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OrbitNote

13 October 2026

OrbitNote is an excellent PDF editor that can take your PDF documents to a new level. It provides much more than a standard PDF reader. Find out about for accessing and editing PDFs with OrbitNote.

HOW TO APPLY
Is accessing PDFs causing you stress?
 
Try OrbitNote!

It is an excellent tool to access, edit and interact with PDFs. It is much more than the standard PDF reader. It is a PDF editor that can take your PDF docs to a whole new level.

 

What Can You Do with OrbitNote?
 

With OrbitNote, you can:

  • Listen to documents using Text-to-Speech.
  • Highlight important information.
  • Add notes, comments, and drawings.
  • Use OCR to make scanned PDFs readable.
  • Create vocabulary lists and access study tools.

Features include:

Text to Speech: Reads words, passages, or whole documents aloud with easy-to-follow dual colour highlighting.

Screenshot Reader: Select text anywhere on your screen and have it read aloud.

Screen Mask: Reduce distractions by focusing on one section of text at a time.

Shapes and Freehand Drawing: Draw, sketch, or add shapes to highlight key information and ideas.

Highlighting: Mark important words and sentences with colour so they're easy to find later.

Sticky Notes and Speech Input: Add notes by typing or simply speaking your ideas.

Add Comment: Leave comments and feedback directly on a document.

Insert Image: Add pictures to your document to support learning, communication, or visual explanations.

Translator: Translate words or passages into another language with just a few clicks.

Vocabulary List: Save important words to a list for revision, learning, and study.


Getting Started with OrbitNote at UC

OrbitNote is available free to all University of Canterbury students and staff.  

Instal OrbitNote on your device:

  1. Go to orbit.texthelp.com.
  2. Select Sign in with Microsoft.
  3. Sign in using your UC account (student or staff login).
  4. Accept any permission requests when prompted.

You're now ready to start using OrbitNote!

 

Add OrbitNote to Your Browser (Recommended)

For the best experience, install the OrbitNote browser extension:

  • Google Chrome: Add the OrbitNote Chrome extension.
  • Microsoft Edge: Add the OrbitNote Edge add-on.

This makes it easy to open and work with PDFs directly from your browser, OneDrive, or Google Drive.

 

Need Help?

The UC Assistive Technology team is here to help. Contact assistech@canterbury.ac.nz if you need support, training, or troubleshooting assistance.

 

For assistance write to assistech@canterbury.ac.nz

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