Overview
The Annotation Highlights Toolbar is a small floating window that gives you one-click access to your favourite highlight colours. Each button represents a highlight preset; clicking a button activates Acrobat's Highlight tool with that preset's colour, so you can highlight text in different colours without repeatedly opening Acrobat's colour picker.
The toolbar stays open above the document while you work, and remembers the last colour you used between sessions.
How to use
- Open a PDF in Acrobat.
- Go to .
- Click a colour button. The Highlight tool becomes active with that colour.
- Drag across text in the document to highlight it.
- Click a different button at any time to switch colours.
Hover over a button to see the preset's name and description in a tooltip. The pressed-in button shows which colour is currently selected.
Toolbar menu
Click the small icon at the left of the toolbar's title bar (or press Alt+Space while the toolbar is focused) to open its menu:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Preferences... | Opens TOC Builder's Preferences dialog directly on the Highlights tab, where you can add, edit, reorder, or remove the colour buttons. |
| Help... | Opens this help page. |
Customising the buttons
The buttons are fully customisable — both the colours and how many there are. Open (via the toolbar menu above, or ) to manage the preset list:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add... | Create a new preset with its own colour, name, and tooltip. |
| Edit... | Change the selected preset's colour, name, tooltip, or flags. |
| Delete | Remove the selected preset from the toolbar. |
| Move Up / Move Down | Change the order of the buttons on the toolbar. |
| Reset | Restore the six default presets (Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, Orange, Purple). |
| Import... / Export... | Share a preset library between machines or colleagues via a text file. |
Changes take effect on the toolbar as soon as you click OK — the toolbar rebuilds its buttons and resizes to fit however many presets are enabled.
Tip
Mark the presets you use most as favourites — favourite colours are pinned to the front of the toolbar so they are always in the same place.
Note
Closing the toolbar with the X hides it and hands the highlight tool's colour back to Acrobat's own picker. Your presets, last-used colour and the toolbar's position are kept, and reopening it from the menu restores everything as you left it — the toolbar starts colouring highlights again as soon as you click a preset.