pdf User Reviews

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Crashes everytime I try to bookmark

Very disappointed. I have paid for this app and have been using it for years, but during the last week it’s been crashing every time I try to add a bookmark which makes it unusable to me. I have backed up my files and deleted the app and reinstalled. I have even updated my iOS but it crashes with the older 18.7.2 iOS version and the new iOS 26.2 version so I don’t know what’s going on, but the app is now useless and worthless.
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Response from developer

===[ 2026. 2. 4. developer reply ]=== Hi Botegote14, thank you for being a loyal user for years. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the recent bookmark crash. Our team has worked hard to resolve this, and the fix is now available in version 26.2.2. Please update your app to this latest version. Since you've already tried various troubleshooting steps, we believe this update will finally resolve the issue for you. If the problem persists, please reach out to us so we can investigate further. We appreciate your patience. ===[ 2026. 1. 30. Botegote14 review ]=== Very disappointed. I have paid for this app and have been using it for years, but during the last week it’s been crashing every time I try to add a bookmark which makes it unusable to me. I have backed up my files and deleted the app and reinstalled. I have even updated my iOS but it crashes with the older 18.7.2 iOS version and the new iOS 26.2 version so I don’t know what’s going on, but the app is now useless and worthless.

apple pencil pro

this app is so great!!!! and plz update about apple pencil pro....!

Response from developer

===[ 2024.11.23. developer reply ]=== Thank you for your great feedback. This app already supports Apple Pencil Pro. Could you please let me know what specific features or improvements you are looking for? (mail to musebook@musebook.com) ===[ 2024.11.19. musikerrrrr review ]=== apple pencil pro this app is so great!!!! and plz update about apple pencil pro....!

Doesn’t support split view

This apps doesn’t support split view

Response from developer

===[ 2024. 10. 24. developer reply ]=== Both the PDF Notes S and PDF Notes C apps support split view. You can download it via Settings > Cross License > PDF Notes S. Thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful day! ===[ 2024. 5. 20. and1n0rr review ]=== This apps doesn’t support split view

Excellent app for heavy PDFs.

This is the only app that use to read most of my TTRPG books. This application handles heavy graphics PDFs like no other, and due to caching the pages you won’t have any ‘loading’ or blank pages when quickly accessing your PDFs.

I find it amazing that anybody could use any other app for PDF reading after using this one. This application will definitely spoil you.

I really wanna thank the developers for creating this app an let them know that your app is the ONLY one that I suggest to anybody that ever asks me for a pdf reader on the iPad.

Thank you again.
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Response from developer

Thank you for your best review and rating.

The most worsts app

I use this app for a long time . I remove the app and install it with pay 9.99$ still have a stupid ads on it !!!

Response from developer

===[ Review on 2. 10 2023 ]=== The most worsts app I use this app for a long time. I remove the app and install it with pay 9.99$ still have a stupid ads on it !!! ===[ Answer on 2. 11. 2023 ]=== A few days ago it was reported that there was an error related to receipt processing in Apple's system. Since what you have experienced is related to the error above, please contact Apple Customer Care immediately for a refund. Please understand that we are not responsible for any of the above errors. Remove the ads by going to Settings > License > Refresh Receipts (Restore License). If you still see ads, it may be due to an old cache in iOS or Apple Server, wait about an hour, reboot your iPad and try again.

Night mode missing

I have been using your app for a few years now with great satisfaction. What I am missing is the night mode. Can you introduce it as soon as possible? If it is already available, Kindly let me know how to access it.
Thanks,
Swami

Response from developer

Thank you for your kind review. I have been thinking about it but it's not simple because this app had been designed 10 years ago. I am sorry but I can not answer you about it at this time.

Great App

I use this app for three years and always satisfied with it. It has enough functionality which works smoothly.

After last update adding notes function close the app. I have tried it with different pdf and opening old notes do the same. Please fix the bug :)

Response from developer

It's a bug of iPadOS 13.1.x so please update your iOS to the 13.2.x version. This bug can be fixed only if you updated your iOS to the 13.2.x version.

Bug still not addressed : UPDATED

UPDATED REVIEW: I ended up trying to install the free version to see if that worked. I ran into the same issue as with the paid version so I uninstalled the free version. The very next time I launched the paid version, it worked. Perhaps an update for the paid version was stalled or something and the installation of the free version somehow cleared that. At any rate, the app now works again and upgrading to five stars because it’s not clear whether or not the issue has to do with the app itself and I’m otherwise very happy with it. Also, tech support did reach out to me fairly quickly with an alternative solution, which I ended up not being able to try.

I have had the paid version for several years now and have been pretty consistently happy with the app and it’s improvements. However, since the two updates ago, I’ve been unable to launch the app at all. The launch graphic shows up on the iPad screen and then it simply shrinks to the background. It continues to run in the background, but it will not expand to full screen and is completely unusable as it is. There have been two updates since the problem arose, both for “bug fixes”, but the problem remains. What gives?
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Response from developer

Please run your iPad Settings app - pdf-notes for iPad - Reset Settings. Refer to the page 50 of the user guide. "Reset pdf-notes settings"

Cannot read a word with apostrophe while using search.

