How to move comments to a new version of a PDF

With PDF by Zaweba, open the revised file and choose Comment, Migrate comments from an earlier version, then pick the old file. The comments of the earlier file are moved onto the open one, each following its words, even onto another page. Any comments whose words were deleted stay where they were, and the status line says how many. The app is free and works offline on Windows.

This solves a familiar annoyance. Someone reviews a draft, the author fixes half the points and sends a new PDF, and all the remaining comments are on the old file.

Why it matters

Without migration, there are two poor choices. You can keep reviewing on the old file and lose track of what's changed, or start again on the new one and copy remarks across by hand. Neither is fun on a long document.

Migration keeps a single, current copy with all the review history on it. Comments land on the same words they were made against, not just the same position, so if a paragraph has moved down the page, or onto the next page, the comment moves with it.

Moving the comments across

Open the new version of the document. Choose Comment, Migrate comments from an earlier version, and choose the earlier file that holds the comments. The app looks for each comment's words in the new file and places the comment there.

When it's done, check the status line. It tells you how many comments couldn't follow their words because those words were deleted. Those comments stay where they were on the page, so you can still read them and decide whether they're settled.

Open the Comments panel and sort by page to read through what has arrived. Filter by status if the reviewers used one, so you see only the points still open.

Checking the result

Look at any comment that's landed in an odd place. If wording was changed only slightly, the comment may have found the right spot; if the sentence was rewritten, it may have stayed put. Either way, a quick look sorts it out, and you can move a comment by dragging it.

Comments whose words were deleted are often the easiest to close. If the reviewer asked for a sentence to be removed and it has been, set the status and tick it off.

Other ways to share comments between files

Migration is for a revised file. If you have two copies of the same version, each with different people's comments, import instead: the app can import XFDF, FDF or the comments of another PDF, bringing every remark into one file.

Exporting comments as XFDF or FDF is also a light way to send a review to someone who already has the document, since the file holds only the comments.

If you want to see what changed between the two versions as well, File, Compare files compares an older PDF with the open one, listing changed, added and removed words page by page. Comparing first and migrating second gives you both what changed and what the reviewers asked for.

PDF by Zaweba runs all of this on your own PC, so drafts and reviews stay private.