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Tracking and managing PDF reviews

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Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat

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  1. Acrobat User Guide
  2. Introduction to Acrobat
    1. Access Acrobat from desktop, mobile, web
    2. Introducing the new Acrobat experience
    3. What's new in Acrobat
    4. Keyboard shortcuts
    5. System Requirements
  3. Workspace
    1. Workspace basics
    2. Opening and viewing PDFs
      1. Opening PDFs
      2. Navigating PDF pages
      3. Viewing PDF preferences
      4. Adjusting PDF views
      5. Enable thumbnail preview of PDFs
      6. Display PDF in browser
    3. Working with online storage accounts
      1. Access files from Box
      2. Access files from Dropbox
      3. Access files from OneDrive
      4. Access files from SharePoint
      5. Access files from Google Drive
    4. Acrobat and macOS
    5. Acrobat notifications
    6. Grids, guides, and measurements in PDFs
    7. Asian, Cyrillic, and right-to-left text in PDFs
  4. Creating PDFs
    1. Overview of PDF creation
    2. Create PDFs with Acrobat
    3. Create PDFs with PDFMaker
    4. Using the Adobe PDF printer
    5. Converting web pages to PDF
    6. Creating PDFs with Acrobat Distiller
    7. Adobe PDF conversion settings
    8. PDF fonts
  5. Editing PDFs
    1. Edit text in PDFs
    2. Edit images or objects in a PDF
    3. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    4. Edit scanned PDFs
    5. Enhance document photos captured using a mobile camera
    6. Optimizing PDFs
    7. PDF properties and metadata
    8. Links and attachments in PDFs
    9. PDF layers
    10. Page thumbnails and bookmarks in PDFs
    11. PDFs converted to web pages
    12. Setting up PDFs for a presentation
    13. PDF articles
    14. Geospatial PDFs
    15. Applying actions and scripts to PDFs
    16. Change the default font for adding text
    17. Delete pages from a PDF
  6. Scan and OCR
    1. Scan documents to PDF
    2. Enhance document photos
    3. Troubleshoot scanner issues when scanning using Acrobat
  7. Forms
    1. PDF forms basics
    2. Create a form from scratch in Acrobat
    3. Create and distribute PDF forms
    4. Fill in PDF forms
    5. PDF form field properties
    6. Fill and sign PDF forms
    7. Setting action buttons in PDF forms
    8. Publishing interactive PDF web forms
    9. PDF form field basics
    10. PDF barcode form fields
    11. Collect and manage PDF form data
    12. About forms tracker
    13. PDF forms help
    14. Send PDF forms to recipients using email or an internal server
  8. Combining files
    1. Combine or merge files into single PDF
    2. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    3. Add headers, footers, and Bates numbering to PDFs
    4. Crop PDF pages
    5. Add watermarks to PDFs
    6. Add backgrounds to PDFs
    7. Working with component files in a PDF Portfolio
    8. Publish and share PDF Portfolios
    9. Overview of PDF Portfolios
    10. Create and customize PDF Portfolios
  9. Sharing, reviews, and commenting
    1. Share and track PDFs online
    2. Mark up text with edits
    3. Preparing for a PDF review
    4. Starting a PDF review
    5. Hosting shared reviews on SharePoint or Office 365 sites
    6. Participating in a PDF review
    7. Add comments to PDFs
    8. Adding a stamp to a PDF
    9. Approval workflows
    10. Managing comments | view, reply, print
    11. Importing and exporting comments
