When opening a PDF for approval it is important to ‘Check Out & Open’ the document. By checking out the document, other users will be unable to edit the document at the same time.

When you click on a PDF to open the below box will pop up in Adobe. Click 'Check Out & Open'.   

You can then comment and mark up the PDF as necessary using Adobe's annotation tools.

Once you have made your amendments and comments on the PDF click on the close 'x' button on the top right of the screen. You will be asked if you want to save.  Click ‘Yes’.

This will upload the document back into DotApprove with all edits retained. 

Another box will ask if you want to check in your document. Click ‘Yes’. It is important that a document is checked in after making amendments otherwise it will lock other users' from commenting on the PDF.

Another box will pop up asking if you want to make comments. Always leave this blank. Comments that are made here will not appear on any sign-offs. This is a feature of Adobe which cannot be removed.

What happens if you just open the PDF instead of Checking out?

If you open your PDF without checking out your amendments may not be saved as someone else could overwrite your comments. 

The only time we suggest to open a PDF is when there are a lot of approvers/ reviewers on a workflow.  This enables them to open the PDF and check over amendments that are required, instead of one user occupying the whole document and not allowing other users to view it before.  

Once reviewed close the PDF and then ‘Check out and Open’ the document again to make the changes you want to make.