How to Stop Acrobat from Opening Pop-Up Notes After Highlighting
Question details
The user wants to prevent Adobe Acrobat from automatically opening comment pop-ups every time they highlight or underline text.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro 2019
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Highlighting or underlining text while reviewing, reading, or editing a PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- A comment pop-up box automatically appears immediately after a highlighting or underlining action, interrupting the reading and reviewing workflow.
Before modifying your PDF settings, check if your Adobe Acrobat software has any pending updates, as certain pop-up behaviors are known bugs addressed in later patch releases.
Disable Pop-ups in Acrobat Commenting Preferences
Modify the built-in preferences in Adobe Acrobat to prevent comment pop-ups from opening automatically when creating annotations.
Acrobat treats highlights as comments by default. If the commenting preferences are configured to show note windows, the application will forcefully open a pop-up thinking you want to type an explanation for the highlight. Disabling this specific setting resolves the issue for most users.
Launch Adobe Acrobat, click on the 'Edit' menu at the top of the screen (or the 'Acrobat' menu if you are on a Mac), and select 'Preferences'.
In the left pane of the Preferences dialog box, scroll down and click on 'Commenting'.
Under the 'Viewing Comments' section, find and uncheck the box labeled 'Automatically open comment pop-ups for comments other than notes'.
Click the 'OK' button at the bottom of the window to apply the changes. Highlight a new piece of text to confirm the pop-up no longer appears.
Install the Latest Acrobat Updates
Since forced comment pop-ups are an ongoing bug in certain 2019 builds, installing the latest patches might resolve the behavior.
Highlight PDF Text Seamlessly with WPS PDF
Avoid the frustration of constant pop-ups and unresolvable bugs. WPS Office features a lightweight, powerful built-in PDF editor that allows you to smoothly highlight, underline, and annotate documents without disruptive comment boxes forcing your attention.
- 1. Open your PDF in WPS: Launch WPS Office and open your PDF document using the built-in WPS PDF tool.
- 2. Access the Comment Tool: Navigate to the 'Comment' tab located on the top ribbon menu to view your annotation options.
- 3. Select the Highlight tool: Click on the 'Highlight' icon and choose your preferred marker color from the drop-down palette.
- 4. Highlight seamlessly: Drag your cursor over the text you wish to emphasize. The text will be highlighted instantly without triggering any obstructive pop-up notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat force a pop-up when I use the highlighter tool?
By default, Acrobat treats highlights as comments. If the commenting preferences are set to automatically show pop-ups, it assumes you want to add text notes to the highlight immediately. This can also be exacerbated by known software bugs in certain Acrobat versions.
Can I completely disable the highlight comment pop-up in all versions of Acrobat?
Not always. While adjusting the 'Commenting' preferences works for many users, some versions like Acrobat Pro 2019 and Acrobat DC have a known limitation where the pop-up continues to appear regardless of the user's settings.
Does the WPS PDF Editor have the same forced pop-up issue when highlighting?
No, WPS PDF is designed to let you highlight and underline text smoothly without forcing a comment pop-up window, keeping your reading and document reviewing process completely distraction-free.
