Whilst there are a range of PDF editing software products on the market, many are either prohibitively expensive, have limited functionality, or are lacking when it comes to the user experience (or all of the above!).
Drawboard PDF is an affordable solution aimed at helping people to mark up, edit and draw on PDFs with ease. Our goal is to rid the world of paper by offering powerful-but-intuitive writing, editing, and drawing tools for PDFs that save people time and money. In fact, we’re running a 3-year student and teacher discount to help cut down on academic waste right now.
Here’s how to start drawing using Drawboard PDF.
Firstly, download Drawboard PDF or use the web app to freely draw on any PDF document with the feel of pen on paper.
Once you open the Web app in your browser or the Drawboard PDF on your device, you’ll see the document management dashboard.
From here, you can open an existing file from your list by selecting it and pressing “Open document” (Web) or “Open” (App) on the right. Or, if it’s already open, select its tab at the top of the screen.
If you need to open a new file, click the ‘+’ icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
You can choose between importing a PDF using a third-party storage integration, uploading one from your device, or starting from scratch with a template.
Before you can start drawing on your PDF, you need to choose a pen.
On the Web and Mac app, you can select the free-form markup type, then the first pen tool option. This allows you to write, scribble, annotate, or draw on the PDF. You can quickly change colors or thickness from the quick-customization menu, or press the ‘...’ to view the full pen customization options.
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On the Windows desktop app, you can select and customize the pen tool from your Favorites Toolbar. Click the pen icon twice to open the customization menu, where you can choose between different pen presets that offer different levels of digital inking control. You can also change the color, thickness, and opacity of your pen manually.
If you’re using a stylus, Drawboard PDF also lets you customize the level of pressure sensitivity you want to use. Pressing harder creates thicker lines while a lighter touch keeps lines thinner, making it easy to change your markups on the fly
After you’ve chosen your pen and customized it to fit your workflow, it’s time to start marking up your PDF.
Simply find where you want to draw, press down your finger, mouse, or stylus, and start adding your sketches, notes, and feedback.
If you often use the same pen styles and colors, you can add multiple presets to your Markup Toolbar by pressing ‘+’ on the toolbar, selecting ‘+’ on Pen, and customizing it normally. That preset can then be reused and customized as needed.
If you have a paid Drawboard PDF plan, you can upgrade your drawing with smart ink features in the pen customization menu.
“Snap to line” lets you easily create straight lines while drawing, without changing tools, by holding your finger, mouse, or stylus at the end of your drawn line.
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“Snap-to-shape” works the same way, letting you create perfect squares, circles, and other shapes quickly from the pen tool with your stylus.
If you made a mistake, you can use the undo icon in the bottom left of the interface to undo it.
Or, you can use the eraser tool to manually remove small pieces or entire layers of markup at once.
Simply select it from the same Markup Toolbar as the pen, choose whether you want to erase freely (partial) or select markups to erase (whole), and set your eraser size before removing markups like pencil on paper.
Yes. With Store + Share, Drawboard PDF lets you collaborate on the same PDF in real time. When you or collaborators make a change, from adding notes to sketching ideas or highlighting feedback, every annotation appears instantly across all connected devices. There’s no need to email files back and forth or worry about version control; everyone stays perfectly in sync.
You can also connect Drawboard PDF to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint, keeping your synced files accessible in near-real-time wherever your team already stores their work.
Each contributor can use their own tools and colors, making it easy to distinguish input and keep feedback organized. Whether you’re reviewing documents, grading assignments, or planning designs, live markups help groups and teams stay aligned and move faster.
For larger teams or projects that require advanced coordination, Drawboard Projects extends these collaborative features even further by adding issue tracking, permissions, and centralized storage for design and review workflows.
Drawboard PDF gives you everything you need to write, draw, and communicate ideas directly on the page, along with powerful features that save time and make collaboration effortless. Whether you’re sketching, reviewing, taking notes, or leaving feedback, it’s built to keep your work clear and connected.
Built for natural, pen-like precision that makes every annotation feel effortless.
Add structure, personality, and clarity to your annotations.
Built for professionals who need extra precision and control.
Whether you want to review documents, circle mistakes, write notes, draw diagrams or provide feedback, Drawboard PDF is designed to make working with PDFs easy, fun and collaborative. Work on shared documents with friends or colleagues and see markups appear instantly, or move between devices without ever losing progress.
If you’re a student or teacher, now’s the perfect time to try Drawboard PDF. Our discounted three-year academic plan gives you full access to advanced tools built for learning, teaching, and working paper-free.
No academic email? You can still start with the free Basic plan to explore the essentials, or unlock the full experience with a 7-day free trial on any Pro plan.
