I’m a grad student and my thesis draft is going back and forth with my advisor as a PDF, and I keep leaving comments in the margins that get lost when I send it back. I’m looking for something that handles review comments cleanly, ideally on my laptop, since my department computers block installs.
I had the same problem when reviewing contracts on borrowed laptops. I’d use a browser-based PDF annotator, add comments with the note tool, then download the saved PDF before sending it back, so the comments stay with the file and nothing needs to be installed.
If you have Word, just use Track Changes and Comments there, then export to PDF when it’s final. Keeps everything in one place and your advisor can reply right in the comments. What are you using to open PDFs now, Adobe Reader?
If you cannot install software, upload it to Google Drive. The built-in preview lets you highlight text and leave margin comments that stay anchored to the page. If you are reviewing directly in your web browser instead, make sure you click Save with changes when you export it, otherwise the annotations get stripped out.
Start by checking whether your comments are actually saved in the file, not just showing in your own viewer. Most readers, including the free Adobe one, have a comment tool and those notes travel fine by email. Keep a backup of the original draft before you mark it up, just in case. If department machines block installs, do the markup on your laptop instead.
I run into that with client PDFs too.
Try PDFcap on your laptop, open the draft and put comments in the annotation tools so they actually save inside the file.
Avoid just scribbling in the sidebar of whatever default reader because those often vanish on the other end.
Not sure if it’s the same on Mac but it worked on my Windows box.
First check whether your advisor is flattening or printing the PDF before sending it back, because that will remove or hide comments. What worked for me on locked-down work machines was using the browser’s built-in PDF viewer for simple notes, then saving a copy with annotations included. I also ask reviewers to use comments rather than drawn text boxes, since those tend to survive round trips better.
Had the same thing when reviewing a family member’s dissertation. Adobe Acrobat Reader handles comments reliably on a laptop, but make sure you use “Save As” and send the saved PDF rather than printing it to PDF, which flattens or drops comments. I would also ask your advisor to use Acrobat’s Comments panel, since some browser viewers hide annotations. Keep a dated copy before each round.