Annotations

from ironpdf import *

# Load an existing PDF or create a new one
pdf = PdfDocument("existing.pdf")

pageIndex = 0

# Create a TextAnnotation object
annotation = TextAnnotation(pageIndex)
annotation.Title = "This is the major title"
annotation.Subject = "This is a subtitle"
annotation.Contents = "This is the long 'sticky note' comment content..."
annotation.Icon = TextAnnotation.AnnotationIcon.Help
annotation.X = 150
annotation.Y = 200
annotation.Width = 200
annotation.Height = 50
annotation.Opacity = 0.9
annotation.Printable = False
annotation.Hidden = False
annotation.OpenByDefault = True
annotation.ReadOnly = False
annotation.Rotatable = True

# Add the annotation to a specific page and location within the PDF
pdf.Annotations.Add(annotation)

# Save the PDF
pdf.SaveAs("existing.pdf")

Annotations

IronPDF for Python can add interactive text annotations — also known as sticky notes — to PDF documents, allowing you to attach comments, review notes, or metadata to specific locations on a page.

Getting Started

Load or create a PdfDocument, instantiate a TextAnnotation with the target page index, configure its properties, add it to the document's Annotations collection, and save.

Understanding the Code

TextAnnotation(pageIndex): Creates a new annotation targeting the specified zero-based page index.
Title: The primary heading text of the annotation popup.
Subject: A subtitle or secondary heading for the annotation.
Contents: The body text of the annotation — the main comment or note content.
Icon: The visual icon displayed on the page. Options include Help, Note, Comment, Key, and others from TextAnnotation.AnnotationIcon.
X / Y: The position of the annotation anchor point on the page, in points.
Width / Height: The dimensions of the annotation popup box.
Opacity: A value from 0.0 to 1.0 controlling the transparency of the annotation.
Printable: When False, the annotation is not included in printed output.
Hidden: When False, the annotation is visible in the PDF viewer.
OpenByDefault: When True, the annotation popup is open when the PDF is first viewed.
ReadOnly: When False, users can edit the annotation in a PDF viewer.
Rotatable: When True, the annotation can be rotated by the user.
pdf.Annotations.Add(annotation): Adds the configured annotation to the document.