The PDF viewer is the most capable preview mode in Emma. It renders documents as a continuous vertical scroll (all pages in one stream), overlays AI and manual risk annotations, and provides tools for search, navigation, and on-page collaboration.
For a general introduction to the viewer layout, see Document viewer overview.
Toolbar layout
Two floating toolbars sit at the bottom centre of the file panel:
Toolbar | Controls |
Viewer mode (left) | Switch between Select text, Flag/select risks, and Comment modes |
PDF tools (centre) | Zoom, rotate, search, and download |
Page indicator (right) | Current page / total pages, with jump-to-page |
Zoom and rotate
Zoom
Click Zoom out (−) or Zoom in (+) in the PDF toolbar
Keyboard shortcuts: − to zoom out, + or = to zoom in
Zoom range: 20% to 150%. The current percentage is shown between the buttons.
Rotate
Click the Rotate button to rotate the entire document 90° clockwise
Rotation is remembered per file for the duration of your browser session
Some scanned PDFs have pages with different internal orientations. Emma detects per-page rotation and applies it automatically so text and highlights align correctly.
Search
Full-text search is available for single PDF files (not for merged disclosure bundles — see Bundles below).
Click the Search icon in the PDF toolbar, or press F
Type your query — results update as you type
Use Next (Enter) and Previous (Shift + Enter) to move between matches
The viewer scrolls each match into view and highlights it on the page
The counter shows your position, e.g.
3/12for the third of twelve matchesPress Escape or click Clear to close search
Search is disabled while a comment pin popover is open, and the document dialog will not close on Escape until search is dismissed first.
When search is unavailable (bundle mode or a PDF without a searchable text layer), a warning icon appears next to the page indicator.
Page navigation
Continuous scroll — scroll through all pages naturally. Large documents (50+ pages) load pages incrementally as you scroll for performance.
Page indicator — the current / total badge at the bottom right always reflects the page closest to the centre of your viewport.
Jump to page — click the page indicator to open a popover, enter a page number, and press Enter. The viewer scrolls directly to that page.
Jump from sidebar — selecting a risk, key term, signature page, or comment in the Document Review sidebar scrolls the PDF to the linked location and highlights the relevant area.
Viewer modes
Three modes control what happens when you interact with the PDF. Switch modes using the left toolbar or keyboard shortcuts:
Mode | Shortcut | Icon | What it does |
Flag / Select risks | R | Shield | Draw bounding boxes to flag new risks or select existing annotation areas |
Select text | S | Pointer | Select text on the page (available when the PDF has a text layer) |
Comment | C | Message | Click anywhere on a page to pin a new comment thread |
The active mode is highlighted with a coloured label. Select text mode is hidden automatically for PDFs without a searchable text layer (scanned images only).
Risk highlights and annotations
Risk-related content appears as coloured overlays on the PDF:
Overlay type | Appearance | Source |
AI / check findings | Coloured box matching risk level (High, Medium, Low, etc.) | Automated checks run against the document |
Manual bounding boxes | Blue dotted outline | Drawn by a reviewer in Flag/select risks mode |
Selected highlight | Stronger outline / fill | Currently selected risk or key-term reference |
Colour coding by risk level:
Level | Typical colour |
High | Red |
Medium | Orange / amber |
Low | Yellow |
Unspecified | Grey |
No risk | Green (usually not shown as an overlay) |
Viewing an existing risk
Click a coloured highlight on the PDF, or click a finding in the Risks tab
The sidebar switches to the Risks tab with that finding expanded
The PDF scrolls to all bounding boxes linked to that finding
Use the previous / next reference controls in the sidebar when a finding spans multiple locations
Creating a manual risk (bounding box)
Switch to Flag / Select risks mode (R)
Click and drag on the PDF to draw a rectangle around the relevant clause or passage
The Add finding dialog opens automatically
Fill in:
Topic — the thematic area (e.g. Employment, IP)
Title — the check this finding relates to (select an existing check or create a new one)
Risk level — High, Medium, Low, Unspecified, or No risk
Summary — describe what you found and why it matters
Click Save
The bounding box is linked to the finding and appears in the Risks tab, the Matrix, and the Red Flag Report.
If a check already has a finding for this document, Emma merges your new bounding box into the existing answer rather than creating a duplicate.
Editing or deleting a risk
From the Risks tab: click the pencil icon on a finding to reopen the dialog with existing bounding boxes, or edit the summary inline
From the PDF: click an existing highlight, then edit via the sidebar or dialog
Use Delete in the risk dialog or the delete button on a finding row to remove it
Hiding risk levels on the PDF
In the Risks tab, each risk-level group has an eye icon. Click it to hide or show all highlights of that level on the PDF without removing the findings from the sidebar. This is useful when reviewing High risks first and temporarily hiding Medium or Low overlays.
Comments on the PDF
In Comment mode (C):
Click anywhere on a page to place a comment pin
A popover opens where you type your message
Use @ to mention a data-room team member — they receive a notification
Submit to create the thread; the pin stays visible on the page
Click an existing pin to open the thread, reply, resolve, or delete it. Active threads are also listed in the Comments tab.
While a comment pin popover is open, keyboard shortcuts for document navigation are paused so you do not accidentally change documents.
Download
Click the Download button in the PDF toolbar to save the file. When an original (pre-conversion) version exists — for example a Word file converted to PDF for preview — Emma downloads the original format rather than the preview PDF.
Disclosure bundles
When a document is the main file in a disclosure bundle and all annexes are PDFs, Emma merges them into a virtual bundle PDF — one continuous scroll through the main document followed by each annex in order.
Bundle behaviour:
Divider labels appear at the start of each document in the bundle showing the file name
Page numbers in the indicator reflect the merged total across all files
Risk highlights and comments from annexes appear at the correct merged page offsets
Clicking a finding in an annex scrolls to the right position in the merged view
Full-text search is disabled in bundle mode (search each file individually by opening the annex)
Opening an annex URL directly redirects to the main bundle document so you always review the complete package.
Manage bundle membership from the Bundle section in the Info tab.
Linking from other features
These actions open the PDF viewer with context pre-loaded:
Source | What opens |
Matrix → double-click key-term cell | Key terms tab, property selected, PDF at source |
Matrix → click risk cell | Risks tab, finding selected, PDF at evidence |
Red Flag Report → View risk in document | Risks tab, finding selected |
Red Flag Report → document icon | Viewer on Info tab |
Info tab → signature page navigation | PDF scrolled to signature bounding box |
Comments tab → click thread | PDF scrolled to comment pin |
Keyboard shortcuts reference
Shortcut | Action |
F | Open search |
+ / = | Zoom in |
− | Zoom out |
R | Flag / Select risks mode |
S | Select text mode |
C | Comment mode |
← / → | Previous / next document (when navigation context exists) |
Enter | Next search result |
Shift + Enter | Previous search result |
Escape | Close search or comment popover |
Shortcuts are suppressed while focus is in an input field, while search is open, or while a comment popover is active.
Tips for effective PDF review
Start with the Risks tab to see what Emma flagged, then click each finding to read the source in context
Use hide/show on risk-level groups to reduce visual noise on dense documents
Draw tight bounding boxes around the exact clause — this makes exports to the Red Flag Report and Excel more precise
For long agreements, use search to jump to defined terms like "Indemnity", "Termination", or party names
When reviewing signature pages, use the Signature review section in the Info tab to jump between signature locations quickly
If you need additional help with the PDF viewer or encounter any other problem, don't hesitate to reach out through the chat bubble in the bottom right or contact [email protected].