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Remove Annotations
Strip highlights, comments, markups and link annotations from a PDF.
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How to Remove Annotations
- Choose a PDF to inspect its existing annotations.
- Choose whether to strip all annotations or keep links on the selected pages.
- Review the clean copy and download it.
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What Happens to Your File
OxnaPDF scans the /Annots arrays of every page in your PDF locally in browser memory and shows a breakdown of detected annotation subtypes (such as Highlight, Text, FreeText, Square, Ink, Stamp and Link).
When you strip annotations, the tool removes the selected non-widget annotation objects from your chosen page range, preserves page body text and interactive form /Widget fields, and saves a clean new PDF copy on your device.
Limits
- Accepts unencrypted PDFs up to 100 MB and 500 pages, operating on all pages or a custom page range.
- Removes PDF annotation objects stored in page /Annots arrays while keeping interactive AcroForm /Widget fields intact.
- Cannot remove highlights, stamps or notes that were previously flattened into static page content streams.
Good to Know
- Uncheck Remove Link Annotations when you want to strip review comments, highlights and ink drawings while keeping clickable table-of-contents and web links working.
- Because interactive /Widget annotations belong to PDF forms, form fields are preserved; use Flatten PDF if you want to bake form fields into the page.
- If you want to keep annotations visible on the page while locking them against editing, use Flatten PDF instead of Remove Annotations.
Questions
- Does Removing Annotations Delete Page Body Text?
- No, page body text and interactive form fields are preserved while annotation markups are stripped.
- Can I Keep Link Annotations While Removing Comments?
- Yes, you can choose whether to strip all annotations or keep link annotations on the selected pages.
- What If I Want to Add New Markup Instead?
- Use Annotate PDF to add highlights, text notes, rectangles, pictures and ink drawings to a PDF.
- Can I Strip Annotations From Only Specific Pages?
- Yes, enter a page range such as 1-5 to strip annotations from those pages while leaving notes on other pages untouched.
- Why Did a Highlight Stay Visible After Running Remove Annotations?
- If an annotation was previously flattened into static page graphics, it is no longer a separate annotation object in the PDF.