I have a proof to send to the creative team in 20 minutes and the editor wants a visible version note so nobody mistak…
Open your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
Click the Comment button in the toolbar to display the commenting tools.
Select the annotation tool you want to use, such as Note, Highlight, Text Box, or Draw.
Click on the PDF page where you want to add your comment or annotation.
Type your comment or draw your annotation as needed.
Click away from the annotation or press Escape to save your comment or annotation.
You can use multiple annotation types in one session, such as highlighting text and adding sticky notes for detailed feedback.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Sticky Note | A small icon appears on the page, and the comment text shows when clicked or hovered over. It's good for short, hidden notes. |
| Text Box | A visible box appears directly on the page where you type your text. The text is always seen, making it good for longer, always-visible comments. |
It is very important to sanitize a PDF after adding comments because these notes are stored as recoverable data. If you send a 'final' document without sanitizing, your review notes and any sensitive information in them could still be seen by others. Sanitizing helps prevent accidental information leaks by permanently removing all comments and hidden data, ensuring your document is truly clean before sharing.
Highlighting text in your PDF is considered an annotation. Annotations are a type of markup that visually changes the document, like underlining, striking through, or drawing shapes. While they don't always contain written words like a sticky note, they serve a similar purpose of drawing attention to specific parts of the document for review or emphasis.