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Comment

Overview

Comment Tools Overview

Foxit PDF Editor provides a full set of feature rich tools to help you comment on PDF files easily. Comment tools include the Text Markup tools, Typewriter tools, Pin tools, Drawing tools, stamp tools, and measure tools. While adding comments with Text Markup tools, Typewriter tools, Pin tools, Drawing tools, or stamp tools, you can also click Keep Tool Selected in the Comments tab to keep the tool selected, so you can use the tools continuously without having to select the specific tool after each use.

Set Commenting Preferences

To set commenting preferences, please choose File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Editor in the menu bar) > Preferences > Commenting.

Add Comments in the PDF File

Add a Text Markup

Tip: Alternatively, you can also select the text on the document pane first, and then click the Highlight icon on the floating toolbar to highlight the selected text. 

Add a Note Comment

Add a File Attachment as a Comment

Add a Drawing Markup

Add a Rectangle, Line, Arrow, Circle, Polyline, Polygon, or Cloud

Draw a Free-form Shape

Highlight an Area

Add a Text Comment

Add a Stamp

Stamp a PDF

You can choose from a list of predefined stamps, or create custom stamps before stamping a PDF. All the stamps that you import or create are listed in the drop-down menu of the Stamp command and Stamps Palette. To apply a stamp, please do the following:

Create a Stamp

Create a Custom Stamp

Create a Custom Dynamic Stamp

Create a Stamp from Clipboard

Manage Custom Stamps and Categories

Manage Stamps in PDFs

Cut/Copy and Paste a Stamp

To cut/copy and paste a stamp, please do the following:

Undo/Redo a Stamp

To undo/redo a Stamp, please click the undo button  and redo button  on the Quick Access toolbar.

Resize/move/add a pop-up note to a stamp

Rotate a stamp

Delete a stamp

Do one of the following:

Set Favorite Stamps

Arrange Stamps in a PDF

You can arrange multiple stamps by aligning, centering and distributing them. For more information, please refer to “Arrange Comments”.

Measure an Object

The Measures Tools enable you to measure distance, perimeter, and area of objects in PDF documents.

Set Measuring Preferences

Before measuring an object, you can go to File tab (or Foxit PDF Editor in the menu bar) > Preferences > Measuring to specify the unit, label, and leader for measurements.

Measure the Distance, Perimeter, and Area

Tip: You can also choose to complete or cancel measurement by right-clicking the measurement and choosing options from the context menu.

Change the Measurement Settings

By default, when you select the measuring tool, the Format panel appears on the right of the document pane, which allow you to calibrate the scale ratio, snap measurement, export measurement markup, etc. (Tip: The Format panel can be hidden by clicking on anywhere along its left border. Foxit PDF Editor will remember the display status of the Format panel and keep it as it is until you re-adjust it manually. To re-display the Format panel after it has been hidden or closed, please click on its left border again, or click the More icon  on the floating toolbar of an existing measurement markup.)

Manage Comments

View All Comments

The Comments panel displays all comments in the PDF for you to view, find, mark, or reply comments easily.

View All Comments in Comments Panel

Show or Hide All Comments or Popup Notes

Show or Hide All Comments

Follow one of the steps below to show or hide all the comments in a PDF file.

Open or Close All Comment Popups

Follow any of the steps below to open or close all the comment popup notes.

Tip: If you choose to hide all comments in a PDF document, comments will not be displayed in the Comments panel as well.

Change the Appearances of Comments

You can change the appearances of comments in the floating toolbar, Properties dialog box, or Format panel. After specifying the appearances, you can set the properties as default to apply the settings to subsequent comments of the same type by choosing the Set Current Properties as Default option in the context menu or Properties dialog box of an existing comment. 

1. Change the appearance of comments in the floating toolbar

When you select an existing comment, you will find a toolbar floating right above or under the comment. From the floating toolbar, you can quickly adjust the font size (for typewriter comments only) or change the color for comments. For more professional settings, please go to the “Properties Dialog Box” and “Format Panel”.

2. Change the appearances of comments in the Properties dialog box

Tip: In the Properties dialog box, you can: 1) check Locked option to lock the current settings and prevent others from changing the properties; 2) check Set Current Properties as Default option to set the current properties as the default.

3. Change the appearances of comments in the Format panel

Tip: For stamps, you can only change the opacity of stamps and the color of pop-up notes in the Stamp Properties dialog box.

Move the Comments

Note: You cannot move the text markups.

Delete the Comments

Make sure that you have selected the Hand command, Select Annotation command, or the corresponding comment command, and do one of the following to delete a comment:

Arrange Comments

When you select one or more comments, the Arrange commands appears in the Format panel and context menu, allowing you to arrange the comments. The Format panel can be hidden by clicking on anywhere along its left border. Foxit PDF Editor will remember the display status of the Format panel and keep it as it is until you re-adjust it manually. To re-display the Format panel after it has been hidden or closed, please click on its left border again, or click the More icon  on the floating toolbar of an existing comment. You can arrange multiple comments by aligning, centering and distributing them. Please follow the steps below.

Select Multiple Comments

To arrange the comments, you have to select multiple comments that you want to arrange first.

To select multiple comments, make sure you have chosen the Select Annotation command, and do one of the following either on the document pane or in the Comments panel:

Tip: The comment highlighted in red is the anchor. When you select multiple comments by clicking, the last comment selected is the anchor.

Align Comments

Note: The alignment commands move the other selected comments to line up with the edges of the anchor comment.

Center Comments

This function enables you to center comments vertically, horizontally or both.

Distribute Comments

In the context of laying out comments on a page, you can give a group of comments uniform spacing, based on the centers of adjacent comments. This function will be available when selecting three or more comments.

To distribute the comments, do any of the following:

Reply to Comments

Reply to the Original Comments

To reply to an original comment in the pop-up note, do the following:

Tip: If you have checked the Hide comment pop-ups when comments list is open option in Commenting preferences, pop-up notes will not be opened when the Comments panel is opened. In this case, you can uncheck the Hide comment pop-ups when comments list is open option in the Commenting preferences, or choose to reply to comments in the Comments panel

To reply to an original comment in the Comments panel, do the following:

Respond to Comment Replies

Right-click the title of a reply in the comment pop-up note, and do the following:

Tip: To respond to comment replies in the comment pop-up notes when the Comments panel is opened, please make sure that you have unchecked the Hide comment pop-ups when comments list is open option in the Commenting preferences

Set a Status

The status of a comment indicates the review process or action of the review participants.

You can do one of the following to add a review status to indicate which comment you have accepted, rejected, canceled, or completed:

Tip: To remove the review status, follow the steps above and choose None from the context menu.

You can do one of the following to add a checkmark status to indicate which comment you have read or require further action:

Tip: To remove the checkmark status, follow the steps above and choose Remove Checkmark, or uncheck the status box .

To view a markup’s history of changes, please follow the steps below:

Sort Comments

You can sort comments by page, author, creation date, type, status, or checkmark.

Import and Export Comments

Import Comments

Export Comments

Export All Comments

Export Highlighted Text

Foxit PDF Editor allows users to export highlighted text with the Text Highlight and Area Highlight tools, and save it as a CSV or TXT file.

Export All Comments and Send by Email

Tip: Before sending the FDF file via email, you need to configure the email on your Mac device first.

Summarize Comments

Summarizing comments is an easy way to help you directly obtain a synopsis of comments associated with the PDF. To create a comment summary, do as below: