Can’t Highlight Your Camera’s PDF Manual on Apple Devices?  Here’s the Fix

One of the first things I do when I get a new camera is download the manual and start reading through it looking for interesting features, customization options, and hidden capabilities that I might otherwise miss.

Recently, I downloaded the Panasonic Lumix L10 manual and opened it on my Mac. My plan was simple: highlight sections I wanted to revisit later and make notes as I worked through the document.

There was just one problem.

No matter what I tried, Apple Books and my PDF software wouldn’t let me highlight anything.

If you’ve run into the same issue with a camera manual or another PDF document, the problem may not be your software. In many cases, the PDF itself has restrictions that prevent annotations.

Is the PDF Locked?

Some PDF files include security permissions set by the document creator.

These permissions may allow you to:

• View the document
• Search the document
• Print the document

while preventing you from:

• Highlighting text
• Adding comments
• Creating annotations

Many camera manufacturers make PDF manuals available for download with these restrictions enabled, which can prevent highlighting and annotations in Apple applications.

How to Check PDF Permissions on a Mac

Before spending money on new software, it’s worth checking whether the PDF itself has restrictions.

Using Preview

1. Open the PDF in Preview.
2. Press Command-I, select Tools → Show Inspector, or Click the “i” on the Toolbar.
3. Click on the Security Section (Lock Icon) on the Info Tab.
4. Check which permissions are available and which are restricted. A green check mark indicates the permission is allowed.

Depending on the PDF, you may see permissions related to:

• Printing
• Copying
• Annotations and Comments

If commenting or annotations are not allowed, that may explain why highlighting isn’t working.

Why Apple Books and Some PDF Applications Refuse to Highlight

Apple applications respect the permissions built into a PDF file.

If the document creator has disabled annotations, Apple Books and some PDF viewers will prevent highlighting even though the text itself can still be selected and searched.

This can make it seem like the application is malfunctioning when it’s actually following the PDF’s security settings.

The Simple Solution That Worked for Me

Fortunately, I found a simple workaround.

Create a New PDF

1. Open the original PDF.
2. Choose File → Print.
3. In the print dialog, select Save as PDF.
4. Save the document with a new filename.

When I opened the newly created PDF, I was able to highlight text normally.

The entire process took less than a minute.

An added benefit is that you still retain the original, unmodified PDF. The newly created PDF becomes your working copy where you can highlight, annotate, and add notes, while the original remains clean if you ever want to reference the manual without any markings.

This approach worked with camera manuals from OM System, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, Canon and Sony.  Basically, if the manual allows printing, this method should work.

Final Thoughts

Camera manuals are often the best source of information about features that reviewers never mention. Unfortunately, some camera manufacturers provide PDF manuals with restrictions that make highlighting and annotating difficult.

If you can’t highlight a camera manual on your Mac, don’t assume the file is broken or that you need new software immediately.

First, check the PDF permissions. If printing is allowed, creating a new PDF using the Print → Save as PDF method may be all you need to get highlighting working again.

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