Acrobat -- Search & Replace Text in Comments

Direct purchase using PayPal ($25 only)!
Similar to my Search & Replace Text in Bookmarks and Search & Replace Text in Form Fields scripts, you can use this new script to search and replace the text in all the comments in a single file, and if you have Acrobat Pro you can run this as an Action (AKA Batch Sequence) on multiple files, all for the low price of just $25!

Special offer: You can now get all three "Search & Replace Text" fields (for bookmarks, form fields and comments) for just $60, instead of $75! They can be purchased as a pack here.

IMPORTANT: This tool does not edit the actual static text of a PDF file, only text that is a part of a comment!

Using this script is very easy. You just enter the search term and the replace term:

And all of the matching text in your comments is edited.

Before:

After:

On top of that, you can even use some basic Regular Expression commands, like \d for a digit, \s for white-spaces, $ as the beginning of the string and ^ for the end of it, etc.

If you have any questions regarding this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Scale PDF Pages

Direct purchase using PayPal ($60 only per license)!
Update (06/03/2019): The tool now includes an option to select the page orientation (ie, Portrait or Landscape) in addition to size.

ALSO, there's now a free demo version of this tool available, which will only convert one page in the file, to either A3 or A4.

Update (23/09/2018): Now there's a version of this tool available that allows you to scale PDF pages in a non-proportional way. It can be purchased here.

Update (02/07/2015): Now there's a new feature to this tool that lets you scale to one of several standard page sizes: A4, A3, A2, Letter, Ledger or Tabloid.And if you need any other standard size let me know and I'll add it!
The scaling to these sizes preserves the original proportions of the pages, so it adds white space around them instead of distorting them.
The dialog for this new feature looks like this:

The tool's standard dialog

Using this new tool you can scale your PDF pages to a new size of your choice, while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the pages, as well as any objects located in them, such as form fields, links or annotations (including stamps).

The script allows you to select which pages to scale, and offers two scaling options:

• To a certain percentage of the original size
• To a fixed size, specified by you, using one of the following units:
• Points
• Inches
• Millimeters

When you run the script (from the Scale Pages button it adds to the Tools menu on the right) it looks like this:

(click to enlarge)

In this option we select to scale the current page to 50% of the original size. The result can be seen below (click all images to enlarge them). Notice the zoom is the same as before, and the actual page size can be seen on the bottom-left corner of the window.

(click to enlarge)

Alternatively, we can also scale the pages in the file to a fixed size, 100 mm in width in this instance:

(click to enlarge)

And the result (again in the same zoom factor):

(click to enlarge)

 Using this file we can also see that the meta-objects on the page have been scaled down. This is the same page magnified to 250% zoom, allowing us to see the scaled link (bottom left corner), form field (top left corner, called "Button1"), and Square annotation (bottom right corner):

(click to enlarge)

This handy tool can be yours for just $60 per license! You can purchase it directly via PayPal using the "Buy Now" button at the top of this post.


If you have any questions about this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat/Reader DC -- Remove Duplicate Comments

A bug in Acrobat and Reader DC can sometime cause a comment to be added twice, even when you only do so once. This tool will remove all of these "duplicate" comments from your file with a single click.
Be aware, though, that this process is not reversible, so make sure to only save the file after making sure that only duplicate comments have been removed, or save it under a new name, just in case.

The tool can be downloaded for free here.

Acrobat/Reader -- Comments Review Tools

Direct purchase using PayPal ($75 $30 per license)!
Special offer: $30 only per license, to help those in need of quick access to the check-marks function in Acrobat 2019.

One of the the best ways to review comments in PDF Files is by using the Check-mark functionality (the little check-box that appears at the top right-hand corner of each comment in the Comments List panel):

A checkmarked comment

Using this feature we can maintain a summary of who approved each comment in the review process, as each "checkmark" is added to the previous ones, creating a review record.
However, the user interface of Adobe Acrobat (and Reader) makes it difficult to make the most of this feature.

For starters, a user can only view their own check-marks and has no direct way of knowing if a comment was approved by others, or to automatically and easily check (or uncheck) all the comments on a certain page, or in the entire file, or those made by a specific reviewer.

All of this can be done using this new tool I've developed, especially geared to facilitate working with the Checkmark feature of the comments in these applications.