    12. Tracking and managing PDF reviews
  10. Saving and exporting PDFs
    1. Saving PDFs
    2. Convert PDF to Word
    3. Convert PDF to PPTX
    4. Convert PDF to XLSX or XML
    5. Convert PDF to JPG
    6. Convert PDF to PNG
    7. Convert or export PDFs to other file formats
    8. File format options for PDF export
    9. Reusing PDF content
  11. Security
    1. Enhanced security setting for PDFs
    2. Securing PDFs with passwords
    3. Manage Digital IDs
    4. Securing PDFs with certificates
    5. Opening secured PDFs
    6. Removing sensitive content from PDFs
    7. Setting up security policies for PDFs
    8. Choosing a security method for PDFs
    9. Security warnings when a PDF opens
    10. Securing PDFs with Adobe Experience Manager
    11. Protected View feature for PDFs
    12. Overview of security in Acrobat and PDFs
    13. JavaScripts in PDFs as a security risk
    14. Attachments as security risks
    15. Allow or block links in PDFs
  12. Electronic signatures
    1. Sign PDF documents
    2. Capture your signature on mobile and use it everywhere
    3. Send documents for e-signatures
    4. Create a web form
    5. Request e-signatures in bulk
    6. Collect online payments
    7. Brand your account
    8. About certificate signatures
    9. Certificate-based signatures
    10. Validating digital signatures
    11. Adobe Approved Trust List
    12. Manage trusted identities
  13. Printing
    1. Basic PDF printing tasks
    2. Print Booklets and PDF Portfolios
    3. Advanced PDF print settings
    4. Print to PDF
    5. Printing color PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    6. Printing PDFs in custom sizes
  14. Accessibility, tags, and reflow
    1. Create and verify PDF accessibility
    2. Accessibility features in PDFs
    3. Reading Order tool for PDFs
    4. Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features
    5. Edit document structure with the Content and Tags panels
    6. Creating accessible PDFs
    7. Cloud-based auto-tagging
  15. Searching and indexing
    1. Creating PDF indexes
    2. Searching PDFs
  16. Multimedia and 3D models
    1. Add audio, video, and interactive objects to PDFs
    2. Adding 3D models to PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    3. Displaying 3D models in PDFs
    4. Interacting with 3D models
    5. Measuring 3D objects in PDFs
    6. Setting 3D views in PDFs
    7. Enable 3D content in PDF
    8. Adding multimedia to PDFs
    9. Commenting on 3D designs in PDFs
    10. Playing video, audio, and multimedia formats in PDFs
    11. Add comments to videos
  17. Print production tools (Acrobat Pro)
    1. Print production tools overview
    2. Printer marks and hairlines
    3. Previewing output
    4. Transparency flattening
    5. Color conversion and ink management
    6. Trapping color
  18. Preflight (Acrobat Pro)
    1. PDF/X-, PDF/A-, and PDF/E-compliant files
    2. Preflight profiles
    3. Advanced preflight inspections
    4. Preflight reports
    5. Viewing preflight results, objects, and resources
    6. Output intents in PDFs
    7. Correcting problem areas with the Preflight tool
    8. Automating document analysis with droplets or preflight actions
    9. Analyzing documents with the Preflight tool
    10. Additional checks in the Preflight tool
    11. Preflight libraries
    12. Preflight variables
  19. Color management
    1. Keeping colors consistent
    2. Color settings
    3. Color-managing documents
    4. Working with color profiles
    5. Understanding color management

