Highlighters
Highlighters are the named colors readers use to mark text in our reader. Each highlight and note is assigned one highlighter. Readers can use the five built-in colors or create up to five custom highlighters with a name and a color of their choice.
Use this reference when a CS or support team member needs to explain the color system, how to set up custom highlighters, or how Quick Highlight mode works.
Highlighters are available for PDF and EPUB products only. Audiobook products do not support annotations.
Available Colors
Our reader provides two sets of colors.
Built-in Colors
These five colors are always available and cannot be removed.
| Color | Display name |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Yellow |
| Blue | Blue |
| Rose | Rose |
| Orange | Orange |
| Green | Green |
Extended Palette (for custom highlighters)
When a reader creates a custom highlighter, they choose a base color from this set.
| Color | Display name |
|---|---|
| Purple | Purple |
| Teal | Teal |
| Coral | Coral |
| Lime | Lime |
| Indigo | Indigo |
All colors adapt automatically to the reader's active theme (light, dark, sepia, cyan, high-contrast-light, high-contrast-dark).
Custom Highlighters
Readers manage custom highlighters from the Notebook, in the Highlights tab. The color row in the Notebook footer lets readers add, rename, and remove custom highlighters without leaving the reading context.
What a custom highlighter stores
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Free-form label chosen by the reader |
| Color | One color from the extended palette |
| Visibility flag | Public or private (visual indicator only; does not affect sync or export) |
Managing custom highlighters
| Action | How | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Create | Notebook → Highlights tab → + button in the color footer | Fewer than 5 custom highlighters exist |
| Rename | Hover a custom color in the Notebook footer → edit icon | Always available |
| Delete | Hover a custom color in the Notebook footer → remove icon | The highlighter is not used by any existing highlight |
The maximum number of custom highlighters is 5, for a total of 10 highlighters (5 built-in + 5 custom).
Custom highlighters are stored locally (client-side only). They do not sync between devices and are lost if the reader clears browser or app data.
Quick Highlight Mode
Quick Highlight mode reduces the steps needed to create a highlight.
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Off (default) | Selecting text opens the highlighter color selector each time |
| On | Selecting text immediately applies the active highlighter color without showing the selector |
Readers toggle Quick Highlight mode from Settings. The active highlighter color is the one most recently used or explicitly selected in the settings panel.
Filtering by Highlighter in the Notebook
The Highlights tab in the Notebook groups annotations by highlighter color. Readers can expand or collapse each group.
The color checkboxes in the Notebook footer control which highlighters are included in an export. Unchecking a color excludes those highlights from the exported file. See Notebook Overview for export details.
Related Documentation
- Notebook Overview - the Notebook panel, tabs, and export
- Highlights - how highlights are created and edited
- Notes - highlights with annotation text