How to add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup on iPad

On iPad, in supported apps, such as Notes and Photos, you can use the Markup tools to add text, shapes, stickers, and image descriptions to your images and documents.

You can move or resize a shape, and adjust its border color, border width, fill color, and opacity. You can even draw geometrically perfect shapes, like lines and arcs, and VoiceOver reads the custom image descriptions you add.

Here’s how to add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup on iPad.

Note: Tap the Markup button or Markup whenever the Markup toolbar isn’t showing in a supported app. If the toolbar is minimized, tap its minimized version to bring it back.

Add text

1. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add Annotation button, then tap Add Text.
2. Tap the text box. Then use the keyboard to enter text.
3. To adjust the text’s font, size, justification, style, or color, tap the text editing options at the bottom of the Markup toolbar.
4. When you’re done, tap outside the text box.
5. To close the Markup toolbar, tap the Show Handwriting Tools button or Done.

To cut, copy, duplicate, share, or delete a text box, tap it, tap the More button beside it, then tap an option.

Add a shape

1. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add button. Tap Add Shape.
2. Tap the shape you want to add. Then do any of the following:
   • Move the shape: Drag it.
   • Resize the shape: Drag any dot along the shape’s outline.
   • Adjust the shape’s border color, border width, fill color, and opacity: Tap an option in the Markup toolbar.
   • Adjust the shape’s direction or dimension: Drag any green dot along the shape’s outline.
   • Cut, copy, duplicate, share, or delete: Tap the More button next to the shape. Then tap an option.
3. When you’re done adjusting the shape, tap the screen.
4. To close the Markup toolbar, tap the Show Handwriting Tools button or Done.

Quick tip: Zoom in on the document by pinching the screen open, which lets you adjust shapes up close. While zoomed in, drag two fingers to pan, then pinch closed to zoom back out.

Draw a shape

Markup can draw geometrically perfect shapes, like lines, arcs, and more, for your diagrams and sketches.

1. In the Markup toolbar, tap a drawing tool.
2. Draw a shape in one stroke with your finger or Apple Pencil (on supported models). Then pause.

   A perfect version of the shape snaps into place, replacing the drawing. (If you prefer to keep the freehand shape, tap the Undo button.)

Among the shapes you can draw are hearts, stars, clouds, and chat bubbles, along with squares, circles, rectangles, triangles, pentagons, straight lines, arrows, arcs, and continuous lines with 90-degree turns.

Add a sticker with Markup

Markup can also add stickers from your sticker collection to documents and images.

1. In a supported app, tap the Markup button or Markup.
2. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add button and tap Add Sticker.
3. Touch a sticker and then drag it onto your document or photo.
4. Tap to select the sticker and then do any of the following:
   • Adjust its angle: Use two fingers to rotate it.
   • Adjust its size: Drag a blue dot on the bounding box of the sticker.

You can download sticker packs from the App Store, create Live stickers in the Messages app or by lifting subjects from your photos, or make stickers in any supported app.

Add custom image descriptions

Markup can add descriptions to images in supported apps like Photos, and VoiceOver reads those custom descriptions when you use the Image Explorer.

1. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add button, then tap Image Description.
2. Enter your description, then tap the Done button.

See also

• Draw and handwrite with Markup on iPad
• Fill out forms, sign documents, and create signatures on iPad
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver on iPad