How to review a PDF
To review a PDF, open it in your browser and use the built-in highlight and comment tools — no software needed. To have someone else review it, share a link they can annotate in their browser without an Adobe account or a downloaded copy. Every note lands in one place instead of scattered across inboxes.
In your browser (free, any device)
Chrome, Firefox, and Safari each include a PDF viewer. Drag the file onto an open browser tab or use File → Open. Chrome shows a highlight tool in the top bar; Firefox and Safari let you add text annotations. When you're done, print to PDF (⌘P → Save as PDF on Mac, Ctrl+P → Save as PDF on Windows) to keep a copy with the marks baked in. This works on Mac, Windows, and Chromebook with nothing extra installed — and it's the fastest path for a quick personal read-through before sending a document to a client.
On Mac (Preview) or Windows (Edge)
Mac: double-click the PDF to open it in Preview. Press Shift ⌘ A to show the Markup Toolbar. You get highlight, underline, strikethrough, text notes, shapes, and a signature field. Click the spot, pick a tool, type your comment, save with ⌘ S. Windows: right-click the PDF → Open with → Microsoft Edge. Edge's toolbar has a highlighter, a text note pin, and a freehand draw tool. Save As to keep the annotated version. The one gotcha with Edge: annotations are stored as a separate overlay, so a recipient who opens the file in a different viewer may need to enable markup display before they can see your notes.
Share a link so your client annotates without downloading anything
This is where most PDF review workflows break down. You email the PDF. Your client downloads it, annotates it in whatever they have (or screenshots a section, circles it in red, and emails the image back). Now you have two versions and a description of 'the bit near the top.' The alternative: share a link the client opens in their browser. They click the exact paragraph or graphic they mean and leave a note pinned right there — not an approximation, not a forwarded attachment. Adobe Acrobat's share-for-review feature does this; so does any tool that renders the PDF as a web page with an annotation layer. The key requirement: reviewers shouldn't need to sign in or install anything, or the client will fall back to email regardless.
Close the loop — one version, one thread
The thing most PDF review workflows miss isn't the collecting of comments — it's resolving them. Once your client's notes land, you want to be able to reply to each one ('Fixed in v2'), mark it resolved, and share the updated version on the same link so the client sees the revision in context. If you're emailing copies back and forth, that resolution loop disappears: you fix things, re-export, re-send, and the client has to remember what they asked for. An anchored thread — where each comment lives on the exact spot it refers to, with a reply and a resolution — cuts that down to one round instead of three.
If your client is the reviewer, the fastest path is a shared link. Drop the PDF into Drafty, share the URL, and your client clicks the exact paragraph or section they mean and pins a note right there — no Adobe account, no downloaded file bouncing back over email. Every note lands in one anchored thread. When you push a revised version, the same link updates — you don't send a new URL and ask them to compare.
Open a live demoQuestions
- Can a client comment on a PDF without Adobe Acrobat?
- Yes. Any browser can open and annotate a PDF using the built-in viewer tools. For shared review, tools that render the PDF as a web page let reviewers click the spot they mean and leave a note without signing in to Adobe or installing anything. The key is that the reviewer gets a link — not an attachment.
- What's the best way to share a PDF for review?
- Share a link, not a file. When you email a PDF attachment, reviewers download it, annotate their own copy, and send it back — and you end up reconciling multiple annotated files. A shared link keeps every comment on one version of the document, anchored to the exact spot each reviewer meant.
- How do I get someone to review a PDF without printing it?
- Most browsers and PDF viewers include annotation tools that work entirely on-screen. For a reviewer who isn't technical, share a web link they can open on any device and comment directly — clicking the paragraph or image they mean, without printing or downloading anything.
- How do I collect feedback from multiple people on the same PDF?
- Email attachments don't work for this — each person annotates their own downloaded copy and you end up reconciling several different files. A shared review link means everyone marks up the same document; their notes all appear in one place, attributed to each person, on the exact element they commented on.
- How do I review a PDF on my phone?
- On iPhone: open the PDF in the Files app or tap a PDF attachment in Mail, then tap the pencil icon to enter Markup mode — you get a highlighter, text box, and shapes. On Android: open the PDF in Google Drive and tap the comment tool. For a client reviewing your work on their phone, a shared web link is easier than asking them to use phone annotation tools, which vary by device and app.
- How do I send a PDF for approval without email attachments going back and forth?
- Share a review link instead of an attachment. The reviewer annotates the document directly in their browser — no download, no re-upload, no re-send. When they're done, you see their notes in one place. You reply, resolve, and share the updated version on the same URL.
Keep exploring
Stop emailing files back and forth.
Share one link. They comment on the exact spot — no account, always the current version.