On this page
- Add comments while viewing a PDF document
- Annotations and drawing markup tools overview
- Add a sticky note
- Add a text comment
- Add a line, arrow, or shape
- Group and ungroup markups
- Add comments in a text box or callout
- Add an audio comment
- Add comments in a file attachment
- Paste images as comments
- Commenting preferences
- Change the look of your comments
- Draw attention of a reviewer to your comment
Add comments to PDF files with highlights, sticky notes, a freehand drawing tool, and mark-up tools.
Note:
This document provides instructions for Acrobat DC and Acrobat 2017. If you're using Acrobat XI, see Acrobat XI Help.
With the May 2019 release of Acrobat DC, you can use quick actions in a floating toolbar to add comments while viewing a PDF. You do not have to open the commenting tool to access these actions. The following quick actions are available for commenting based on your selection in a PDF:
Note:
If you are unable to see these options, update Acrobat DC to the latest version.
- Actions on text selection: You can Highlight Text, Underline Text, Strikethrough Text, Copy Text, and Edit Text & Images.
- Actions on image selection: When you select an image you can perform actions like Add Sticky Note, Highlight Text, Edit Text & Images, and Copy Image.
- Actions on highlight selection: When you select an existing highlight comment in a PDF you see quick actions to Add Note or Delete the comment.
Note: In Acrobat Reader, complete commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled.
You use annotation and drawing markup tools to add comments. The commenting tools are made available in the secondary toolbar of the Comment feature. Comments are notes and drawings that communicate ideas or provide feedback for PDFs. You can type a text message using the Sticky Note tool. Alternatively, you can use a drawing tool to add a line, circle, or other shape and then type a message in the associated pop-up note. Text-editing tools let you add editing marks to indicate changes that you want in the source document. Most commenting and markup tools don’t appear in the toolbar until you enable the Commenting feature.
Note:
In Acrobat Pro, you can add tags to your comments so that readers with motion or vision limitations can read them using assistive technologies.
Annotations and markup tools don’t appear by default, except when you open a PDF in a managed review workflow.
- Open the Comment toolbar and select the desired annotation tool.
- To select the drawing markup tool, open the Comment toolbar and click the Drawing Tools icon
. Select the desired tool from the Drawing Tools menu.
Note:
After you make an initial comment, the tool changes back to the Select tool so that you can move, resize, or edit your comment. (The Pencil and Highlight Text tools stay selected.)
Note:
In Acrobat Reader, complete commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
The most common type of comment is the sticky note. A sticky note has a note icon that appears on the page and a pop-up note for your text message. You can add a sticky note anywhere on the page or in the document area.
in the Comment toolbar, and click where you want to place the note.
to copy and paste text from a PDF into the note.-
To resize the pop-up note, drag the lower-left or lower-right corner.
To change the text formatting, click the Text Properties icon in the Comment toolbar, and select the text, and then select the property you want in the toolbar.
Note:
Use the Commenting panel in the Preferences dialog box to change the font size, default pop-up behavior, and other settings for creating and viewing comments
, or the Select tool Use the Add Text Comment tool 
to type text anywhere on the PDF page. The Add Text Comment tool is similar to the Add Text Box tool.
Note:
In Acrobat Reader, drawing tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
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Choose Tools > Comment. In the Comment toolbar, click Drawing Tools
and select the drawing markup tool:The Rectangle tool
, the Oval tool 
, the Arrow tool 
, and the Line tool 
let you create simple shapes.The Cloud tool
and Polygon tool 
create closed shapes with multiple segments. The Polygon Line tool 
creates open shapes with multiple segments.The Pencil tool
creates free-form drawings, and the Pencil Eraser tool 
removes the pencil markups.
Note:
To specify the line width, color, and other properties before you draw, select the desired tool, and press Ctrl+E to open the properties toolbar. Set the desired options in the Properties toolbar.
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To create a cloud or polygon shape, click to create the start point, move the pointer, and click to create each segment. To finish drawing the shape, click the start point, or right-click and choose Complete from the menu. Double-click to end a polygon line.
To draw a line, arrow, or rectangle, either drag across the area where you want the markup to appear, or click twice: once to create the start point and once to create the end point.
