If you’ve ever dealt with a PDF document on a mobile device, or desktop for that matter, you no doubt have found editing, marking up or annotating frustrating and sometimes impossible. Enter PDF Max, the ultimate universal application that not only acts as a PDF reader, but also features the ability to annotate. This becomes extremely useful when needing to markup a PDF on the fly.
With the amount of annotation features that PDF Max boasts, I thought the UI would be challenging, but after launching the app and testing it out I was surprised at how easy the app is to navigate. Also, with freemium apps, I usually find that most of the useful features are only available as in-app purchases. However, with PDF Max, I found that I could do much of what I wanted for free.
PDF Max Demo on YouTube
As for the UI, PDF Max was designed as if the developer was going to use it, which is always nice. When a PDF is selected, it is automatically displayed in a fit-to-screen mode to easily view the entire document. A quick tap to zoom and you’re ready to throw down some annotation. From the hidden menu on the right, which is selected by tapping the little tab on the right, you can select text highlight, underline, strikethrough and squiggle underline. This is very useful when pointing out certain text snippets to whoever you’re want to show the PDF to.
In addition, the app also allows you to draw lines, squares and circles at the tap of the screen. If you want to get fancy and draw your own object, feel free to use the free line drawing tool. You can also use the comment tool to leave written notes, which proves very necessary for most to ensure that your edits are made or notes are taken into account. The upgrades available include a drawing tool and sound recording, which are definitely worth the in-app purchase. Also, PDF Max is the only app that supports Rich Text Format Typewriters from Adobe Acrobat at the moment.
Beyond annotation, the app offers a few very handy capabilities to make your life easier, including the ability to manage pages by reordering, inserting blank pages and even deleting PDF pages. You can also download the PDFs and zip files from storage services such as iTunes, Dropbox and any website using its built-in Web browser. Better yet, not only does PDF Max work with both iPhone and iPad but all of the changes made on one device are automatically synced to your other devices.
PDF Max is now my go-to PDF reader and annotator and I highly recommend downloading if you’re in the market for something similar.