Annotation Creation

PDF Oxide supports creating all standard PDF annotation types. Annotations can be added through FluentPageBuilder (DocumentBuilder API) or PageBuilder (PdfWriter API).

Binding coverage (v0.3.38). The 15 DocumentBuilder / FluentPageBuilder annotation methods — link_url / link_page / link_named, highlight, underline, strikeout, squiggly, sticky note, stamp (14 standard types + custom), free text, and watermark (custom / DRAFT / CONFIDENTIAL) — ship in Rust, Python, Node/TypeScript, C#, Go, and WASM. The lower-level PdfWriter surface with per-method shapes (ink, polygon, polyline, caret, popup, file-attachment, redact) is Rust-only; use DocumentBuilder from other bindings, or edit existing PDFs via Annotation Editing.

Quick Example

Rust (DocumentBuilder)

use pdf_oxide::writer::{DocumentBuilder, PageSize, StampType};

let mut builder = DocumentBuilder::new();
builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .at(72.0, 720.0)
    .text("Click here for details")
    .link_url("https://example.com")
    .text("Important finding")
    .highlight((1.0, 1.0, 0.0))  // Yellow highlight
    .sticky_note("Review this section carefully")
    .stamp(StampType::Approved)
    .done();

builder.save("annotated.pdf")?;

Rust (PdfWriter)

use pdf_oxide::writer::PdfWriter;
use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

let mut writer = PdfWriter::new();
{
    let mut page = writer.add_letter_page();
    page.add_text("Document text", 72.0, 720.0, "Helvetica", 12.0);
    page.link(Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 100.0, 12.0), "https://example.com");
    page.highlight_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 700.0, 200.0, 12.0));
    page.sticky_note(Rect::new(300.0, 720.0, 24.0, 24.0), "A note");
    page.finish();
}
writer.save("annotated.pdf")?;

Python

from pdf_oxide import DocumentBuilder, StampType

pdf = (DocumentBuilder()
    .letter_page()
        .at(72, 720).text("Click here for details")
        .link_url("https://example.com")
        .text("Important finding")
        .highlight((1.0, 1.0, 0.0))
        .sticky_note("Review this section carefully")
        .stamp(StampType.APPROVED)
    .done()
    .save("annotated.pdf"))

Node / TypeScript

import { DocumentBuilder, StampType } from "pdf-oxide";

await new DocumentBuilder()
  .letterPage()
    .at(72, 720).text("Click here for details")
    .linkUrl("https://example.com")
    .text("Important finding")
    .highlight([1.0, 1.0, 0.0])
    .stickyNote("Review this section carefully")
    .stamp(StampType.Approved)
  .done()
  .save("annotated.pdf");

C#

using PdfOxide;

DocumentBuilder.Create()
    .LetterPage()
        .At(72, 720).Text("Click here for details")
        .LinkUrl("https://example.com")
        .Text("Important finding")
        .Highlight(1.0, 1.0, 0.0)
        .StickyNote("Review this section carefully")
        .Stamp(StampType.Approved)
    .Done()
    .Save("annotated.pdf");

Go

builder := pdfoxide.NewDocumentBuilder()
builder.LetterPage().
    At(72, 720).Text("Click here for details").
    LinkUrl("https://example.com").
    Text("Important finding").
    Highlight(1.0, 1.0, 0.0).
    StickyNote("Review this section carefully").
    Stamp(pdfoxide.StampApproved).
    Done()
_ = builder.Save("annotated.pdf")

JavaScript (WASM) – existing-PDF annotation shortcuts

The legacy addLink / addHighlight / addNote helpers continue to work for editing existing PDFs:

import init, { WasmPdfDocument } from "pdf-oxide-wasm/web";
await init();

const doc = new WasmPdfDocument(bytes);
doc.addLink(0, 100, 200, 300, 50, "https://oxide.fyi");
doc.addHighlight(0, 100, 700, 400, 20);
doc.addNote(0, 50, 750, "Review this section");
const saved = doc.save();
doc.free();

For creation-time annotations from WASM, use DocumentBuilder (same API as the Node/TS example above).

Annotation Types

Text Annotations (Sticky Notes)

Pop-up notes with various icons.

use pdf_oxide::writer::PdfWriter;
use pdf_oxide::annotation_types::TextAnnotationIcon;
use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

let mut writer = PdfWriter::new();
{
    let mut page = writer.add_letter_page();

    // Default note icon
    page.sticky_note(Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 24.0, 24.0), "Review this section");

    // Comment icon
    page.comment(Rect::new(72.0, 690.0, 24.0, 24.0), "Needs clarification");

    // Custom icon
    page.text_note_with_icon(
        Rect::new(72.0, 660.0, 24.0, 24.0),
        "Important",
        TextAnnotationIcon::Key,
    );

    page.finish();
}

Available icons: Note, Comment, Key, Help, NewParagraph, Paragraph, Insert

FluentPageBuilder equivalent:

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .at(72.0, 720.0)
    .sticky_note("Review this")
    .sticky_note_with_icon("Important", TextAnnotationIcon::Key)
    .sticky_note_at(300.0, 720.0, "Positioned note")
    .done();

Link Annotations

URL links and internal page navigation.