To draw a square or circle, or to draw a line that’s horizontal, vertical, or at a 45° angle, press Shift while you draw.
To draw free-form lines using the Pencil tool
, drag where you want to begin drawing. You can release the mouse button, move the pointer to a new location, and continue drawing. To erase parts of the drawing, select the Pencil Eraser tool and drag across the areas of the drawing that you want to remove.
You can group two or more markups so that your comments function as a single comment. You might group markups temporarily to move them to a new location or to modify their properties rather than editing each one individually. Grouping also helps to distinguish your markups from other reviewers’ markups in a document review.
Note:
You cannot group text edit markups.
Note:
In Acrobat Reader, commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
You can use the Text Box tool 
to create a box that contains text. You can position it anywhere on the page and adjust it to any size. A text box remains visible on the document page; it doesn’t close like a pop-up note.
Text font and size are based on the system default settings.
Note:
You can add comments to Japanese, Chinese, and Korean text with the Text Box tool, but you must have the Asian-language resource files installed. Text boxes allow for horizontal text only.
You can use the Callout tool 
to create a callout text box. Callout text boxes are especially useful when you want to single out—but not obscure—a particular area of a document. Callout text boxes have three parts: a text box, a knee line, and an end-point line. You can resize each part by dragging a handle. The knee line can be resized in one direction only; horizontal knee lines can be resized horizontally only; vertical knee lines can be resized vertically only. The text box expands vertically as you type so that all text remains visible.
You can move the text box itself or together with the end-point line. The text box moves around a stationary anchor point—the arrow on the end-point line—which is created when you first click in the PDF. You can modify the color and appearance of the text box and add arrows or leaders to the end-point line.
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Using the Select tool or the Text Box tool, click an edge of the text box to select it, and then drag a corner to resize it. Use the Properties toolbar to change the border and fill options.
Double-click the text box to edit the text or change the text attributes. Drag across text to select it, and then select options from the Properties toolbar.
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To resize the callout, select it and drag any of the handles that appear.
To move the text box, click inside the box and drag it.
To move the entire callout, click either the end-point line or an edge of the text box, and drag it.
To change the color, opacity, or line characteristics, use the Select tool to right-click the callout, choose Properties, and select the options you want.
Note:
In Acrobat Reader, commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
You can use the Record Audio Comment tool to add a prerecorded WAV or AIFF file as a comment or to record and place an audio comment in a document. Audio attachments appear in the Comments list and can be played back on any platform. However, the appropriate hardware and software for playing audio files must be installed.
tool from the Comment toolbar.
. When you’re finished, click the Stop button 
and then click OK.Note:
Before you record an audio comment, ensure that your system has a recording device installed and configured.
and then speak into the microphone. When you’ve finished recording, click the Stop button Note:
In Acrobat Reader, commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
Use the Attach File tool to embed a file at a selected location in a PDF, so that the reader can open it for viewing. By adding attachments as a comment, you can reference longer documents that can’t easily be pasted into a pop-up note or text box. If you move the PDF to a new location, the embedded file automatically goes with it. To view an attachment, the reader must have an application installed that can open the attachment.
Note:
Be sure to use the Attach tool when attaching files for a document review. Document-level file attachments that you attach using the Attach A File tool 
from the Tools > Edit PDF > More menu aren’t tracked with other comments in a review workflow and may cause your attached comments to be lost.
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In the File Attachment Properties dialog box, select the settings for the file icon that appears in the PDF.
The comment attachment also appears in the Attachments tab (in the left navigation pane) with a page number indicating its location.
Note:
To delete the attachment, right-click the attached comment icon, and choose Delete.
tool from the Comment toolbar.Note:
In Acrobat Reader, commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
You can use the Paste Clipboard Image As Stamp Tool to add images to a PDF. You can copy most image formats from drawing and image-editing applications, such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. If you want to add the image to PDFs repeatedly, create a custom stamp of the image.
Note:
The Paste Clipboard Image As Stamp Tool isn’t available until you copy an image.
tool and select Paste Clipboard Image As Stamp Tool.Commenting preferences affect both the appearance of and the way you view annotations and markups in PDFs.
