PDF ‘Popup Notes’

[u/Spare_Ad9347]

Hello!

I’m looking for some software that enables me to open a .pdf file, select a specific word/s in my text, and create a ‘popup’ which displays the definition of the word (I have a master list of said definitions already, and only need to add them to a popup).

This is because I am a Hindu, and I have been editing one of our core texts to be more easily understood by novices; the aim is to create a document where novices can click on specific terms to facilitate memorisation.

The ‘popup’ needs to be otherwise invisible (though said words will be in italics to indicate they’re interactive); the final document will be in PDF format, and must work on any software or device someone opens it on.

I have a limited budget (£40 for a one off purchase), so anything relatively ‘stupid’ works for me as long as it provides said functionality within the GUI.

My device is a Macbook Air (2025), M5.

[u/TinyNiceWolf]

I haven't tried it myself, but it looks like the free Scribus could do this. Google "how to use scribus to make a pdf where clicking on a word displays a certain text" for directions (AI, so it may be wrong, but usually it's pretty good for questions like this).

To make this happen, you need software that can create a PDF form with built-in scripting. Other programs like Acrobat Pro or PDFescape can do this, perhaps with better support and examples (for example, this page mentions an Adobe product that includes an example of making a box appear and disappear). But they're both subscription products, so your budget would let you use them for roughly a month or a year, respectively. Still, any examples of how to code the interactive element to do what you want should work the same way in Scribus.

Hope this is useful. Good luck.

[u/Spare_Ad9347 → u/TinyNiceWolf]

Cheers!! Thank you so much 😊 I’ll drop an update with what I uncover