnnotation = new UnderlineAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(299.988, 713.664, 308.708, 720.769, true));
        underlineAnnotation.setTitle("Aspose User");
        underlineAnnotation.setSubject("Inserted Underline 1");
        underlineAnnotation.setFlags(AnnotationFlags.Print);
        underlineAnnotation.setColor(Color.getBlue());
        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(underlineAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Java: Interactive Annotations using Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Add a link annotation

Load the source PDF document and search the first page for the target text.
Use the matched text rectangle to create a LinkAnnotation and assign the destination URI.
Add the annotation to the page and save the updated PDF.

public static void linkAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber textFragmentAbsorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber("file");
        document.getPages().get_Item(1).accept(textFragmentAbsorber);

        TextFragment phoneNumberFragment = textFragmentAbsorber.getTextFragments().get_Item(1);

        LinkAnnotation linkAnnotation = new LinkAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), phoneNumberFragment.getRectangle());
        linkAnnotation.setAction(new GoToURIAction("www.aspose.com"));

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(linkAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Java: Shape Annotations via Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Add shape annotations

Open the input PDF and choose the page and rectangle that will contain the shape annotation.
Create the required shape annotation, then set its title, colors, opacity, and points when needed.
Add the annotation to the page and save the modified PDF.

public static void squareAnnotationAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        SquareAnnotation squareAnnotation = new SquareAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(60, 600, 250, 450, true));
        squareAnnotation.setTitle("John Smith");
        squareAnnotation.setColor(Color.getBlue());
        squareAnnotation.setInteriorColor(Color.getBlueViolet());
        squareAnnotation.setOpacity(0.25);

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(squareAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

public static void polygonAnnotationAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        PolygonAnnotation polygonAnnotation = new PolygonAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1),
                new Rectangle(200, 300, 400, 400, true),
                new Point[]{
                        new Point(200, 300),
                        new Point(220, 300),
                        new Point(250, 330),
                        new Point(300, 304),
                        new Point(300, 400)
                });
        polygonAnnotation.setTitle("John Smith");
        polygonAnnotation.setColor(Color.getBlue());
        polygonAnnotation.setInteriorColor(Color.getBlueViolet());
        polygonAnnotation.setOpacity(0.25);

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(polygonAnnotation);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Java: Security Annotations using Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mark text for redaction

Load the PDF and search all pages for the text that should be redacted.
Create a RedactionAnnotation for each matched text fragment and configure its appearance.
Add the redaction annotations to their pages and save the document.

public static void markTextRedaction(Path inputFile, Path outputFile, String searchTerm) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber textFragmentAbsorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber(searchTerm);
        TextSearchOptions textSearchOptions = new TextSearchOptions(true);
        textFragmentAbsorber.setTextSearchOptions(textSearchOptions);
        document.getPages().accept(textFragmentAbsorber);

        for (TextFragment textFragment : textFragmentAbsorber.getTextFragments()) {
            Page page = textFragment.getPage();
            Rectangle annotationRectangle = textFragment.getRectangle();
            RedactionAnnotation annotation = new RedactionAnnotation(page, annotationRectangle);
            annotation.setFillColor(Color.getGray());
            annotation.setBorderColor(Color.getRed());
            annotation.setColor(Color.getWhite());
            annotation.setOverlayText("REDACTED");
            annotation.setTextAlignment(HorizontalAlignment.Center);
            annotation.setRepeat(true);
            page.getAnnotations().add(annotation, true);
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Java: Watermark Annotations using Java

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Add a watermark annotation

Open the input PDF and define the rectangle where the watermark annotation will be placed.
Create the WatermarkAnnotation, add it to the page, and configure the watermark text state and opacity.
Apply the watermark text lines and save the modified PDF.

public static void watermarkAdd(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        WatermarkAnnotation watermarkAnnotation = new WatermarkAnnotation(
                document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(100, 0, 400, 100, true));

        document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations().add(watermarkAnnotation);

        TextState textState = new TextState();
        textState.setForegroundColor(Color.getBlue());
        textState.setFontSize(25);
        textState.setFont(FontRepository.findFont("Arial"));

        watermarkAnnotation.setOpacity(0.5);
        watermarkAnnotation.setTextAndState(new String[]{"HELLO", "Line 1", "Line 2"}, textState);

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}