The options this tool offers are:

• Checking (or unchecking) all the comments in the file with a single click
• Checking (or unchecking) all the currently selected comments with a single click
• Checking (or unchecking) all the comments on the current page with a single click
• Checking (or unchecking) all the comments in the file who were already checked (or unchecked) by anyone else
• Checking (or unchecking) all the comments in the file who were created by a specific reviewer
• Checking (or unchecking) all the comments in the file who were created by a specific author (notice that in Acrobat these terms are used incorrectly; The author of a comment is not necessarily a reviewer, and vice versa)
• Show detailed Review History (including Marked/Unmarked state, reviewer name and latest modification date) for the selected comments/all the comments in the file/all the comments on the current page

A sample Review History output

All of these commands can be accessed either from the Tools panel or from the Edit menu, which allows using them with just the keyboard, for quick access.

The menu looks like this:

The tools panel buttons:

If you have any questions regarding this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Convert Comments To Redactions

Direct purchase using PayPal ($40 only per license)!
Update (26/04/2018): The demo version will now also convert Square comments, so you can redact non-textual objects as well.

Update (06/02/2014): A free DEMO version of this script is now available here. This version will convert the last 3 highlight comments in the file to Redactions, and then apply them.

One of the best features of Acrobat Pro is the Redaction tool. It provides the only safe way of removing information from a PDF file. However, this feature is unfortunately missing from Acrobat Standard.
But did you know that it's technically possible to create AND apply redactions in Acrobat Standard? There's just no direct access to this hidden feature through the application's menus. Until now, that is!

Using this new tool I've developed you can bring this feature into your Acrobat Standard and convert your regular comments into Redaction markups, and then apply them, all with a single click!
You can select between converting all the comments in the file, just the highlights, or just the currently selected ones.

So instead of spending a lot of money on an upgrade, make the most of the application you have and add this handy tool to it!

Let's have a look at an example (the screenshots below were taken in Acrobat Pro, but the same applies for Acrobat Standard). I've marked up the parts of this page I want to remove. Notice I created comments of various kinds: a square comment (in red at the top), some highlights (in yellow), and a strike-through (in red at the bottom).

(click to enlarge)

I selected to convert all the comments, and the results are:

(click to enlarge)

Now I've clicked on Yes, and the redaction markups are applied. The selected data and graphics are gone!

(click to enlarge)

IMPORTANT: Applying the redaction markups is NOT REVERSIBLE! The only way to get back the redacted information after doing so is to close the file without saving it.

ALSO IMPORTANT: This script is only compatible with Acrobat 9 or higher.


If you have any questions about this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Highlight All Instances of a Word or Phrase in a PDF

Direct purchase using PayPal ($60 only)!
Update (23/04/2018): New available, a free demo version of this tool, that will highlight up to 3 matches of the search term in the document.

Ever needed to make the same comment again and again and again? Now you can do it with one click! This script will highlight (and add a comment to) all instances of a specific word, partial word or phrase. The color of the comment, author's name and type of search (case sensitivity, whole word match) can also be set. Very useful for editing and review scenarios.

New feature: Use the Transparent color to make a pop-up effect over your text.

Here's how it looks like:

And the result of running the script...

For more information about this tool you can contact me directly.

Acrobat/Reader -- Advanced Add Header/Footer Text

Direct purchase using PayPal ($75 only per license)!   Update (13/12/2017): Another new feature in this tool! It's now possible to use it as a part of an Action in Acrobat Pro to process multiple files using the same settings.

Update (31/01/2017): Yet another new feature added! It's now also possible to use the page number in the group of pages being processed. For example, if you select to add your header to just the odd pages then instead of using 1, 3, 5, etc. you can refer to them as 1, 2, 3.

Update (03/12/2016): Two new features added to this too: You can now specify just the total number of pages in the file as a parameter, and also specify the distance of the text from the edge of the page.

(The new script dialog)

Update (26/04/2016): It's now possible to add not just the page number, but also the page label.

Update (04/02/2015): Now available is a free demo version of this tool, which will allow you to test it before buying it. This demo version will only add the header/footer to the first page of the document.

Update (04/06/2014): New feature added to this script that allows you to insert various Metadata properties of the file into the header/footer text. They are:

• Title
• Author
• Subject
• Keywords
• Creator
• Producer

Update (27/02/2014): I've added a new feature that allows you to insert the file's creation date, in the format of your choosing, into the header/footer text as well.