Note:
A reviewer can place comments anywhere within the document frame. As a result, sometimes you need to scroll or zoom out to see comments that are located off the page.
Font, Font Size
In Windows, you can determine the font and the size of text in pop-up notes. In Mac OS, you can select only Large, Medium, or Small settings for the font. This setting applies to all new and existing comments.
Pop-up Opacity
Determines the opacity of comment pop-up notes in values from 1 to 100. When a pop-up note is open but not selected, an opacity value of 100 makes the note opaque, while lower values make it more transparent.
Enable Text Indicators And Tooltips
Shows a tool tip when you place the pointer over a comment that includes a pop-up note. The tool tip contains the author name, comment status, and two lines of the text. Selected by default.
Print Notes And Pop-ups
Specifies that pop-up notes associated with comments, and icons for note, audio, and file attachments print exactly as they appear on the page.
Instead of selecting this option, you can print comment text in various layouts by choosing File > Print, and click Summarize Comments. For more details, refer the document to print comments.
Show Lines Connecting Comment Markups To Their Pop-ups On Mouse Rollover
When you place the pointer over a comment markup (such as a highlight or a note icon), the shaded connector line appears. Selected by default.
Ensure That Pop-ups Are Visible As The Document Is Scrolled
As you scroll a PDF, the pop-up notes on a given page shift to stay in view within the document pane. Selected by default.
Automatically Open Comment Pop-ups For Comments Other Than Notes
A pop-up note appears when you create a comment using a drawing tool, the Stamp tool, or the Pencil tool.
Hide Comment Pop-ups When Comments List Is Open
Helps reduce screen clutter when a page includes many comments. Selected by default.
Automatically Open Pop-ups On Mouse Rollover
When you place the pointer over a comment of any type, including drawing markups and stamps, the pop-up note opens.
Always Use Log-in Name For Author Name
Determines which name appears in the pop-up note you create. If this option is selected, the Login Name in the Identity panel of the Preferences dialog box is used. If this option isn’t selected, the default name you specify for Author in a comment properties dialog box is used. Selected by default.
Create New Pop-ups Aligned To The Edge Of The Document
Aligns pop-up notes with the right side of the document window, regardless of where the comment markup (such as a note icon or highlighting comment) is added. If this option is deselected, the pop-up note appears next to the comment markup. Selected by default.
Allow nested reply to sticky notes (requires restart)
Allows reply to Sticky Notes with a single-thread experience. If this option is selected, each annotation appears like a conversation and all replies appear like a single-thread experience.
Enable Text Selection For Highlight, Strikethrough and Underline
Allows you to select and copy text for highlight, strike-through, and underline comments
Copy Encircled Text Into Drawing Comment Pop-Ups
Copies text that you circle using the drawing tools in the pop-up note associated with the drawing markup.
Copy Selected Text Into Highlight, Cross-Out, And Underline Comment Pop-ups
Copies selected text to the pop-up note associated with text editing comments, such as those created by the Highlight Text tool.
Note:
In Acrobat Reader, complete commenting tools are available only in PDFs that have commenting enabled. PDFs in a review workflow typically include commenting rights.
You can change the color and appearance of comments or markups before or after you create them. You can set the new look as the default appearance for that tool.
Note:
To change how your name appears in comments, open the Preferences dialog box, select Commenting, and then deselect Always Use Log-in Name For Author Name.
For the selected tool, you can use the Color Picker and Text Properties icons availabe on the Comment toolbar.
Alternatively, you can choose Properties from the right-click context menu, and then select appropriate options.
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Click the Appearance tab to change such options as the color and type of icon used. The type of comment selected determines which options are available.
Click the General tab to change the name of the author and subject of the comment.
Click the Review History tab to see the history of changes people have made to the status of a comment during a review.
Select Locked at the bottom of the Properties dialog box to prevent the comment from being edited or deleted.
Select Make Properties Default at the bottom of the Properties dialog box to apply these properties to all subsequent comments of this type.
Note:
When you use @mention in your personal commenting notes in a PDF file, the review mode gets enabled for you. The reviewers get an invitation email with a link to the Document Cloud shared review file.
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