// URL link
page.link(Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 150.0, 12.0), "https://example.com");

// Internal page link (0-indexed page number)
page.internal_link(Rect::new(72.0, 700.0, 100.0, 12.0), 2);

FluentPageBuilder:

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .at(72.0, 720.0)
    .text("Visit website")
    .link_url("https://example.com")
    .text("Go to appendix")
    .link_page(5)
    .text("Jump to glossary")
    .link_named("glossary")
    .done();

FreeText Annotations

Text displayed directly on the page surface.

use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

// Basic text box
page.textbox(Rect::new(72.0, 650.0, 200.0, 50.0), "Annotation text");

// Styled text box
page.textbox_styled(
    Rect::new(72.0, 580.0, 200.0, 50.0),
    "Styled text",
    "Courier",
    14.0,
);

// Centered text
page.textbox_centered(Rect::new(72.0, 520.0, 200.0, 30.0), "Centered");

// Callout with leader line
page.callout(
    Rect::new(200.0, 450.0, 150.0, 50.0),
    "Callout text",
    vec![150.0, 430.0, 200.0, 475.0],
);

// Typewriter (borderless text)
page.typewriter(Rect::new(72.0, 400.0, 300.0, 20.0), "Typewriter text");

FluentPageBuilder:

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .freetext(Rect::new(100.0, 600.0, 200.0, 50.0), "Comment text")
    .freetext_styled(Rect::new(100.0, 530.0, 200.0, 50.0), "Styled", "Courier", 14.0)
    .done();

Highlight, Underline, Strikeout, Squiggly

Text markup annotations for reviewing.

use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

page.highlight_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 200.0, 12.0));
page.underline_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 700.0, 200.0, 12.0));
page.strikeout_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 680.0, 200.0, 12.0));
page.squiggly_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 660.0, 200.0, 12.0));

With explicit QuadPoints for precise positioning:

page.highlight(
    Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 200.0, 12.0),
    vec![[72.0, 732.0, 272.0, 732.0, 72.0, 720.0, 272.0, 720.0]],
);

FluentPageBuilder (color is RGB 0.0-1.0):

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .at(72.0, 720.0)
    .text("Highlighted text")
    .highlight((1.0, 1.0, 0.0))    // Yellow
    .text("Underlined text")
    .underline((0.0, 0.0, 1.0))    // Blue
    .text("Deleted text")
    .strikeout((1.0, 0.0, 0.0))    // Red
    .text("Questionable text")
    .squiggly((1.0, 0.5, 0.0))     // Orange
    .done();

Line Annotations

Lines and arrows between two points.

// Simple line
page.line((100.0, 500.0), (300.0, 500.0));

// Arrow
page.arrow((100.0, 470.0), (300.0, 470.0));

// Double-headed arrow
page.double_arrow((100.0, 440.0), (300.0, 440.0));

Shape Annotations (Square, Circle)

Rectangles and ellipses.

use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

// Rectangle outline
page.rectangle(Rect::new(72.0, 400.0, 150.0, 80.0));

// Filled rectangle
page.rectangle_filled(
    Rect::new(250.0, 400.0, 150.0, 80.0),
    (0.0, 0.0, 1.0),  // Blue stroke
    (0.8, 0.8, 1.0),  // Light blue fill
);

// Circle outline
page.circle(Rect::new(72.0, 300.0, 80.0, 80.0));

// Filled circle
page.circle_filled(
    Rect::new(180.0, 300.0, 80.0, 80.0),
    (1.0, 0.0, 0.0),  // Red stroke
    (1.0, 0.9, 0.9),  // Light red fill
);

Polygon and Polyline Annotations

Closed polygons and open polylines.

// Closed triangle
page.polygon(vec![(200.0, 250.0), (250.0, 300.0), (150.0, 300.0)]);

// Filled polygon
page.polygon_filled(
    vec![(300.0, 250.0), (350.0, 300.0), (250.0, 300.0)],
    (0.0, 0.5, 0.0),  // Green stroke
    (0.8, 1.0, 0.8),  // Light green fill
);

// Open polyline (zigzag)
page.polyline(vec![
    (72.0, 200.0), (150.0, 230.0), (220.0, 200.0), (300.0, 230.0),
]);

Ink Annotations (Freehand Drawing)

Freehand strokes and drawings.

