What is the difference between these 2 comment tools

[craigb36097816]

Hello

I dont see any difference between the comment tools "replace selected text" and "strikethrough"...when I use them they both put a line through text and give a comment box on the right.

Can you please help me to understand the difference...when I would use one over the other?

thank you very much

Craig

[Document Geek · Accepted solution]

They are very similar in appearance, The Replace text comment is a 2-in-1 tool and appears blue by default, and the Striketrhoughis a single function tool and appears red by default. You can change both of these color of course. 

While Acrobat shows the Replace Text comment as a single item in the Comments pane, other PDF readers may show it as two separate comment types, as shown below in this screenshot from Bluebeam Revu. This illustrates how Replace Text is a 2-in-1 tool.

It's a good idea to use each tool as it was intended. That makes it more clear what your intentions are when the end-user of your PDF goes to incorporate those comments into the master document. Also, some programs/plugins can utilize the comments from these separate tools to atuomatically apply those changes (into InDesign documents, for example).

Sadly, many users are not very particular about how they use the PDF commenting tools, and use exclusively sticky notes for all types of comments, and then inside each sticky note they describe what they want done.  It's much clearer to simply use the proper tool for the job. Your editor will thank you!

So use the Replace Text tool when you want to replace text and use the Strikethrough tool when you want to delete text.

[craigb36097816]

Great explanation...thanks so much!

[try67]

As you rightly mentioned, the "Replace Text" comment is actually two annotations, a Strike-through and a Caret, with the former set up as a reply to the latter. Acrobat combines them to show a single object, but in fact it's not.

[craigb36097816]

Thanks... i have a followup point re: 2 annotations and commenting tools in general

it seems to me that the replace tool and other commenting tools, are not really like track changes commands in Microsoft Word.   There once you turn on track changes, you can delete text and a strike through appears, then type the suggested replacement text to the right of in in the body of the paragraph.   You dont have comment boxes on the right unless you want to make a comment to another person.

In Acrobat, as far as I can tell in my practice, the replace tool first strikes text first then allows the user to put in suggested replacement text in a comment box that shows up on the right.   That you cannot put the replacement text next to where you striked out the text to remove.  I tried the Insert tool but had no luck typing replacement text in the body of the paragraph.

Is my analysis of how it works correct to you?

thanks very much

that it is not, and perhaps most comment tools are not, like the track changes in Word where you can delete text and it shows a strikethrough then in the body of the text, just type the replace next right next to it.

[craigb36097816]

Quick follow-up point.  Sorry I was too hasty/sloppy in my writing of the last reply above so please ignore it and rather, read the following: (thank you) 

===================================================

I have a followup point re: 2 annotations and commenting tools in general.

It seems to me that the Replace tool and some other commenting tools, like Insert, are not really like track change commands in Microsoft Word.   In Word, once you turn on track changes, you can delete text and a strike through appears and then be able to easily insert replacement text to the right of where you struck the text.   You don't have a comment box on the right.

But with Acrobat, as far as I can tell, the Replace tool strikes text first and then allows the user to put in the replacement text in a comment box in the comment pane.   That you cannot put the replacement text next to where you striked out the text to replace.  I tried the Insert tool but had no luck typing replacement text in the body of the paragraph.  Is my analysis of how this all works correct to you?   I just want to make sure I understand how this should work.  Thanks very much for any advice or feedback!

Craig

[try67 · Accepted solution]

Correct. The commenting tools in Acrobat can not be used for direct editing. They are meant as references to the editor who needs to make those changes in the original file used to create the PDF, and then a new PDF should be created. PDF files were never meant to be edited directly in this way, even though Acrobat does allow you to do it, but it should be avoided, if at all possible.

[craigb36097816]

Got it...thanks very much!