How to Add Stars and Polygons to Documents in Preview on macOS

When you are architecting a visual overlay on a PDF document or image within macOS, standard rectangular or circular annotations are often geometrically insufficient for highlighting critical data points or creating custom badges. To force the macOS neural engine to inject mathematically complex, multi-point geometric vectors—such as stars or polygons—directly into the document hierarchy, you must utilize the advanced shape tools within the native Preview application.

Initializing the Geometric Markup Engine

The Preview application possesses a deeply integrated vector rendering matrix that allows you to overlay highly complex shapes without degrading the underlying document architecture.

1. Locate your target PDF or high-resolution image file in Finder and double-click to open it natively in Preview.
2. Look at the absolute top menu bar of the Preview window. Click the Show Markup Toolbar icon (it visually resembles a physical marker pen).

Executing the Complex Shape Vector

3. In the newly deployed Markup Toolbar, locate the Shapes icon (it visually resembles a square overlaid with a circle). Click it to deploy the drop-down menu matrix.
4. Look past the standard shapes (lines, squares). Locate the Star icon or the Polygon (hexagon) icon.
5. Click the Star icon. The exact millisecond you execute the command, the Preview engine calculates the geometric center of your screen and spawns a perfect, 5-point vector star.

Manipulating Complex Geometry

Unlike standard rectangles, complex shapes possess advanced mathematical nodes that allow you to alter their fundamental geometry.

6. Click and drag the shape to position it precisely over your target data.
7. Look closely at the Star shape. You will see standard blue nodes on the bounding box (for scaling), but you will also see a unique Green Node located on the inner vertices of the star.
8. Click and drag this green geometric node outward or inward. This action algorithmically recalculates the vectors in real-time, changing the depth of the star’s points (making it sharper or fatter) without altering the overall bounding box size.
9. If you deployed a Polygon, dragging the green node will mathematically add or subtract sides, morphing it from a triangle all the way to a 12-sided dodecagon.

Press Cmd + S to permanently lock these complex vector coordinates into the physical file.