This article will go over how to annotate supporting documents or attachments in the Board Portal. When you annotate a document or attachment, you essentially write notes on the document or attachment itself.
Important Notes
Board Portal annotations are generally considered private and cannot be accessed by Agenda and Meeting Management Select administrators, staff, or other board users from your organization. However, depending on the laws that apply to your jurisdiction, Board Portal annotations may be subject to discovery through public records requests. Clerks that need access to Board Portal annotations to fulfill legal records requests should contact Support.
Board Portal users can also add notes to items and agenda sections in the Board Portal, as an alternative to adding annotations.
Instructions
Sign in to the Board Portal if you have not already
Ensure that the Agendas tab is selected:
Select the agenda you wish to add annotations to:
On the agenda details page, click the Agenda or Packet icons to view and annotate the entire agenda or agenda packet (if applicable):
Or click the three-dot menu icon to the left of the name of a section or item to add annotations to that specific section or item (if applicable)
Click the Attachments button in the menu that appears:
Select an attachment:
Click the Annotate button in the PDF viewer toolbar at the top of the screen:
Note:
For information about the View and Search functions and other options in the PDF viewer, see Step 9 of the Navigate an Agenda in the Board Portal article.
An annotation toolbar will appear; select the appropriate tool for your annotation(s):
Note:
Any tool button can be double-clicked to lock it as the active tool. The active tool will remain selected until the tool button is clicked again or another tool is selected.
Annotation Layers (bulleted list icon): View a list of your saved annotations for this document:
My Annotations: View, edit, load, and save existing annotations
Annotations for Review: View, load, show, hide, and merge existing annotations that await review
Arrow annotation (arrow icon): Select to draw an arrow in the document:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the arrow annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (diagonal arrow icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a fill color for the arrow from the listed options
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Width (three horizontal lines icon): Select the desired thickness of the annotation
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Line Annotation (diagonal line icon): Select to draw a line:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the line annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (diagonal line icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a fill color for the line from the listed options
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Width (three horizontal lines icon): Select the desired thickness of the annotation
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options tools
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Rectangle Annotation (square icon): Select to draw a box:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the rectangle annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (square icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Width: Changes the thickness of the border’s line
Border Color tab: Opens a floating toolbar tab that allows you to select the border color and border width for the rectangle annotation
Layer Order tab: Opens a floating toolbar tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Ellipse Annotation (circle icon): Select to draw a circle:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the ellipse annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (circle icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Select Label: Select Approved, Reviewed, or Rejected from the dropdown list
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Freehand Annotation (squiggly line icon): Select to free-form draw:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the freehand annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (square icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Width: Changes the thickness of the border’s line
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Polyline Annotation (jagged line icon): Select to draw a diagonal connected line:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the polyline annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (square icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Width: Changes the thickness of the border’s line
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Text Annotation (capital letter "T" icon): Select to create a text box:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the text annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (square icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Opacity (checkerboard square icon): Select a percentage from the dropdown list to indicate the desired level of transparency for the annotation
Border Color Tab (square outline icon): Changes the text box’s border color
Font Options (capital "T" icon): Changes the text’s font
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Select Label: Select Approved, Reviewed, or Rejected from the dropdown list
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Highlight Annotation (marker icon): Select to highlight text:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the highlight annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (square icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the highlight function
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Strikethrough Annotation (capital letter "S" with strikethrough icon): Select to strike-through text:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the strikethrough annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (stamp icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Select Label: Select Approved, Reviewed, or Rejected from the dropdown list
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Text Hyperlink Annotation (chain icon): Select to make the text a hyperlink to another site:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the text hyperlink annotation, if desired:
Link tab (chain icon)
Link: Enter or edit the URL for the hyperlink
Visit Link (right-arrow and square icon): Click to open the link in a new tab
Fill Color tab (square icon): Opens a floating toolbar tab that allows you to select the highlight color of the hyperlinked text
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Stamp Annotation (stamp icon): Select to put a modifiable stamp on the document:
Use the tools in the floating Annotation Options toolbar to customize the stamp annotation, if desired:
Fill Color tab (stamp icon)
Fill Color (color picker field): Select a color for the border and text of the stamp
Select Label: Select Approved, Reviewed, or Rejected from the dropdown list
Layer Order tab: Opens a tools tab that allows you to move this annotation to the front, forward, backward, or back in relation to other annotations for this document
Delete Selected (trash can icon): Remove the annotation from the document
Annotation Options (bulleted list icon): Hide or expand the Annotation Options toolbar
Add Comment (message bubble icon): Add a text comment to the annotation
Move Menu (up and down arrows icon): Moves the floating toolbar from the top to the bottom of the document viewer screen and vice versa
Include in Burned Document: Check this checkbox to add an uneditable version of the annotation directly into the document
Image Stamp Annotation (picture icon): Select to insert a picture (not depicted); may not be available on all documents:
To edit an existing annotation, click on the annotation and make any desired changes
To load saved annotations or annotations that await your review, click the Load Annotations button (folder icon):
To view and edit annotation comments, click the Comments Panel button (message bubble icon):
Hover over Annotation Options (bulleted list icon) to the right of the comment for additional options:
Delete (trash can icon): Remove the comment from the annotation
Edit (pen icon): Modify the comment text
Note:
If you click the Annotation Options button, the Annotation tool menu will open.
Click the gray Save and Exit (floppy disc icon) or Exit (x icon) buttons in the top-right corner of the screen below the page section to leave the PDF viewer and return to the agenda details page:
Note:
Annotations are saved to your account and will not be seen by others.