Working with PDFs and Documents

Written By Arun Antony

Last updated About 2 months ago

The PDF viewer is an embedded, AI-augmented document reader. Standard reading controls, plus annotation tools and deep AI integration.

The PDF Top Bar

(( ANCHOR: PDF top bar ))

📸 SCREENSHOT: Annotated PDF top bar — source switcher pill on the left, search icon, zoom controls, fit-width button on the right.

Tool

What it does

Source switcher(filename pill)

Click the filename to see all PDFs/sources in this Thread. Switch between them, view source URL, or remove from Thread.

Search(magnifying glass)

Find text inside the document. Toggles for Case sensitive and Whole word. Arrows to jump between matches.

Zoom (− / +)

Zoom out and in. The percentage dropdown gives preset modes: Automatic, Fit Page, Fit Width, plus 75% / 100% / 125% / 150% / 175% / 200%.

Fit-width shortcut

One click to snap the PDF to full panel width.

Page Navigation

(( ANCHOR: PDF page navigation ))

A page counter (e.g., 38/86) sits at the bottom-center of the PDF, overlaid on the document. It shows the current and total pages with arrows for previous/next.

It fades when you're not interacting, keeping the reading surface clean.

The PDF Annotation Toolbar

(( ANCHOR: PDF annotation toolbar ))

A toolbar at the bottom of the PDF panel gives you eight tools. From left to right:

📸 SCREENSHOT: Bottom PDF toolbar with all eight tools labeled (1. Chapters, 2. Cursor, 3. Area Snap, 4. Text Annotation, 5. Draw, 6. Undo, 7. Redo, 8. Source Options).

1. Chapters

Opens the document's table of contents in a floating panel. Every chapter is a clickable link — jump straight to any section.

2. Cursor mode

Two modes via dropdown:

  • Move (default) — arrow cursor for scrolling and text selection

  • Hand — drag to pan across the document, like Acrobat

3. Area Snap (region capture)

One of Gistr's most powerful tools. Drag a rectangle over any region of the PDF — text, charts, images, tables, anything — to capture it.

When you release, a floating toolbar appears:

ActionWhat it does

Color tag

Tag the region with one of 5 preset colors (Yellow, Red, Green, Purple, Blue) or pick a custom color

Paste to note

Paste as image, or convert to text using OCR

Ask AI

Send the region to AI chat as context — the AI reads it and answers your question → (( Snip & AI ))

Delete

Discard the snap

🎬 GIF: User drags a rectangle over a chart in a PDF → floating toolbar appears → user clicks "Ask AI" → AI answers a question about the chart in the notes panel.

4. Text Annotation

Highlight, underline, strikethrough, or squiggly underline on any selected text. Five colors available — Yellow, Red, Green, Purple, Blue, plus a custom picker.

5. Draw / TextBox

Two sub-modes:

  • Draw — freehand pen on the PDF page

  • TextBox — click anywhere to place a typed annotation box

Color palette is richer here: 9 colors plus custom. Three stroke styles: solid, wavy, dashed.

6 & 7. Undo / Redo

Standard undo and redo for any annotation or drawing.

8. Source Options (⋯)

A menu with four items:

OptionWhat it does

Delete source

Permanently removes this PDF from the Thread

Auto highlight (toggle)

When on, AI passively highlights important content as you read

Highlights → Notes(toggle)

When on, every highlight you make is automatically mirrored to your notes

Export annotations

Save your annotations from this PDF as a file

Highlighting Text in a PDF

(( ANCHOR: Highlighting text in PDFs ))

Select any text in the PDF. A small floating toolbar appears with four actions:

ActionWhat it does

Annotation type

Highlight, Underline, Strikethrough, or Squiggly

Paste to note

Paste as plain text, or as a Reference with the page number cited (most useful — links the excerpt back to its exact location)

Ask AI

Send the selected text to the AI chat as context

Copy

Copy raw text to your system clipboard

🎬 GIF: User selects a paragraph in a PDF → small toolbar appears → user clicks "Paste to note → Reference" → text appears in notes panel with a clickable page citation.

Auto Highlight on PDFs

(( ANCHOR: Auto highlight on PDFs ))

When the Auto highlight toggle is on (in the PDF source options menu), Gistr's AI passively marks important content as you read. No manual work — just turn it on and read.

If you also enable Highlights → Notes, those AI-marked highlights flow straight into your notes panel as you go.

💡 TIP: Turn both toggles on for the most hands-off PDF reading experience. Read, scroll, and your notes build themselves.