# Ability to Tag Text within PDF & Utilization

**URL:** <https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595>\
**Category:** Features\
**Created:** [8 February 2022 16:57 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595 "2022-02-08T16:57:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ryancar73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dc4da7/32.png) [@ryancar73](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/ryancar73)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 16:57 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/1 "2022-02-08T16:57:21Z")

</div>

I have been looking for the answer to this for a year. I would pay a thousand dollars, happily, for the perfect system that allowed me:

1. to use an open source encrypted program
2. data saved on my server/ personal cloud or even just able to sync with USB
3. Web clipper
4. HIGHLIGHT AND TAG text within a PDF that is embedded within the app/program (this is the piece I am not able to get)
5. able to then use tags and/or highlights to mind map
6. search function which searches all notes made and the complete text of pdf.

Basically a blend of MarginNote3/Remnote and Joplin. I JUST want to tag text in PDFs to build a personal data library and it seems the world does not want this to happen. lol I'm hoping and praying for you someday!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![graphit0](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/graphit0/32/3435_2.png) [@graphit0](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/graphit0)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 17:56 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/2 "2022-02-08T17:56:07Z")

</div>

hey, welcome to the forum

What's your opinion on using OCR for the PDFs and highlight the text of significance by creating a new linked note?

This way you could build a robust linked searchable knowledge base.

> **Plugins to achieve that**
>
> [Plugin: offline OCR (extract text from images, pdf, videos, etc)](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/plugin-offline-ocr-extract-text-from-images-pdf-videos-etc/21293)
> 
> [Create note from highlighted text](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/create-note-from-highlighted-text/12511)
> 
> [New: Joplin Plugin Graph (knowledge graph visualization)](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/new-joplin-plugin-graph-knowledge-graph-visualization/22517)

Other than that, there may be developed a plugin that would retrive "named destinations" links from a PDF. Those destination links could be used to navigate inside a PDF (url-to-file/file.pdf#nameddest=dest3) and additionally linked within the note structure of Joplin.

[More on named destinations](https://reality-tech.com/url-to-a-location-inside-a-pdf/)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wimvan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/wimvan/32/12536_2.png) [@Wimvan](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Wimvan)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 20:04 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/3 "2022-02-08T20:04:46Z")

</div>

[Offtopic] you have to tell me, how you built your linklist like that in your posting 🤩. What is the syntax/code like?[\Offtopic]

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![graphit0](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/graphit0/32/3435_2.png) [@graphit0](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/graphit0)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 21:04 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/4 "2022-02-08T21:04:55Z")

</div>

I'm not sure what's the linklist implied but in original post I meant that a user potentially can extract the text from a pdf, highlight it and link a separate note for each highlight.  
Here's the example:

A note with pdf (let's call it NoteTOC) keeps text extract from the pdf. In mind map view NoteTOC represents a TOC of pdf highlights. Each highlight of text in NoteTOC has a child note (backlinked to NoteTOC).

![mermaid-diagram-20220208235137](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/8/888ea9cccaeec87a68f13a1f6378155560c181ff.png)

> **mermaid src**
>
> ```auto
> graph TD
> subgraph NotebookPDF
> Highlights --> Child1(Child note1)
> Highlights --> Child2(Child note2)
> Highlights --> Child3(Child note3)
> subgraph NoteTOC
> Pdf --> Text(Text from Pdf) --- Highlights
> end
> end
> 
> ```

Preview

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/4/426a374274c86cd8cd290a7fcbce883045264329.png)

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/e/ea38b0605f47f54dddf3dff8629302b385bad2c5.png)

This way each highlight in pdf can be linked anywhere within the note structure (well, sharing externally is also possible). Also, you get the opportunity to comment each highlight in its own note.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wimvan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/wimvan/32/12536_2.png) [@Wimvan](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Wimvan)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 21:55 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/5 "2022-02-08T21:55:22Z")

</div>

> [@graphit0](#):
>
> I'm not sure what's the linklist implied

\*\*I meant this cool feature with the triangle:

Folded open:

* * *

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/0/0f6ca184b1a33d75f41a3240e226fe54d2dcac87.jpeg)

* * *

Collapsed:

* * *

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/cozic/original/2X/2/286ae97b3a8dd4a538ef447122a07469366c5ba4.jpeg)

* * *

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![graphit0](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/graphit0/32/3435_2.png) [@graphit0](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/graphit0)\
**Post date:** [8 February 2022 22:00 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/ability-to-tag-text-within-pdf-utilization/23595/6 "2022-02-08T22:00:57Z")

</div>

In discourse

```auto
[details="Summary"]
This text will be hidden
[/details]

```

In Joplin

```auto
<details><summary>name of summary</summary>
This text will be hidden
</details>
```