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I am looking to take a .pdf file (for example an Arxiv paper), and add math comments using Latex / Markdown synatx onto the pdf with the option to toggle the comments on and off.

More precisely, consider for example this pdf file http://wwwf.imperial.ac.uk/~pavl/stoch_proc_notes-ch1-3.pdf . Suppose on page 15 of the document I want to add a note to Example 2.21. More specifically i want to add the following math comment (using latex) $f_X(x) \in \mathbb{E}$ beside the equation in colored text.

If this comment was not mathematical (i.e. just text) , I would be able to easily add it using a pdf reader such as Preview or Adobe acrobatic reader. However, I see no option as to how one can easily add math comments to pdfs.

Furthermore, both preview and acrobat have features where one can toggle the view of all the comments added to the pdf on and off, (which would be very useful when reading).

lmms
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    Hi! Can you add code and a visual idea of what you're looking for? This would help answering! – MattAllegro Apr 19 '20 at 17:51
  • Ok so you do **not** have the (latex or not) source file of the pdf, you just have the pdf, right? – MattAllegro Apr 21 '20 at 08:20
  • @MattAllegro no it is just the pdf with no source. Ideally it would be great if one could write math comments on any pdf (even if it was originally generated in another word processing format other than Latex). – lmms Apr 21 '20 at 08:24
  • Doh this make it difficult...I would advise [todonotes](http://ctan.mirror.garr.it/mirrors/CTAN/macros/latex/contrib/todonotes/todonotes.pdf) package instead but if you can't edit the source I don't know :( Click the link and write anyway if such style of comments would be right to you (pages 6 and more) – MattAllegro Apr 21 '20 at 08:28
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    The todonotes package is not exactly what I am looking for but still very useful. Thank you very much for all your help @MattAllegro! – lmms Apr 26 '20 at 14:41

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For complex math formulas you cannot generally use simple text based annotation/comments. In your requested example the top two comments were added by readers as plain text and the conversion is problematic since annotation often has poor support for math unless a few more common/basic symbols like Greek letters.

Plain LaTeX notes would need the PDF to be overstamped

However Editor level viewers can easily add stamped Mathematical PDF rendering such as this using Tracker PDF XChange, given the correct input (the stamp was produced compliments of https://latex.codecogs.com/). and you should be able to scale /colour this snippet as SVG or produce PNG / PDF for insertion or cut and paste to typewriter or if more complex then stamp as an image.

<body><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/svg.image?\inline&space;f_X(x)&space;\in&space;\mathbb{E}" title="\inline f_X(x) \in \mathbb{E}" />​</body>

enter image description here

K J
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  • Thank you that answers my question! i) What pdf editor software are you using in that screenshot? ii) When you say the stamp was produced from https://latex.codecogs.com/, do you mean you generated a png image and dragged it onto the editor? cheers! – lmms Jul 22 '22 at 10:06