This new tool is an improved version of the built-in Add Header & Footer command that you can find in Acrobat. The reason it's improved is because it can be used in the free Adobe Reader, and also it contains some additional features, not available in the original version.

Some of these features are:
- The ability to insert the file's name, with or without the .pdf extension text to the text
- The ability to insert the full file path to the text
- The ability to lock the added texts after adding them, so they can't be edited (by someone using Reader)
- The ability to set the added texts as printable or as non-printable.

In addition, you have all the usual features like selecting the text's location on the page (right/left/center and header/footer), setting its appearance (font, size, color, background color), selecting to which pages to add the texts, inserting the current date to the text in various formats, inserting the current pages number (on its own, or in addition to the total number of pages), etc.

So for example: We have a file that we want to add a header to. We just open it in Reader XI and click the button added by the script under the Extended panel on the right:

(click to enlarge)

The dialog window that pops open allows you to specify the settings for the Header or Footer that you want to add to the file. Notice that in the one below I've added the file's name, the current date in a specific format, and also a page number:

(click to enlarge)

 
The results of adding the Header can be seen on the top of the first and second pages in this screenshot:

(click to enlarge)

(New feature: inserting the page label into the header or footer)

The page label is located in the top-left corner of the pages

IMPORTANT NOTE: To use this script in Reader requires that you either use Reader XI, or if an earlier version of Reader is used the file must have the right to add comments applied to it.

For more information about this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat/Reader -- Unlock All Comments (FREE)

Some PDF files (like those generated by Acrobat when using the Compare Documents command) have locked comments that can't be edited or removed. You can use this simple (and FREE) script to unlock all of these comments with a single click, and then you'll be able to edit them, unless there's a security policy that prevents it.

This script can be used in both Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
You can download it here.

Here's how it looks like in Reader:

The original file with the locked comments. Notice the padlock icon next to each one on the right.

The same file after running the script on it from its menu item in the Tools panel.

The resulting file. All the padlock icons are gone, and I was able to delete the first highlight on the page.

As always, if you have any questions about this tool, or any other tool I've developed, you can contact me directly, and if you find this tool useful and would like to donate, it's always appreciated!

Acrobat/Reader -- Move Comment Popups To The Edge (FREE)

A user's request on the Adobe Forums prompted me to create this small utility that allows you to move all of the comment popups windows to the side of the page where they are located with a single click. This script can be used in both Acrobat and the free Reader.

The script can be downloaded (for FREE) from here.

Here's a page with a couple of comments that obscure the text. You can see the button the script added on the right, under the Extended panel:

And here's the same page after clicking that button. The popups have been moved out of the way, and then page is much less cluttered now:

As always, if you have any questions about this tool, or any other tool I've developed, you can contact me directly, and if you find this tool useful and would like to donate, it's always appreciated!

Acrobat -- Spell Check Suite

Direct purchase using PayPal ($85 only per license)!

Try before you buy: Free demo version

This suite of tools adds full spell-checking capabilities to Acrobat.
You can now check and mark up regular text and bookmarks in addition to the standard check for form fields and comments which already exists in Acrobat.

Update IV (25-08-2016): New update for this tool! It can now handle ligatures symbols as well as end-of-line hyphenated words better than before.

Update III (18-06-2014): A new feature just added to this tool, allowing you to define "No Spell Check" zones, which the tool will ignore when it spell-checks the document.
Another improvement is the option to define whether or not to perform a case-sensitive spell-check. By default the check is case in-sensitive.

Update II: Now this script includes a batch process, which allows you to spell-check multiple files one after another (provided you have Acrobat Pro, of course).

Update I: A free demo version of this tool is now available here. It allows you to select a dictionary and then spell-check the first page of the currently active document.

The languages available for checking are:

• Bulgarian
• Catalan
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English (Canada)
• English (United Kingdom)
• English (United States)
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French (Canada)
• French (France)
• German (Germany)
• German (Switzerland)
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Italian
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Norwegian Bokmål
• Norwegian Nynorsk
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Romanian
• Russian
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Turkish

In Acrobat X or later the following languages are also available:

• Arabic
• Hebrew

The main menu of the suite looks like this:

The language dictionary selection looks like this:

Each of these dictionaries can be customized: Words can be added and removed from it, either using a simple input dialog or through a file (which allows adding or removing multiple words in one go).

