Invisible annotations in pdf file

[tmikolajczyk]

I keep having an issue with InDesign and Acrobat. When I import a marked-up PDF with comments into InDesign, I update the file, delete the imported comments, and export a new PDF.

Why do the note icons from the marked PDF become invisible annotations in the new PDF, which also throw off error messages in the ADA version of said PDF? They also become visible when the PDF is uploaded to the website. 

[Vivek12]

Hi @tmikolajczyk, Thank you for reaching out to us. Please try the solution provided in this similar community thread and share the outcome.

Regards,
Vivek

[tmikolajczyk]

Hi Vivek, thanks for your reply, though it's not a graphic issue. I am attaching a annotated PDF that I hope better explains/illustrates what I'm referring to. I work on long-form documents which sometimes have hundreds of reviewer edits so I rely on the "Import PDF Comments" tool to help work through the changes. 
Here's a rundown of my basic working process:

1. "Import PDF Comments"
2. Make edits and changes
3. Delete Imported PDF Comments
4. Export a new PDF
After performing those steps and exporting a new PDF, occasionally, some of the notations appear like the "Note Icons" appear in the PDF (please see attached) this happens even after deleting the PDF comments from the InDesign document.
Occasionally, the icons remain hidden and only become visible when the PDF is uploaded to an online platforms. 
When "Check for Accessability" is run in Acrobat, it throws off "Annotation" error messages. When the ghosted icons are identified as errors and visible in the PDF it's impossible to delete them.
I hope this helps clarifies my issue.

[Vivek12]

@tmikolajczyk  Please share the respective InDesign file and a screen recording depicting the issue so we can try to reproduce the issue inhouse. 

Regards,
Vivek

[tmikolajczyk]

Thanks, Vivek. I just have one question: how do I create a screen recording?

[Vivek12]

@tmikolajczyk  Please follow the steps shared in this link to screen-record the issue.

Note:-  Please avoid recording any confidential information.

Regards,
Vivek

[tmikolajczyk]

Vivek; here's a video that shows a pdf in both Acrobat (left) and a Safari (right). The browser window shows the phantom note icons, which only shows when dropped into a browser. In Acrobat I ran the ADA script; under "Tagged Annotations—Failed" Elements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 show hyperlinks and cross references that were deleted. Elements 4, 5, and 11 the green squares on the bottom left of the page match the position of the "Note" icons in the other layout. We're unable to delete the icons.. We need to eliminate any chance that the note icons show up in our pdfs. Any help would be grateful. Please let me know if you need anything else from me.  

[Pickory]

Hi, are you sure these are not placed pdfs. Looking with Acrobat, each page appears to be an image.

[Pickory]

Do you have any exotic PlugIns loaded. PDFStickies, maybe?

[tmikolajczyk]

No, I work in a corporate environment, so our IT teams set the parameters for which software/plugins can be used. 

[Luke Jennings3]

While you are waiting for a real fix, you could try to optimize your pdf in Acrobat to (hopefully) remove the ghost comments- File> Save as other> Optimized pdf, see attached screen shot. There is also an Acrobat preflight fixup that does the same thing.

[tmikolajczyk]

Luke, thanks for the tip. I tried it and have to say that it did remove the notes icons, but it also wiped out all the Xrefs, URLs, and bookmarks, so that's not a workable solution. What was the Acrobat preflight fixup that you mentioned?

[Luke Jennings3]

Tools> Print production> Preflight> Fixups.

[tmikolajczyk]

No, PDFStickies. It's pretty standard off-the-shelf InDesign CC 2024. We employ XML with a select few Java Scripts to help with formatting Xrefs, URLs, and GREPs, but it's pretty standard. Also, the problem doesn't happen to every file, but when it does, it's frustrating. 

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

We often see those ghost annotations floating on pages in these situations:

• the Shared Hyperlink Destination is checked in InDesign's URL dialogue. We keep that little PITA UNchecked for each hyperlink in the Hyperlinks panel.
• When items that are artifacted (or on the parent/master page, which artifacts the items) but still have a hyperlink on them.

Our solutions:

• Remove the hyperlink on the ones where Shared Hyperlink Destination was checked, save the INDD file with a new name (File / Save As rather than just Save) to rebuild the file and remove residual code crud, and the recreate the hyperlinks with shared destination UNchecked.
• Remove hyperlinks on all artifacted items (which includes those on Parent/Master pages).

Hope this helps!

[Vivek12]

@tmikolajczyk  Please try the steps shared by @Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com  and share the outcome.

Regards,

Vivek

[tmikolajczyk]

Bevi, thanks for your response.

• Should I disable the Shared Hyperlink Destination on all hyperlinks or just the deleted ones?
• Xrefs don't have a Shared Hyperlink Destination. What happens to them?

I am a little confused about the steps; perhaps you could point me to a visual primer that shows the exact steps. Could you make a video of the steps?