Imagine you encounter a situation where adding comments or annotations appears restricted in a PDF document. This problem mainly happens due to advanced security, which make PDF read only documents, preventing viewers from editing or adding the necessary comments. Here, you might be looking to unlock comments in PDF to improve the workflow and seamless collaboration. The following guide will discuss the comment restriction and effective methods to comment on a locked PDF file. In this way, you can foster productivity without disruption of workflow.

What You’ll Learn Hide
  1. What is PDF Document Comment Restriction?
  2. Need to Unlock Comments in PDF Document
  3. How to Unlock All Comments in PDF – 3 Best Ways
  4. How to Remove Comment Restrictions from PDF File
  5. Wrap Up!
  6. Commonly Asked Questions

What is PDF Comment Restriction?

PDF comment restriction is a limitation that is applied to stop viewers from adding, editing, and deleting any comment. To avoid PDF annotation, this type of restriction is imposed by the document creator. In this way, the administrator can ensure that the document remains unchanged or unaltered after sharing it with legitimate users.

Speaking about the benefits of using this comment restriction allows users to ensure the protection of existing comments and notes. Moreover, viewers can’t add or insert unnecessary feedback directly on the document. Additionally, PDF comment protection commonly refers to the type of PDF owner password that prevents users from modifying or adding the required feedback or comments.

Overall, the purpose to lock comments in PDF is to stop viewers from inserting unwanted feedback or suggestions into the document. On the other hand, there are various instances where users get frustrated when encounter problems like:
unable to add comments

Now, before jumping over the methods, let’s first talk about the common reasons to comment on a secured PDF document. So, move down to learn the benefits.

What is the Need to Unlock Comments in PDF Document?

Unlocking the comment security becomes necessary when needed for hassle-free collaboration, communication, and collaboration among the team. In this way, viewers can easily share their feedback and review to ensure improvement and necessary edits to the document. Here are common reasons to unlock comments in Adobe PDF files:

  • Streamline Collaboration: The major purpose of unlocking the comment protection helps multiple team members share feedback and quick suggestions to improve collaboration with legitimate access.
  • Enhance Revisions: Removing the annotation and comment security helps to make necessary revisions such as editing, deleting, and even adding new comments to ensure better productivity and workflow.
  • Document Accessibility: The main purpose to comment on a secured PDF enable viewers to get document accessibility. In this way, users can track suggestions and effectively work on the changes.
  • Effortless Reviewing: Once you share the draft copy, it requires review from editors and clients to make it a final document. Removing the comment restriction allows viewers to update the status and feedback without delay.

Overall, these are the common reasons to unlock comments in Adobe PDF documents. Now, you might be wondering about the ways to add comments or review on the protected PDF. So, let’s move to find the quick methods that leverage you to interact with the document with ease.

Best Way to Unlock Comments in Secured PDF

  1. Install SysTools PDF Unlocker on your PC.
  2. Select “Add Files” or “Add Folders” feature.
  3. Find the Save > Change > Unlock button.
  4. After the PDF is unprotected > add comments.

How to Unlock Comments in PDF – 3 Best Methods

If you’re wondering how to comment on locked PDF, here are the effective techniques to remove comment restrictions in PDF documents. By using these methods, you can get access to add, delete, and edit the comments and other annotations without any hurdle. In other words, it provides full access for making quick suggestions. Here’s how to remove comment restrictions from PDF:

  • Online PDF Tool
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro Utility
  • Automated Software (All-in-One Solution)

Now, let’s understand these ways one after another.

#1 How to Comment on a Secured PDF With Online PDF Tool

To unlock comments in PDF, use free online services. These are web-based solutions to remove restrictions from PDF files with ease. Moreover, this is a feature-rich tool that helps to improve document collaboration and management. Most importantly, it has a sleek and user-friendly interface, allowing viewers to unlock comment on protected PDF files. Here is the stepwise guide for how to remove comment restrictions from PDF file:

  1. Visit the online PDF services.
  2. “Select Documents” to upload the secured file.
  3. If have a password > enter the correct passkey.
  4. Once the document is unlocked, search for any editing tool.
  5. With Editor, you can add, delete, and review the comments.
  6. Lastly, download the PDF document without comment restriction.

