- Print the document and hand it to you.
- Send you the InDesign file–and hope you have InDesign (as well as the same version) and all the fonts that I used installed on your computer.
- Create a PDF of the document so you open and see exactly how the document is supposed to look on any computer.
For a short document, these highly graphical markup tools are fantastic. One might become overwhelmed by the large number of comments in any given PDF file (or find that in a very long document, it is difficult to get a handle of the comments).
Savvy Acrobat users know to open the Comments Panel to help manipulate and navigate through a PDF's various comments. This is very useful, but only while working with the document on screen.
Proofing and reviewing documents can be done on screen, or on paper. As much as we all want to be 'paperless,' there's no getting around it in my shop–I proof on paper. Once the PDF document is printed, I would be still be strapped to my workstation chair (to view the Comments Panel).
Here's where Acrobat's Summarize Comments command comes in to play. Choose Comments > Summarize Comments. You are presented with many options, such as physical layout, graphical vs. textual (or both), sorting criteria, etc.
I usually choose Comments Only to end up with a simple list of the document's comments. This summary is presented as a stand-alone PDF file and can be printed, attached, distributed, etc.
Now I have the original document on paper, and a list of all comments on paper too. I am now free to grab a red pencil and head to a comfy spot, and start proofing on good-old paper.