# Reading & Annotating

Alfred Scholar includes a built-in PDF reader so you can read, highlight, and annotate your research papers without leaving the platform. Your annotations are saved automatically and visible to all workspace members.

## Opening a document

Click on any document in your library to open it in the PDF reader.

## Reader toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the reader gives you quick access to:

| Tool                | What it does                                                         |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Page navigation** | Jump to a specific page number, or use the previous and next arrows. |
| **Zoom**            | Zoom in, zoom out, or click the percentage to reset to 100%.         |
| **Highlight text**  | Enter highlight mode to select text and create annotations.          |
| **Select region**   | Draw a box around an image or figure to annotate it.                 |
| **Annotations**     | Open the annotations sidebar to see all highlights and notes.        |
| **Chat**            | Open the Ask Alfred sidebar to ask questions about the document.     |
| **Download**        | Download the original PDF file.                                      |

## Highlighting text

To highlight a passage in your paper:

1. Click the **Highlight** button (highlighter icon) in the toolbar to enter highlight mode.
2. Select the text you want to highlight.
3. A color picker appears - click a color to save the highlight immediately.

To change the default highlight color before selecting text, click the color circle next to the highlight button.

## Annotating image regions

To annotate a figure, chart, or image:

1. Click the **Select region** button (square icon) in the toolbar.
2. Click and drag on the page to draw a box around the area.

## Viewing all annotations

Click the **Annotations** button (speech bubble icon) in the toolbar to open the annotations sidebar. This shows every annotation on the document, letting you:

- **Jump to an annotation** - Click any annotation to scroll to its location in the PDF.
- **See attached notes** - View the text attached to each highlight.
- **Change color** - Click a color swatch on an annotation to update its color.
- **Add a comment** - Click the comment icon to open the thread and type a reply.

## Annotation comments

Each annotation supports threaded comments, useful when collaborating with team members:

1. Open the annotations sidebar.
2. Click the comment icon on an annotation to expand the thread.
3. Type your comment and press **Enter** or click the send button.

All workspace members can see and add comments to annotations.

## Imported annotations

If your PDF already has highlights or annotations, Alfred Scholar imports them automatically. These imported annotations are marked with a **PDF** badge in the sidebar.

Imported annotations are read-only - you cannot change their color, delete them, or modify their comments. This preserves the original state of the PDF annotations.

## Deleting annotations

Click the **trash** icon on an annotation in the sidebar to delete it and its highlight.

> **Note:** You can only delete annotations you created. Imported PDF annotations cannot be deleted. Workspace owners can delete any user-created annotation.

## Keyboard shortcuts

| Shortcut | Action                               |
| -------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Esc**  | Exit highlight or region select mode |

## Next steps

- **[Chat with your documents](/docs/v1.x/chat-with-documents)** - Ask Alfred questions about what you just read.
- **[Manage citations](/docs/v1.x/managing-citations)** - Review the citations extracted from your paper.