In this way, you can easily unlock comments in locked PDF. Here, you need to keep in mind that you must have permission or legitimate access to modify the document. Additionally, there are a few challenges with online services, let’s check them below.

Limitations of Free Online Platforms: The free or trial version of the online tool imposes size and number restrictions on the PDF. To use the feature-rich functions of this software, you just need to upgrade the plan. Besides this, it poses the fear of data loss and compromise as it might save a copy of your sensitive document, which leads to the misuse of information. Therefore, be cautious when using these online services.

#2 How to Remove Comment Restrictions from PDF with Adobe Acrobat

Unlocking the comment in a secured PDF is convenient with Adobe Acrobat Pro tool. Compared to online services, Acrobat is a highly reliable and advanced software that is designed to organize PDF files. Moreover, this robust tool allows you to examine the document summary and helps to remove the comment protection from the PDF document.

Additionally, you can use this proficient tool in both Windows and Mac OS. Now, let’s follow the step-by-step guide for how to unlock comments in Adobe PDF using the Acrobat tool:

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro Tool > upload file.
  2. Choose Properties > Security > Document Summary.
  3. Under the Security section > Allowed the Comment.
    allow comment in pdf
  4. Lastly, save the changes and press the OK button.

With this, you can remove the comment restriction from the locked document. Moreover, this is a simple yet effective way of unlocking comments and other annotations from the PDF. However, there are some limitations; let’s find them at once.

Please Note: Adobe Acrobat Tool is one of the premium and highly costly software that offers different plans. These plans aren’t cost-effective choices for individuals and businesses. Additionally, the features of this tool often cause chaos due to their complexity. So, look for the simplified option mentioned below.

#3 How to Comment on a Secured PDF – Try Automated Solution

To unlock comments in PDF, use an automated tool, the highly advanced and powerful software solutions, designed for Windows or Mac OS. This amazing yet professional-favored tool effectively deals with all PDF security, like user and owner-level protection. Moreover, it allows users to ensure document integrity and management.

The prime features of this robust tool are the removal of protections, especially comment protection, in a single operation. In this way, it leverages you to get full access to the document, allowing you to add comments and necessary feedback over the document. With this, you can remove comment security from the PDF in bulk mode.

So, download this all-in-one solution to comment on your secured PDF. Now, let’s dive in to deeply understand how this pro utility works.

Steps to How to Remove Comment Restrictions from PDF File

  1. Run the aforementioned automated software on your system.
  2. “Add Files” feature to upload the secured files.
    tab on add files options
  3. Pick the Save option and then, Change to browse the path.
    select save and then, change option
  4. Lastly, tab Unlock icon to remove the comment limitation.

In this way, you can easily unlock comments in your secured PDF. After this, you can add comment to PDF without facing any challenge. To add the comments on the document, take help from the below steps:

  1. Open the unprotected PDF document.
  2. Select the text > Comment > write the note.
  3. Lastly, save the document.

Concluding Words

In this guide, we have shared the 3 ways to unlock comments in PDF documents. Using these methods, you can remove the comment restriction from the PDF. Compared to all the suggested solutions, we recommend you choose SysTools Pro utility. It is a secure and cost-effective tool for unlocking the locked comments and allows you to ensure document collaboration without any data loss.

FAQs on How to Unlock All Comments in PDF

Q. Can I remove comment restrictions from PDF file?
Yes, you can remove security from PDF file, including the commenting. Several methods are available for unlocking comments in PDF files in a single operation. Below are the working steps you should follow:

  1. Download the offline automated software on your system.
  2. Pick from dual options: Add Files or Folders to import the required file.
  3. Navigate to the Password section to update the credentials > click Save.
  4. After this, choose Change for saving file path > hit the Unlock button.

Q. Is it safe to unlock comment in PDF?
Yes, it is completely safe to unlock all comments in a PDF document. However, there is a condition—you either must be the file creator or have legitimate rights to enable commenting in PDF files with ease.

Q. How can I add comment in PDF document?
After removing the comment protection from the PDF, you are free to add comments or feedback in the document. Moreover, you can use Adobe or the free Microsoft Edge to insert the comment. Below are the steps for adding comments to a PDF file:

  1. Open PDF document with Edge and select any text in the document.
  2. After this, perform a right-click and manually add the comment in the highlighted note.
  3. Lastly, press CTRL + S for saving the comment in a PDF file.