Whilst there are a range of PDF editing software products on the market, many are either prohibitively expensive, have limited functionality, or are lacking when it comes to the user experience (or all of the above!).
Drawboard PDF is an affordable solution aimed at helping people to mark up, edit and draw on PDFs with ease. Our goal is to rid the world of paper by offering powerful-but-intuitive writing, editing, and drawing tools for PDFs that save people time and money. In fact, we’re running a 3-year student and teacher discount to help cut down on academic waste right now.
Here’s how to start drawing using Drawboard PDF.
Firstly, download Drawboard PDF or use the web app to freely draw on any PDF document with the feel of pen on paper.
Once you open the Web app in your browser or the Drawboard PDF on your device, you’ll see the document management dashboard.
From here, you can open an existing file from your list by selecting it and pressing “Open document” (Web) or “Open” (App) on the right. Or, if it’s already open, select its tab at the top of the screen.
If you need to open a new file, click the ‘+’ icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
You can choose between importing a PDF using a third-party storage integration, uploading one from your device, or starting from scratch with a template.
Before you can start drawing on your PDF, you need to choose a pen.
On the Web and Mac app, you can select the free-form markup type, then the first pen tool option. This allows you to write, scribble, annotate, or draw on the PDF. You can quickly change colors or thickness from the quick-customization menu, or press the ‘...’ to view the full pen customization options.
On the Windows desktop app, you can select and customize the pen tool from your Favorites Toolbar. Click the pen icon twice to open the customization menu, where you can choose between different pen presets that offer different levels of digital inking control. You can also change the color, thickness, and opacity of your pen manually.
If you’re using a stylus, Drawboard PDF also lets you customize the level of pressure sensitivity you want to use. Pressing harder creates thicker lines while a lighter touch keeps lines thinner, making it easy to change your markups on the fly
After you’ve chosen your pen and customized it to fit your workflow, it’s time to start marking up your PDF.
Simply find where you want to draw, press down your finger, mouse, or stylus, and start adding your sketches, notes, and feedback.
If you often use the same pen styles and colors, you can add multiple presets to your Markup Toolbar by pressing ‘+’ on the toolbar, selecting ‘+’ on Pen, and customizing it normally. That preset can then be reused and customized as needed.
If you have a paid Drawboard PDF plan, you can upgrade your drawing with smart ink features in the pen customization menu.
“Snap to line” lets you easily create straight lines while drawing, without changing tools, by holding your finger, mouse, or stylus at the end of your drawn line.
“Snap-to-shape” works the same way, letting you create perfect squares, circles, and other shapes quickly from the pen tool with your stylus.
If you made a mistake, you can use the undo icon in the bottom left of the interface to undo it.
Or, you can use the eraser tool to manually remove small pieces or entire layers of markup at once.
Simply select it from the same Markup Toolbar as the pen, choose whether you want to erase freely (partial) or select markups to erase (whole), and set your eraser size before removing markups like pencil on paper.
Yes. With Store + Share, Drawboard PDF lets you collaborate on the same PDF in real time. When you or collaborators make a change, from adding notes to sketching ideas or highlighting feedback, every annotation appears instantly across all connected devices. There’s no need to email files back and forth or worry about version control; everyone stays perfectly in sync.
You can also connect Drawboard PDF to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint, keeping your synced files accessible in near-real-time wherever your team already stores their work.
Each contributor can use their own tools and colors, making it easy to distinguish input and keep feedback organized. Whether you’re reviewing documents, grading assignments, or planning designs, live markups help groups and teams stay aligned and move faster.
For larger teams or projects that require advanced coordination, Drawboard Projects extends these collaborative features even further by adding issue tracking, permissions, and centralized storage for design and review workflows.
Drawboard PDF gives you everything you need to write, draw, and communicate ideas directly on the page, along with powerful features that save time and make collaboration effortless. Whether you’re sketching, reviewing, taking notes, or leaving feedback, it’s built to keep your work clear and connected.
Built for natural, pen-like precision that makes every annotation feel effortless.
Add structure, personality, and clarity to your annotations.
Built for professionals who need extra precision and control.
Whether you want to review documents, circle mistakes, write notes, draw diagrams or provide feedback, Drawboard PDF is designed to make working with PDFs easy, fun and collaborative. Work on shared documents with friends or colleagues and see markups appear instantly, or move between devices without ever losing progress.
If you’re a student or teacher, now’s the perfect time to try Drawboard PDF. Our discounted three-year academic plan gives you full access to advanced tools built for learning, teaching, and working paper-free.
No academic email? You can still start with the free Basic plan to explore the essentials, or unlock the full experience with a 7-day free trial on any Pro plan.
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