Before you begin

We're rolling out a new, more intuitive product experience. If the screen shown here doesn’t match your product interface, select help for your current experience.

In the new experience, the tools appear on the left side of the screen.

Track reviews for PDFs shared using Adobe Document Cloud

Available in: Acrobat Pro

You can track and manage reviews using the following methods:

To view the review comments, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the review link in your email.

  2. The review PDF opens in a browser. Sign in with your Adobe ID to join the review.

Initiator

When the reviewers add any comment on the PDF, you get a notification in Acrobat. Select the notification icon (). Then select the notification message. Acrobat opens the review PDF.

Reviewer

You get a notification in Acrobat. Select Review, in the notification message to open the review PDF in Acrobat. The PDFs shared for review with you are also listed in Acrobat > Home > Recent. Double-click the PDF to open in Acrobat.

Note:

The comment icon () next to a shared file’s name indicates that it’s a review file. If there’s no comment icon () next to a shared file, then the file has been shared for viewing only. 

To view and track all the PDFs shared for review, do the following:

  1. Select Home.

  2. In the Shared section, do one of the following:

    • To view the files sent by you for review, click Shared By You.
    • To view the files received for review, click Shared By Others.

    The comment icon () next to a shared file’s name indicates that it’s a review file.

    Review files in Acrobat

    All the PDFs shared for review are displayed along with the following information:

    • Name: Name of the PDF shared for review
    • Status: Shows the number of people who have commented on the file.
    • Last Activity: The timestamp of the last activity performed on the PDF.

  3. To view the details of a PDF, select the PDF. A thumbnail of the PDF is displayed in the right-pane. To view the review status and the list of reviewers, expand the list by clicking the arrow key ().

    Based on whether you are an initiator or a reviewer, you can perform any of the following actions:

  4. To view the comments, double-click the file. The review PDF opens. The comments list is displayed in the right pane.
    In the upper-right corner, click the  icon  to toggle between viewing comments and managing review.

    Based on whether you are an initiator or a reviewer, you can perform any of the following actions from the Share option:

Track reviews for PDFs shared using a network folder

Available in: Acrobat, Acrobat 2017, and Acrobat 2015 (Classic)

Note:

(Acrobat only)

To track and manage PDFs shared using a network folder, ensure that you turn off the following preference in Acrobat:

  1. Select Preferences from the hamburger menu (WIndows) or the Acrobat menu (macOS). The Preferences dialog box is displayed.
  2. In the left pane, select Reviewing. Under the Shared Review Options section, deselect Share For Review Using The Adobe Document Cloud checkbox, then select OK.

Use the Tracker to manage document reviews and distributed forms, view the status of review and form servers, and manage web broadcast subscriptions (known as RSS feeds). To open the Tracker, choose View > Tracker.

Tracker overview
Use the Tracker to manage reviews, forms, and web broadcast subscriptions (RSS feeds). Left panel has links to review files, forms, server status messages, and RSS feeds. Right panel shows details for item selected in left panel.

Note:

If the RSS button doesn’t appear in Tracker, open the Preferences dialog box in Acrobat and select Tracker. Select Enable RSS Feeds In Tracker, and click OK. Then close and reopen Tracker.

You can use the Tracker to subscribe to web content that uses the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format, such as news feeds and music channels. RSS format is compatible with XML and RDF formats.

The Server Status shows the state of all servers being used for reviews and distributed forms. The check mark icon  next to the server name indicates that the last synchronization attempt was successful. The warning icon  indicates that the last synchronization attempt was unsuccessful. The warning icon indicates that the server is disconnected from the network, has problems writing data to the disk, or has some other problem. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

RSS

Server Status

Use Tracker to manage the forms that you have distributed or received. The Tracker allows you to view and edit the location of the response file, and track which recipients have responded. You can also add more recipients, email all recipients, and view the responses for a form. For more information, see About Forms Tracker.

Forms

The Tracker shows who’s joined a shared review and how many comments they’ve published. From the Tracker, you can rejoin a review and email the participants. If you’ve initiated reviews, you can add or change deadlines, add reviewers, end a review, and start a new review with existing reviewers.

The left side of the Tracker shows all PDF documents in managed reviews. The information pane on the right lists the date and time the PDF was sent and the list of invited reviewers. Links to shared PDFs provide additional information, including the deadline (if set) and the number of comments submitted per reviewer. Deleting a link in the Tracker deletes the PDF and all comments from the server, and permanently ends the review.

Reviews

The Latest Updates panel provides a summary of the latest changes in shared reviews, form files, and servers. If you have no active reviews or forms, this panel provides instructions and links for creating managed reviews, creating forms, and distributing forms. In the Latest Updates panel, you can also turn Tracker notifications on or off inside Acrobat and, for Windows only, in the system tray.

Latest Updates

  1. In the Tracker, expand the appropriate folder:

    Sent

    Lists PDFs in reviews that you initiated. (Not available in Reader.)

    Joined

    Contains PDFs in reviews that you’ve received. PDFs appear in this list only after you open them. If you open a PDF from an email attachment and don’t save the PDF, the entry is removed from the Tracker when you close the file.

    Note:

    PDFs listed in bold contain one or more of the following updates: comments that you haven’t read yet, a deadline update from the review initiator, and reviewers who have joined the review.

