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Digital Note-Taking

Learn how to use Adobe Reader to take notes on digital texts in your classes.

Step 1: Download the Adobe Reader Application

You first need to make sure you have an Adobe Reader (free version) or Adobe Acrobat Pro (paid version) downloaded on your device. There is a free version of Adobe Reader available to use on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, and on mobile devices. 

VIsit your mobile device app store to download to a mobile device. 

Visit link below to download to your Windows, Mac, or Chromebook.

Paid Version

If you have the paid version of Adobe, you can use the application Adobe Acrobat Pro. Faculty, staff and student workers have access to this version through IT. You can find more information from the GBIT Service Desk below.

Step 2: File Type

In order to use Adobe Reader to annotate your course texts, your file needs to be a PDF file. If your text is already a PDF, skip to step 3. If it is a different file type, you need to convert your text to a PDF file. You can view instructions on how to do this in the link below. 

Step 3: Opening File in Adobe


To use the comment tools in Adobe, you will need to open the PDF in the application version, not the web browser version.

Follow these steps: 

  1. Open up Adobe Reader application on your device
  2. Go to File → Open & select the PDF file you need

Next Steps

Navigate to the "Using the Tool" page by clicking on the "Next:Using the Tool" button below.