Import PDF Comments
This article appeared in Issue 117 of InDesign Magazine.Kelly Vaughn tests the strengths and weaknesses of the new PDF commenting features in CC 2019.
One of the most important (and often dreaded) tasks of document production is that of incorporating your client’s or colleagues’ comments into your InDesign document. Typically, InDesign users rely upon PDF files to obtain feedback, and designers then manually enter the changes/comments from the draft PDF back into their InDesign documents one at a time. While there is already a third-party plug-in (DTP Tools Annotations) that automates this process, now InDesign has the ability to import PDF comments directly into your InDesign documents.
This feature has been high on the wish list of InDesign users for many years. However, as with many new technologies, the first iteration has significant limitations. In my opinion, it is only suitable for simple documents made from single InDesign files, requiring relatively simple text changes. This new feature is in no way a substitute for manually verifying all your imported comments against the source PDF. But that doesn’t mean it may not save you some time (and it’s only Version 1, after all).
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Io think th comment system in acrobat also needs an overhaul. When zoomed in its one big mess. Comments should be able to be locked
I hope comments one day will work and also show properly at their location in the InDesign document. That would not be that hard. The X and y of th comment can be ripped and added to the export. Should be that hard to implement
Bluebeam Revu has X/Y properties (and a bunch more that Acrobat doesn’t have). I’ve switched over to Revu for nearly all my PDF commenting. I wrote about there here: https://documentgeek.blogspot.com/2018/08/introducing-my-favorite-features-of.html
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zLQ2R2ZKoW4/W4hMqpdog9I/AAAAAAAABxw/CEQQWqNaLjAnRUbcMYcFQOHLt2uqsyJrwCLcBGAs/s400/CustomizaeableCommentPane.png
I sort of like the feature, particularly as I work with 25 languages, so it helps me find the text but I get the sticky notes imprint on my InDesign file even if the PDF is not open and it’s distracting. Still, it’s a feature that will get improved and I do use it. It gets a 5/10 from me but that’s better than 0/10!
@Kelly, thanks ill have a look at that
Just discovering this feature now. Caught the article in a recent e-newsletter from CP. It got me digging for more. I thought it could be just the ticket for receiving revision notes on PDFs for a catalog I’m working on. But it may prove to be problematic. Luckily I have time to test its.
I do have a question. When the PDF Comments are imported into InD. Are the icons supposed to be seen on the page or do I have to actually click on each comment for it to show up?
I wonder if a text formatting feature will also be included under comments. Let’s say the comment is to bold or italicize a word.