Highlighting and marking up text in PDF by Zaweba

Text markup is the most natural way to comment on a document. It is what you would do with a pen on paper: highlight the important sentence, underline the bit to check, strike out what should go and put a wavy line under something that needs another look. PDF by Zaweba does all four from the Comment menu.

Select some text, then choose highlight (Ctrl+Shift+L), underline, strikethrough or squiggly underline. Comment > Highlight an area marks a region instead of words.

What each mark means

There is no fixed rule, but most people read them the same way. A highlight says "this matters". An underline draws attention more quietly, often meaning "check this" or "note this term". Strikethrough suggests the words should be removed. A squiggly underline is the usual signal for a possible error, the way a spelling checker marks a word.

Agreeing what each mark means with the people you work with helps. A team that knows strikethrough means "delete" and squiggly means "query" reads a marked-up document much faster.

Using them well

Select carefully. The mark covers exactly the text you select, so drag from the first letter to the last of the passage you mean. Highlighting a whole paragraph when one sentence matters dilutes the point.

Use the shortcut. Ctrl+Shift+L for highlighting is quick enough that you can read and mark as you go, which is how most people highlight on paper.

Add a note where it helps. A highlight with no words relies on the reader guessing why. Opening the comment's pop-up and typing a sentence explains it. The Comments panel then lists the mark with its note.

Highlighting an area

Some documents do not have selectable text, or the text you want is mixed with pictures or tables that do not select neatly. Scans are the classic case. Comment > Highlight an area lets you drag over a region and mark it regardless of what is underneath. It is also useful for highlighting a picture, a chart or a whole table.

Where markup fits

Text marks are one part of commenting. For suggesting specific new wording, the Propose text changes tools, Replace selected text and Insert text, mark edits more clearly. Sticky notes add longer comments, shapes and callouts point at things on the page, and stamps mark a whole page as approved or draft.

Every mark appears in the Comments panel. There you can sort them by page or author, filter them, reply and set a status, which turns a page of highlights into a list someone can work through.

Comment properties let you change a mark's colour. Using different colours for different meanings, or for different reviewers, makes a busy page easier to read.

Marking less, explaining more

Over-marking is the main one. A page where half the text is highlighted shows nothing in particular. Mark only what you would want someone else to notice.

Another is marking without explaining. A strikethrough on a sentence is clear; a squiggly line on a number may not be. A short note avoids a back and forth.

The last is forgetting that marks are comments, not edits. Striking out text does not remove it from the page. If you own the document and want the words gone, edit the text itself.

Simple as they are, these four marks are the backbone of most PDF reviews, and in PDF by Zaweba they are always one menu or shortcut away.