How to delete an annotation from a PDF on Mac
One mark, a selection, or all of them — plus the case where a mark is part of the page and cannot be removed.
Annotations are objects sitting on top of the page, which is exactly why they can be taken off again.
Removing one
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Click the mark
It becomes selected, with handles if it can be resized.
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Delete it
Press ⌫, or use the eraser tool for a faster sweep through several marks in a row.
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Undo if you were wrong
⌘+Z brings it back. Undo works throughout the session.
Removing several at once
The annotations list in the sidebar is the efficient way. It shows every mark in the document in page order, so you can work through them and remove what you no longer want without scrolling the document looking for marks you half remember.
Removing all of them
Sanitize clears comments and marks along with the document's own details — author, title, keywords — in one step. That is the right tool when a marked-up working copy needs to become a clean copy to send outside.
Flattening fixes annotations permanently into the page: they stop being objects and become part of the picture. After that there is nothing to select and nothing to delete. That is the point of flattening, and it is why it is worth keeping the unflattened original of anything you may need to keep working on.
Removing marks from a document someone sent you
Marks in a file you received behave exactly like your own: select and delete, unless the sender flattened the document first. If they did, the marks are part of the page and the only way back is a fresh copy from them.
Before you clear a document down
Take a snapshot. Snapshots are named restore points kept on your Mac, and Verso takes one automatically before the most destructive operations — but taking one deliberately before a big clear-out costs a second and occasionally saves an afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove a highlight from a PDF on a Mac?
Click it and press ⌫, or use the eraser. Undo brings it back.
How do I remove every annotation from a document?
Sanitize clears comments and marks along with the document's own details in one step, which is the right tool for turning a marked-up working copy into a clean copy to send.
Why can I not delete an annotation?
The document has almost certainly been flattened, which fixes marks permanently into the page. There is nothing left to select.
Can I remove someone else's comments?
Yes, the same way as your own — unless the document was flattened before it was sent to you.
Is there a way back if I delete the wrong thing?
Undo, within the session. Beyond that, snapshots are restore points kept on your Mac, and one is taken automatically before the most destructive operations.