Highlight tool in different colors on a one-click base

[Alexander_Kobusch]

Concerns Acrobat Pro DC in the newest version on a MAC.I am looking for a way to have the highlight tool (sorry, only a German version - it is the tool with the pen in yellow, which allows to highlight words) in the comment section available in different colors on a one-click base. Sure one can with the colors in the property panel of the highlight itself, but that is quite burdensome. It is possible to put the tool into a customized toolbar, yet, switching the color of one instance of the tool will change it in all instances. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Alex

[Document Geek]

Hi Alex, I think what you're after is to be able to change the properties of a bunch of highlights all at once? Correct? If so, then that is easy. Open up the comments pane and select all your comments. Then go to the Properties toolbar and change the color.

If you want to keep the properties of the highlighter tool sticky, so that the new color will become the default going forward, right click on one of the highlights after you have changed the color, then choose "Make Current Properties Default."

[Alexander_Kobusch]

Hi, thanks for the hint, but that is not exactly what I am looking for. I will explain the typical scenario to state my question in more detail: I usually use Acrobat Pro to read academic texts which are (or at least can be ;-)) quite complex. Now I like to highlight main points that structure the text in red, important explanatory points in yellow and, for example, the reference to a certain author in blue. That means that I highlight while I am reading. Your hint would help if I could distinguish afterwards which type of highlight it is, but of course that is not possible. Thus, I have to switch the color all the time which is on Mac at least four or five clicks and some waiting on property panes to open. In consequence, it would be nice to have different colored highlight tools to just click the one I need and highlighting the text.

This might seem a quite unimportant and detailed wish, but after several hundred pages the time consumption is enormous. Yet, I need the coloring to quickly access the basic information of the text.

Alex

[Alexander_Kobusch]

OK, great. Your idea does offer a work around. If I put a comment to the highlight saying just 'r' or 'b' I can then search afterwards for comments with 'r', changing all to red, the 'b' to blue etc. Just checked it and it works. Still time-consuming but definitively quicker. Perfect solution would be to just put the highlight icon several times in the toolbar and being able to assign different colors to each... but that doesn't work as I said at the beginning.

[Document Geek · Accepted solution]

Have you ever used the Properies toolbar? Cmd +E.

This is WAY faster than opening the comment properties each time. Sometime the Properties panel takes five+ seconds to open.

The Properties Bar you access to basically all the properties one might need. Plus it's contextual! Read the article below about how to use it. It works the same as is did back when I wrote this article...only now it can't be docked. Document Geek: How to Edit Font Properties Within a PDF Sticky Note

[Alexander_Kobusch]

Perfect! Now you really safe my day. This IS what I was looking for! As you say the properties panel does take forever and then it is not the color menu showing right away. Many thanks!!!

Alex

[morphFXF]

Bless you

[krendon]

Thanks!

[MJB4530]

I still do wish that there was a true shortcut you could add to the Quick shortcut so you could add a comment in green or one in yellow one in red or a highlight in green as opposed to yellow or red. This takes two steps and when you are doing a lot of editing and commenting like marking or copy editing it is waste of time and strokes.