How to Remove Your Name from Acrobat PDF Comments and Edits
Question details
The user needs to know how to remove or modify the author name attached to comments, annotations, and edits in a PDF document.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Preparing a PDF document for sharing or review while maintaining anonymity or correcting the author's identity.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat automatically attaches the author name from the application's identity settings to all new comments and review edits, and the setting to change this is difficult to locate.
Before modifying your identity settings, note that changing your preferences will only affect future comments. Existing comments may need to be altered individually or removed using document sanitization tools.
Update Acrobat Identity Preferences for New Comments
Change your author name in Acrobat's settings so that all future comments and annotations use the new or blank name.
By modifying the core Identity preferences in Acrobat, you can ensure that any new annotations you create do not display your real name. You must also ensure that the setting to automatically use your system login name is disabled.
Go to the top menu and select 'Edit' > 'Preferences' on Windows, or 'Acrobat' > 'Preferences' on a Mac.
Select the 'Commenting' category from the left pane. Ensure that the checkbox for 'Always use Log-in Name for Author name' is unchecked, then click 'OK'.
Re-open 'Preferences' and select the 'Identity' category from the left-hand menu.
Modify or clear the text in the 'Name', 'Organization', or 'Email Address' fields as desired, then click 'OK' to save your changes.
Remove Author Names from Existing Comments
Use the Document Inspector or Sanitization tools to strip personal information and author metadata from comments already present in the PDF.
Edit and Annotate PDFs Easily with WPS Office
WPS Office provides a lightweight, highly compatible PDF reader and editor that makes adding, modifying, and managing PDF comments incredibly straightforward.
- 1. Open your PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your PDF document using the built-in WPS PDF tool.
- 2. Access the Comment Tools: Navigate to the 'Comment' tab on the top ribbon to view all available annotation and markup tools.
- 3. Manage Annotations: Add notes, highlight text, or right-click existing comments to modify their properties and content easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my name keep appearing on PDF comments even after I change it in the Identity settings?
If your Acrobat preference 'Always use Log-in Name for Author name' is checked, it will override your Identity settings. You must uncheck this option in Preferences > Commenting to allow your custom identity name to be used.
Can I change the author name on just one specific PDF comment?
Yes. Right-click the specific comment, select 'Properties', navigate to the 'General' tab, and manually edit the 'Author' name just for that specific annotation.
Are comments and annotations visible to everyone who opens the PDF?
Yes, standard comments and annotations are visible to anyone viewing the document unless they are specifically flattened, hidden, or the document is sanitized to remove them entirely.