  2. Select a PDF.

    Information specific to the selected PDF review appears on the right. Shared reviews list deadline information, reviewers who have joined the review, and the number of comments.

You can save a copy of the review PDF that contains all the comments that reviewers have published or that you’ve imported (merged).

If the PDF is in a shared review, you can save an archive copy. The copy is no longer connected to the shared review, and you can edit both content and comments in it.

Note:

If you want to create a copy of a shared PDF to distribute to others, use the Save As command. The resulting file includes all comments that were published up to that point. It can be moved, copied, or renamed without affecting its connection to the review or to the comment server.

  1. To save a copy of a review PDF with all the comments, open the file, and then do one of the following:

    • For a shared review, select Save as other from the hamburger menu (Windows) or File (macOS). Then select Save As Archivable PDF (PDF/A). 

    • For an email-based review, Select Save As from the hamburger menu (Windows) or File (macOS) to save a new copy of the PDF. This most recently saved version is now the tracked PDF. The old version is the archive copy.

If you’re the review initiator, you can invite others to participate in the review. If you’re a reviewer and want other people to participate, ask the review initiator to invite them. That way, the initiator can automatically track all participants and receive notification when their comments are received.

  1. In the Tracker, select the PDF under Sent, and then click Add Reviewers on the right.

  2. Specify the email addresses of the reviewers whom you want to add. Change the message as needed and then send the message.

    Additional reviewers appear with other participants in the right pane of the Tracker.

A review initiator can add or change a deadline in an existing review.

  1. In the Tracker, select the PDF, and do one of the following:

    • If the review has no deadline, click Add Deadline.

    • If the review has a deadline, click Change Deadline.

  2. Click Review Deadline, change the deadline as needed, and click OK.

  3. Change the email recipients, subject, and message as needed, and then click Send.

A review initiator can end an existing review. Once a review has ended, participants cannot publish comments to the server. You can change the review deadline later if you want to restart the review.

  1. In the Tracker, select the PDF and click End Review.

  1. In the Tracker, select a PDF and click Start New Review With Same Reviewers.

  2. Follow the steps for starting a shared review.

Sometimes during a review, you want to contact other reviewers or send them a reminder of their approaching deadline.

  1. In the Tracker, select the PDF and click Email All Reviewers.

  2. In the email message, change the To and Subject boxes or the body of the email message as needed, and then click Send.

Your comments identify you as the author by displaying your name—the name you provided when you joined or started a review, or your system login. You can change the author name and other profile information at any time. If you do, your updated profile appears only in new comments; existing comments aren’t affected.

Update your review profile

  1. Select Preferences from the hamburger menu (Windows) or the Acrobat/Acrobat Pro (macOS). Under Categories in the Preferences dialog box, select Commenting.

  2. Deselect Always Use Log-In Name For Author Name.

  3. Select Identity from the list on the left.

  4. Edit your profile, making sure to include the email address that you’ll use for reviews. Click OK.

Update your profile for a shared review

  1. In the Preferences dialog box under Categories, select Identity.

  2. Edit your profile, making sure to include a valid email address, and click OK.

  1. Click the RSS button on the left side of the Tracker.

    Note:

    If the RSS button doesn’t appear in Tracker, open the Preferences dialog box in Acrobat and select Tracker. Select Enable RSS Feeds In Tracker, and click OK. Then close and reopen Tracker.

  2. Click Subscribe To RSS Feed, and then enter a web address in the URL box.

To specify settings for Tracker, in the Preferences dialog box under Categories, select Tracker.

Automatically Check For New Comments And Form Data

Specifies how often comments are synchronized. To disable automatic synchronization, move the slider to the far right until the value Never appears.

Suspend The Check For New Comments And Form Data

Specifies how long after review or form inactivity to stop checking for comments or new form data.

Remove Custom Server Locations

To remove a server profile, select it from the list and click Remove Server Profile.

Notifications

Specifies where Tracker notifications appear.

Enable RSS Feeds In Tracker

When this option is selected, an RSS category appears on the left side of the Tracker. You can subscribe to RSS feeds from within the Tracker.

Clear All Stored Credentials

Click to remove all stored credentials used for shared reviews.

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