When you run spell-check a document, the misspelled words are underlined and the suggestions for the correct spelling are added to the highlight:

Update: Added functionality to check just a part of the document. This is ideal if you have a single document consisting of multiple languages. You simply add "Spell Checking Zones" to your document, and only the words within those zones will be checked.

Here's how such a zone looks like (notice that only the misspelled words inside the zone were marked):

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  This tool does NOT offer a way of fixing the found spelling mistakes, it just marks them on the page. To do so you would need to go back to the original file format and fix it there, or manually use the Edit Text command in Acrobat (not recommended, but possible).

If you have any questions regarding this tool, contact me directly.

Acrobat / Reader -- Enlarge Comment Lines

Direct purchase using PayPal ($50 only per license)!
Recently, the lines in the comments in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe (Acrobat) Reader became minuscule, making it very difficult to spot them on the page. With this tool you can make them all big again, with a single click.
The tool can be used in both applications and will edit the lines of the comment types:

• Strikeout
• Replace Text
• Underline
• Squiggly

It can be run on all the comments in the entire file, or on just the selected comments (it will ignore comments from other types), or on all the comments in the current page.

For example, let's say we have these 4 comments on the page. Their default appearance is quite small, as can be seen, so we click the script's button to enlarge them (can be seen under the Tools panel on the right):

And the results are much more visible:

If you have any questions regarding this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat/Reader -- Anonymize Comments (FREE)

Now available for free!
This script will change the names of all authors of comments to a single value.
Handy for workflows in which multiple people comment on the same document, or if you just don't want others to know who commented on the file.
You can choose to either simply remove the author's name from all comments in the file, or to replace them with a new value, such as "anonymous".

Update: This script now includes a Batch Process (or Action) that allows you to run it on multiple files. Requires Acrobat Pro.

The basic version will also work in the free Reader, assuming Commenting is allowed.

Example:

Before:



The dialog box:



After:





If you have any questions regarding this tool, contact me directly, and if you find this tool useful and would like to donate, it's always appreciated!

Acrobat -- Retroactively Copy Highlighted Text into Comments

Batch version: Buy Now ($60 only)
Non-batch version: Buy Now ($40 only)
Stand-alone version: Buy Now ($75 only) Stand-alone DEMO version : FREE   Direct purchase using PayPal!


Update (25/03/2014): Acrobat has a problem processing very large files using this script, so I've decided to develop a stand-alone version of it, which runs outside of Acrobat and is not dependent on it. This version can process an entire folder of files, including all sub-folders, in a matter of seconds. It is much more robust and much faster than the script version, so more suitable for professional purposes.

The stand-alone version of the tool looks like this:

Alongside the stand-alone version there's now also a free demo version, which will process the first 3 highlight annotations in the first 3 files you use it on. Feel free to try it out and then purchase the full version to get the full functionality.

The script version of the tool is still available, as can be seen below...

Tool Description:
One of the most important settings in Acrobat is "Copy selected text into Highlight, Cross-Out, and Underline comment pop ups" (to be found under Edit - Preferences - Commenting). Sadly, it's not checked by default (see screenshot below).
As a result, if you make highlights to your file, the text you highlight is not copied into the comment itself, which can be very useful when creating summaries. And when you realize this and switch this setting on, it's too late. Acrobat won't change your existing comments, only your new ones.

This is why I developed this script to retroactively insert the highlighted text into existing comments in all of your pre-existing files.
In case you manually entered some text into the comment, don't worry! The script will not remove your text, just add to it (see example #2).

Note: The script can only recognize full words. If you highlighted just a part of a word, it will not be picked up.

Acrobat -- Filter Comments By Color

Direct purchase using PayPal ($30 only)!
For some reason, Adobe has dropped the option to filter the comments list according to the color of the comment in version X of Acrobat. So I decided to jump to the rescue of those who depended on this feature, or just found it useful, and created a script which allows you to do it once again.
You can select the color you want to filter from a list of pre-defined colors, or just click on a comment with the color you want to use and then select the last option in the list: "Selected Comment Color". The script will then identify this color and will only present comments with the same color.

Here's how it works:
1. Select the comment color you want to see from the list

2. Now only the comments with this color are visible (even in the built-in Comments List!)

3. We remove one of the comments, and now we want to restore the comments we've hidden...

4. We're back to the original situation, with our edits in tact.

It's as simple as that...

If you have any questions regarding this tool, contact me directly.