Markup Tools for Real Editors

[Pamela Capraru]

As editors, we use the finer markup tools: Insert, Strikethrough, Highlight (and as few balloon comments as possible—they make designers nuts). I just finished copy-editing a 100-page cookbook in Acrobat. Yes, I realize the software was never designed for such a monumental task.   

Unfortunately, clients insist on designing projects first and only sending them to an editor at the last minute as they're supposed to go to print. They think their book just needs "a quick proofread." They can't surrender the InDesign file because they're madly working on it and InCopy scares the crap out of them. 

I inserted almost 1,000 edits and comments in the cookbook. Designers want the markup as clear and clean as possible. It takes five or six mouse clicks to select the text—or a single punctuation mark or word space—choose the tool, double-click to open the note field, then type the instruction (and often a brief explanation for the change). The process can double or triple the time it takes to edit a job on a nightmare rush deadline. 

I'm using a MacBook Pro. I looked at Keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Acrobat​​​. I don't just want to switch tools, and CMD-u didn't work as I expected. They don't work like shortcuts in Preview editing mode, where I can highlight the text and type CTRL-CMD-A (Annotate) to open tools; CTRL-CMD-s for Strikethrough; CTRL-CMD-h for Highlight, CTRL-CMD-u for underline, and so on, all from the keyboard. This is what we're looking for in Acrobat. Same thing in Word: If a client requests hard markup instead of Track Changes, I can use the keyboard for Strikethrough, Underline, Bold. Takes one second versus 15–30 seconds in Acrobat.   

Most editors who work in Acrobat wish the functionality was better adapted to the tasks we perform instead of for laypeople who may have simpler needs for the program. I discovered by accident that if I place my cursor and hit the space bar, it sets an insert mark and opens up the insert field with a note I can type into. I want the same ability with all the other markup tools. Suggestions?

[try67 · Accepted solution]

You can utilize the right-click menu to gain quick access to some commenting tool.

Select some text, or just place the cursor at a certain position, and then use the right-click button of the mouse (or the equivalent keyboard key) and a menu will open with various options. Those options have keyboard accelerators (the underlined character) for quick access. For example, "h" will highlight the selected text, "u" will add an underline comment to it, "n" will add a note (and open it so you could enter a comment into it and "r" will add a replace text comment. With a bit of practice you can use these shortcuts to improve the efficiency of your work by quite a bit.

[aplusyou]

Hello, I just found your comment while troubleshooting some of my own issues.  Since you seem to be quite experienced in editing in acrobat, I would like to ask for your consultation.  I've just edited a 76-page document with mark-ups.  In additional to sending the comments to the client I would like to also send them a document to read through in which all of my edits have been applied.   Is there a way to do this that doesn't require me to manually change each edit?  Many thanks for your thoughts!

[Test Screen Name]

There is a very specific workflow with InDesign 2020 (not old versions), which must be used in an exact way.

* Make the InDesign document

* Export a PDF with suitable options

* Close and DO NOT REOPEN OR EDIT the InDesign document

* Mark up the PDF. 

* Get the PDF back and import the comments to InDesign.

* The InDesign operator gets the chance to accept or reject each markup

Clearly if this is done, the new InDesign document can be used to make another PDF with the edits applied. Otherwise, no. You cannot jump into this workflow unless it was followed step by step from the start.

[try67]

NO. There's no "Apply Changes" command in Acrobat, and you should not use it to make edits directly, only for adding comments about what needs to be edited. Then go back to the original file format, make the edits there and then create a new PDF file.

[A294908013qfy]

I have similar issues. 

[Mike Witherell]

Train your editing people to use Acrobat Pro desktop version which has 20 commenting tools. However, make sure they know that only 3 of them are AUTO-EDIT comment tools that the "PDF Comment" panel of InDesign can simply allow the textual change to update the layout. There is much room for improvement in commenting workflows, but this tip represents the strongest yet little-known part of the InDesign-Acrobat cycle.

[A294908013qfy]

I am not in a position to do that unfortunately. 

[Test Screen Name]

(Assuming you're the designer, and the non-compliant ones are the editors/reviewers) -- Then you will have to treat their PDF editing as information for making your own edits in the normal way, just as if they sent you paper with scribbles. If you can bill them for time, then that might help (but probably won't). If you're all employees, they probably won't see there's a problem.

[A294908013qfy]

I am the writer in this case. This is the framework I have to use. I do not get a choice.