Comments and markup

Comments and markup are notes laid on top of a page. They are saved as standard PDF comments with their own appearance, so other PDF readers show them the way Nixt PDF drew them, and they can be replied to, given a status and deleted. To work through the comments on a document, see Reviewing and comparing.

Writing that should become part of the page itself — an answer on a form that has no boxes — is different; see Filling in forms.

Before you start

• Choose a tool from the Home or Comment tab. The tool strip opens under the ribbon with the tool’s choices.
• Put the tool away with Done at the right of the tool strip, or press Esc.
• Take a mark back with Undo. To remove a mark later, use the Comments view of the side panel.
• Save the document to keep your marks.

The first time you choose a marking tool on a signed document, Nixt PDF tells you what adding to it does to the signatures. See Validating signatures.

Colours

Every tool on this page offers Colour: in the tool strip, with five choices: Yellow, Pink, Green, Blue and Red. The chosen colour is shared by all the tools and stays chosen until you pick another. It starts as yellow.

Highlight and text markup

The Highlight tool marks a run of text. Its Style: choices decide how:

To mark text:

1. On the Home or Comment tab, click Highlight.
2. In the tool strip, choose a Style and a Colour.
3. Drag across the words. The area you drag is shown as you drag, and marked when you let go.

For Replace with…, a dialog opens after you let go:

1. In the Replace with dialog, type the new words in What should this say instead?.
2. Click Mark it.

The replacement is one comment rather than a strike-through and a separate note, so it is one thing to read and one thing to reply to.

Sticky notes

1. Click Note on the Home or Comment tab.
2. Choose a Colour in the tool strip.
3. Click where the note should go.
4. In the Add a note dialog, type the note in What should this say?.
5. Click Add.

A note with nothing typed in it isn’t added.

Drawing freehand

1. Click Draw on the Home or Comment tab.
2. Choose a Colour in the tool strip.
3. Hold the pointer down and draw. Let go to finish the stroke.

Each stroke becomes its own mark.

Text boxes, callouts and insertion marks

The Text box tool on the Comment tab has three Kind: choices:

Adding a text box

1. On the Comment tab, click Text box, and choose Text box and a Colour in the tool strip.
2. Drag a box where the text should go.
3. In the Text box dialog, type in What should it say?.
4. Click Add it.

The words wrap to the box you dragged. A text box is a comment: it can be replied to and deleted, and readers can hide it. To write words that become part of the page, use Add text instead.

Adding a callout

1. On the Comment tab, click Text box, and choose Callout in the tool strip.
2. Press on the thing you’re commenting on, drag down and to the right, and let go where the note should start.
3. In the Callout dialog, type in What should it say about this?.
4. Click Add it.

The note box is placed where you let go, and the line points back to where you started.

Adding an insertion mark

1. On the Comment tab, click Text box, and choose Insert text in the tool strip.
2. Click in the gap where words are missing.
3. In the Insert text dialog, type in What belongs here?.
4. Click Mark it.

Shapes

The Shape tool on the Comment tab draws one of five shapes, chosen under Shape: in the tool strip:

1. On the Comment tab, click Shape.
2. Choose a shape and a Colour in the tool strip.
3. Drag on the page.

Where your marks go

• Every mark appears in the Comments view of the side panel, with its page and kind. See Reviewing and comparing.
• Marks print unless you turn off Print comments and mark-up in the Print dialog.
• On a protected document, marks are encrypted with the document, so adding them doesn’t remove its protection.

Related pages

• Stamps — rubber stamps are comments too, and can be moved and changed after they go down.
• Redaction — removing text, rather than marking it.