Why do notes from another PDF app look different in Scriptation?

Annotations created in another PDF app — like iAnnotate, Preview, GoodNotes, Notability, Adobe Acrobat, or Wondershare PDF Element — don't always survive perfectly when imported or transferred into Scriptation. Since Scriptation has to interpret how the other app encoded the annotation data, differences can appear — for example, typed notes showing up with an unexpected color-fill background, or transferred notes landing with no set font size (zero height) until manually resized.

If you're seeing rendering issues like this after importing a file annotated in another app, use the Send us an email button at the bottom of this page and send both the original annotated file and the file you're transferring into, so the annotation data can be inspected directly — screenshots alone aren't enough to diagnose the cause.

⚠️ HEADS UP: As a general rule, only use Scriptation to view and edit Scriptation files. Opening or editing a file in another PDF app — even for something as simple as removing a page — can alter or strip the PDF's metadata and cause annotations to behave unexpectedly.

What's Next

I can't find missing notes. What can I do?
I'm missing all my Layers — Lost Layer recovery
How do I find my IDs for support?

Updated on: 19/09/2026

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