Replace comment's author name permanent

[Firehold]

Hello,

when using comment's with Acrobat DC there is always my computers user name showing up.

Because of i am using my PC for job and private i want to completely hide my username from documents.

In the settings i can enter all userdata but not the username which is greyed out.

1) How i can change the authors name when commenting?

2) When changing the authors name, is the computers username still saved in the documents metadata? If yes is it possible to change this aswell?

Thank you very much in advance 🙂

[try67]

1. Go to Edit (or the Acrobat menu if you're on a Mac) - Preferences - Commenting and tick off the box next to "Always use Log-In Name for Author name".
Now right-click a comment and select Properties. Go to the General tab and change the Author name. Make sure to also tick the box that says "Make Properties Default".
Click OK, and any new comment you create (from that type) from now on will have your name as the Author by default.

2. No, it's not saved elsewhere, normally.

[andrewh35865418]

Unfortunately, this solution no longer works. As of version 2024.002.20687, the "Make Properties Defaults" option is no longer present in the General tab. In fact, it doesn't seem to appear anywhere. Additionally, clearing the box next to "Always use Log-In Name for Author name" has no effect on keeping my name put of the comments. 

Is it just policy at Adobe to just break stuff? 

[Till370891988mgt]

Same problem here - totally annoying for scientists doing blind peer review in the spare time as a service to the community. 

[try67]

You can use this free tool I've created to anonymize all comments in the file with a single click:

https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-reader-anonymize-comments-free

[vickyj11428679]

The "Make Properties Defaults" is still available but is in a different place.  I have just discovered this, hopefully this will help: How to Change Your Name for Comments in Adobe Acrobat (2023 Interface Update) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaegOpOqYss

[RiskCognizance]

Amazing post very detaiil and focus on the topic. I would love to see more post like this. David

Risk Cognizance GRC 

[Prashant.]

Hi @andrewh35865418 ,

Make properties default checkox is still present in properties dialog for all the comments.

Please find the screenshot attached for same.

Also, if you're still facing the issue, could you please share a small screen recording depicting the issue for us to better understand the problem.

Thanks.

[adam_7630]

where does the author default name get stored if we wanted to make this change across a whole company vs one user at a time via gui.

[AnandSri · Accepted solution]

Hello @adam_7630

I hope you are doing well, and thank you for reaching out.

Acrobat does not store the default comment author name in a central, company-wide location. The author name used for comments is controlled per user, inside each user’s Acrobat Preferences, not in a shared configuration file. 

Acrobat pulls the author name from Preferences > Commenting, and specifically from the setting “Always use Log-in Name for Author name.” If that box is unchecked, the user can change the Author field in a comment’s Properties > General, and select “Make Properties Default” to use that name for future comments.

Please note that Acrobat does not provide an enterprise-level setting that overrides or globally defines the default author name for all users. 

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.