How to add and access highlights and notes on Kindle Paperwhite

One of the great things about an eReader like Kindle Paperwhite is that you can highlight parts of a book and make notes. This is wonderful for textbooks, user manuals, cookbooks, and similar reads.

On Kindle Paperwhite, highlighting text and adding notes to passages is easy. Plus, you can export these items to the email address for your Kindle and access them online.

Here, we’ll show you how to add and work with highlights and notes on your Kindle Paperwhite.

Highlighted text Kindle Paperwhite

Highlights and notes on Kindle Paperwhite

Add highlights on Kindle Paperwhite

With the book open on your Kindle, tap to select the text you want to highlight. For more than one word, simply tap and drag your finger through the text. When you release your finger, a small toolbar will appear. Pick Highlight.

Highlight in Toolbar on Kindle Paperwhite

Your highlighted text will be saved for you to access with your Notes, which we’ll describe below. To remove a highlight, tap it and select Delete in the toolbar.

Highlighted Text on Kindle Paperwhite

Add notes on Kindle Paperwhite

Follow the same process to include a note as you do to add a highlight. Tap or drag through the text, release your finger and tap Note in the toolbar. Type in your note and hit Save.

Add Note on Kindle Paperwhite

When you add a note, this also adds a highlight and number to the text. The number indicates both.

Notes Number on Kindle Paperwhite

Access your notes

Highlights simply appear on your text, just like if you used a highlight marker on a physical book. But notes are obviously written words you want to read.

To access your notes, you can tap the number on the highlighted text. This displays the Note window. From there, you can tap to see All Notes, Share the note, Delete, or Edit it. Or simply tap the X on the top right to close it.

View Note on Kindle Paperwhite

If you’re not on the page containing the note or want to view all those you have for the book, access the toolbar at the top and tap the Menu icon on the top right. Select Notes (the setting name may vary depending on your version). You can then scroll through all notes and highlights for the book.

All Notes on Kindle Paperwhite

For highlights, you can Delete or Share them, and for notes, you can Edit, which also lets you Delete if you like.

Export your notes and highlights

You can send all notes and highlights to the Kindle email address for your device. Access your notes via the Menu button as described above, tap Export Notes, and hit Send. You’ll see a brief message pop up at the top, letting you know your notes were sent.

Check the email address connected to your Amazon Kindle account. You should receive an email that includes PDF and CSV files of your notes and highlights. You can also access these online using the steps below.

1) Open the web browser on your computer, go to https://read.amazon.com, and sign in.

2) On the top left, click the button for Your Notes and Highlights.

Your Notes and Highlights Button Online

You’ll see a list of books on the left that contain annotations. Choose one, and your list of notes and highlights display on the right.

3) Click Options to the right of an annotation to edit, add to it, or delete it. Any changes you make here will be synced to your Kindle.

Your Kindle Notes and Highlights Online

You may need to tap the toolbar on your Kindle and select Settings > Sync Your Kindle if you don’t see the changes immediately.

If you’ve ever had a physical book that you marked up with a highlighter or jotted notes on in the margins, you’ll appreciate these Kindle Paperwhite annotation features.

Do you have tips like this for using Kindle Paperwhite you’d like to share? If so, comment below!

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