Grade using PDF marking and annotation
PDF Markup allows you to annotate and provide feedback directly on a student's submitted PDF file, provided you have enabled annotation in assignment feedback types.
Please Note: For assignments submitted in PDF format, this feature will function as expected. Assignments submitted in the below formats will be automatically converted to PDF format for annotation and mark up:
doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, html, odt, ods, png, jpg, txt, gif
This conversion process may have some impact on formatting and layout of the submission. If this is an issue, you will still be able to download the original submission as usual.
Enable PDF annotation
- Click Turn editing on in the top right corner of the unit banner.
- For the Assignment that you want to annotate PDF submissions, click on Edit then Edit settings.
- In assignment settings, in Feedback types, make sure Annotate PDF is checked.
- Click Save and display.
Annotating PDF assignments
- On the unit home page, click on the Assignment that you want to review submissions for.
- On the Grading summary page, you can either:
- Click Grade to go directly to the Assignment Grader OR
- Click View all submissions to view all assignments, select an assignment and then click Grade. This will open the chosen assignment in the Assignment Grader.
- The toolbar at the top of the Assignment Grader contains various tools for PDF annotation.
- From left to right:
- Page navigation arrows to navigate through the pages of the assignment.
- Search the comments for keywords
- Expand to view full screen
- Rotate to change the orientation of the PDF file
- Text box tools: Create a comment box and change the colour of your text box.
Select the text box tool and click-and-drag to create a comment box where you can leave written feedback. Your text box will be minimised and display as a text bubble when not active. Hover over the text bubble to expand and edit your comment again.
Note: You can also dictate comments using your MAC/PC device. For more information, see Use dictation in Moodle.
- Move tools:
- Use the hand icon to move around the page.
- Use the arrow icon to move text boxes, stamps and drawing tools by clicking and dragging.
- Drawing tools: Doodle, create shapes and highlight sections. Change the colours with the drop icon.
- Stamp tool: Select from various stamps, then click in the PDF where you want to add the stamp. You can switch between stamps at anytime. You can delete a stamp by selecting it and clicking the trash icon.
- To complete PDF markup, click Save Changes to return to the grading screen or Save and show next to navigate directly to the next assignment to be graded.
Edit or delete PDF markup comments
You can edit or delete comments you have written. You can continue to edit your PDF markup after you have saved changes to student grades, but this is NOT recommended once students have received their grades and feedback.
- Select the text/comment icon from the toolbar, and then click on the comment you would like to edit.
- Select the text within the text box to edit it.
- To delete a comment, click on the icon in the top right corner of the comment box and select Delete comment.
Move or delete PDF markup annotations
You can move or delete PDF annotations, including stamps, highlights and shapes, by using the arrow icon.
- Select the arrow icon from the toolbar, and then click on the annotation you would like to move or delete.
- To move the annotation, click and drag it to a new location.
- To delete the annotation, once selected, click the delete (bin) icon.