It’s been 3 years I encounter this bug. Had a hard time looking for files titled with words containing apostrophe.

Response from developer

Please press and hold the apostrophe and select the exact one in the book title. You may see 4 different apostrophe characters. iOS 11 changed the default apostrophe in the keyboard (called Smart Punctuation) and many customers have not known about it yet. So... it's not a bug~ ^^ You can also turn off Smart Punctuation using the Settings app - General - Keyboards. I hope this may help you.

Best app, wish it supported split screen

This has been my favorite app for many years, I have all my books and worksheets on it, I love the shelf formats for arranging my books, and I love the pen feature to add on my Notes. Now using the new iPad I feel disappointed that the split screen feature is not supported, that and the pen is the main reason I got the new iPad, I really hope you add the split function in the next update
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Response from developer

10 years ago, pdf-notes had been developed for iOS 3.0 so that there have been some difficulties to adapt new technologies for newer iOS versions. We had to face some difficult works like converting from 32 bit engine to 64 bit, and failed to adapt some new technologies including split views, etc. Therefore, we have developed PDF Notes S to adapt new technologies of recent iOS versions to the existing pdf-notes technologies; now it supports 2 pages viewer, split views, fast page turning and quick zoom, etc. Please check Settings - Cross License.- PDF Notes S menu.

Excellent app

Thus app has one of the smoothest interfaces for handling PDFs that I've ever experienced. The UI is pretty intuitive, als for quick highlights without disturbing your reading, and syncs with cloud files. The annotation functions can be used without needing to have the menu bar shown, and has swipe gestures for a while host of functions. Definitely recommend it.
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Best app to read pdf books!

I've tried many pdf apps to read pdf files of old books I download from Google Books (usually printed before 1900) and this app is the best! Many of those old books used very small print and I enlarge the pages to make them easier to read. PDF Notes allows me to instantly move around the enlarged pages without the highly annoying lag and temporary blurriness of other apps. I can also easily download books from Dropbox and Google Drive.

My only request would be to allow selection of which page to show on the shelves. Google Books all have the same first page so all my books look the same. I'd love to pick which image to use. I understand I can change the color of the icon, but I'd much rather have the actual book cover, which means selecting a different page than the first one.
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Response from developer

Thank you very much for your nice review. You can change any book icon color with its title so that please use it if possible. (for more information, please refer to the page 39 of the user guide)

Freezing issue

When I switch from pencil to eraser and vice Versace, the app freezes and I have to close out.

Response from developer

Please send me a bug report using Settings menu.

Freezes up a lot since recent update

I’m frustrated by the app freezing and not executing edit commands. Using ios 11 on an ipad Air. It happens once an hour or two as I’m marking papers. Each time I need to reboot the ipad (not just the app), and it’s really testing my patience. Anyone else having this problem?

Response from developer

--- added on 2017.10.12 --- Could you please please send me the backup file of the freezing document if possible? Please... I am still waiting to check what the problem is... --- old reply on 2017.10.10 --- If you want to solve any problem, please send me a bug report instead of this review. I have never seen those kind of issue until your review. Please send me the backup file of the document frozen while you are making annotations. musebook@musebook.com

Amazing app

The PDF notes is amazing. The new update allows PDF notes to be on the "open in" menu. Very nice. The best thing about this app is the speed of PDF regeneration, access and editing. My only request is: in a future update please add a text tool without the "post it note" feature...I.e. real text on the PDF.

And add cloud back-up.

Thanks...great work...this is by far the best PDF app out there.
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Response from developer

Thank you for your kind encouragement. Please read the page 19 of the user guide; you can see a popup menu on the top of the page. The left most icon is a sticky note, and the next icon is a TEXT note without the "post it note" feature. You can customize text color, boundary color, and many things... I hope this may help you. ^^

오랫동안 잘 쓰고 있습니다

그런데 split view가 지원되지 않아서 다른 앱들과 함께 활용하기가 어렵네요ㅠㅠ 이 부분이 다음 업데이트에서 개선되었으면 좋겠습니다^^

Great for school

I've used this during undergrad(for 4 years), and still my top choice now. Currently using it in medical school, and love it still. Thank you... (doctor recommended lol)

Response from developer

Thank you for your great review and I am really happy you love pdf-notes~ ^^

Best app

I've been using this app for many years. It has everything I need for pdf reading and annotation. Display speed is really good.
I give lectures at school using this app. Worth 5 star!!!

Response from developer

Thank you very much for your kind encouragement~ ^^

It just works

UPDATE: Still the best; and the only PDF annotation app that can highlight docs that don't have OCR-able text.

As a PhD student, I spend a great deal of my time reading and editing PDFs. This app has, in the months I've been using it, become the core of my workflow. It allows me to highlight and annotate with my own hand, regardless of whether the file is a scanned image of an old book (without OCR text) or a modern PDF with searchable text. Dropbox integration has been flawless.

The app lets me save the original (unedited) file and versions with my notes and highlights on them.

Put simply: it just works.
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Best PDF reader app

I use this app extensively. Have tried others, but always go back to PDF-notes. Has most features needed. Have recommended it to many, they now use it as their primary PDF reader. Great app, highly recommend