// Single stroke
page.ink(vec![(100.0, 150.0), (120.0, 170.0), (140.0, 150.0), (160.0, 170.0)]);

// Multiple strokes
page.freehand(vec![
    vec![(100.0, 100.0), (200.0, 100.0)],  // Horizontal line
    vec![(150.0, 50.0), (150.0, 150.0)],    // Vertical line
]);

// Styled ink
page.ink_styled(
    vec![(200.0, 150.0), (250.0, 180.0), (300.0, 150.0)],
    (1.0, 0.0, 0.0),  // Red
    3.0,               // 3pt line width
);

Stamp Annotations

Standard rubber-stamp annotations.

use pdf_oxide::writer::StampType;
use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

page.stamp(Rect::new(400.0, 700.0, 150.0, 50.0), StampType::Approved);
page.stamp_approved(Rect::new(400.0, 640.0, 150.0, 50.0));
page.stamp_draft(Rect::new(400.0, 580.0, 120.0, 40.0));
page.stamp_confidential(Rect::new(400.0, 520.0, 150.0, 50.0));
page.stamp_final(Rect::new(400.0, 460.0, 100.0, 40.0));
page.stamp_not_approved(Rect::new(400.0, 400.0, 150.0, 50.0));
page.stamp_for_comment(Rect::new(400.0, 340.0, 150.0, 50.0));
page.stamp_custom(Rect::new(400.0, 280.0, 150.0, 50.0), "ReviewPending");

StampType variants: Approved, Experimental, NotApproved, AsIs, Expired, NotForPublicRelease, Confidential, Final, Sold, Departmental, ForComment, TopSecret, Draft, ForPublicRelease, Custom(String)

Watermark Annotations

Page-level watermarks that appear behind content.

// FluentPageBuilder API
builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .watermark("DRAFT")
    .done();

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .watermark_confidential()
    .done();

builder.page(PageSize::Letter)
    .watermark_draft()
    .done();

Redact Annotations

Mark regions for redaction.

use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

page.redact(Rect::new(72.0, 600.0, 200.0, 20.0));
page.redact_with_text(Rect::new(72.0, 570.0, 200.0, 20.0), "REDACTED");

Additional Annotation Types

use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

// Popup window
page.popup(Rect::new(200.0, 500.0, 200.0, 100.0), true);

// Caret (text insertion marker)
page.caret(Rect::new(72.0, 450.0, 20.0, 20.0));
page.caret_paragraph(Rect::new(72.0, 420.0, 20.0, 20.0));
page.caret_with_comment(Rect::new(72.0, 390.0, 20.0, 20.0), "Insert paragraph here");

// File attachment
page.file_attachment(Rect::new(72.0, 350.0, 24.0, 24.0), "report.xlsx");
page.file_attachment_paperclip(Rect::new(72.0, 320.0, 24.0, 24.0), "notes.txt");

Generic Annotation Method

Add any annotation type using the generic add_annotation() method:

use pdf_oxide::writer::{LinkAnnotation, Annotation};
use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

let link = LinkAnnotation::uri(
    Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 100.0, 12.0),
    "https://example.com",
);

page.add_annotation(link);

Advanced Example

Full Annotation Showcase

use pdf_oxide::writer::{PdfWriter, StampType};
use pdf_oxide::geometry::Rect;

let mut writer = PdfWriter::new();
{
    let mut page = writer.add_letter_page();

    // Links
    page.add_text("Visit Rust", 72.0, 750.0, "Helvetica", 12.0);
    page.link(Rect::new(72.0, 750.0, 70.0, 12.0), "https://rust-lang.org");

    // Text markup
    page.highlight_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 720.0, 150.0, 12.0));
    page.underline_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 700.0, 150.0, 12.0));
    page.strikeout_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 680.0, 150.0, 12.0));
    page.squiggly_rect(Rect::new(72.0, 660.0, 150.0, 12.0));

    // Notes
    page.sticky_note(Rect::new(300.0, 720.0, 24.0, 24.0), "Important");
    page.comment(Rect::new(340.0, 720.0, 24.0, 24.0), "Review needed");

    // Shapes
    page.line((72.0, 620.0), (250.0, 620.0));
    page.arrow((72.0, 600.0), (250.0, 600.0));
    page.rectangle(Rect::new(72.0, 540.0, 100.0, 50.0));
    page.circle(Rect::new(200.0, 540.0, 50.0, 50.0));

    // Ink
    page.ink(vec![(72.0, 500.0), (120.0, 520.0), (170.0, 500.0)]);

    // Stamp
    page.stamp_approved(Rect::new(400.0, 720.0, 150.0, 50.0));

    // Redact
    page.redact(Rect::new(72.0, 450.0, 200.0, 15.0));

    page.finish();
}
writer.save("annotation_showcase.pdf")?;

Related Pages

• DocumentBuilder Low-Level API – Fluent page building with annotations
• Form Field Creation – Interactive form fields
• Graphics, Patterns and Shadings – Low-level drawing primitives