Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Add Audio Comments in Adobe Acrobat

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This tutorial shows how to add audio comments to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. You can record audio comments directly in Adobe Acrobat or record them in another application and then attach them to the PDF.

Table of Contents

Audio comments are listed in the Comments panel along with text comments and other editing markups, such as insertions and deletions.

For a full tutorial on working with comments and markups, please see my previous tutorial “How to Use the Comment and Markup Tools in Adobe Acrobat.”

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The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. These steps also apply to Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Adobe Acrobat 2017 on a PC. We will cover this topic for Mac in a separate tutorial.

These steps don’t apply to Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader. However, Reader users should be able to listen to audio comments if their computer settings allow audio playback.

How to Record Audio Comments in Adobe Acrobat

Important Note: This process requires a built-in microphone on your computer or an external microphone connected to your computer.

  1. Select the Tools tab.
Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 1. Tools tab
  1. Select Comment in the Tools Center.
Comment button in the Tools Center in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 2. Comment button
  1. Select the Attachment button in the Comment toolbar.
Attachment button in the Comment toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 3. Attachment button
  1. Select Record Audio from the drop-down menu.
Record Audio option in the Attachment menu in the Comment toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 4. Record Audio option
  1. Your cursor will become a speaker icon. Click the icon on the page where you want to insert the comment.
Speaker icon for Audio Comment in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 5. Speaker icon (Enlarged to show detail.)
  1. Select the Record button in the Sound Recorder dialog box.
Record button in the Sound Recorder dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 6. Record button
  1. Speak into your built-in or external microphone.
  2. Select the Stop button to end the recording.
Stop button in the Sound Recorder dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 7. Stop button
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Sound Recorder in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 8. OK button
  1. Select the Ear, Microphone, or Sound (speaker) icon in the Icon menu in the Sound Attachment Properties dialog box.
Icon menu in the Sound Attachment Properties dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 9. Ear, Microphone, and Sound icons
  1. (Optional) Adjust the color and opacity of the dialog box as necessary.
Color and Opacity options in the Sound Attachment Properties dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 10. Color and Opacity options
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Sound Attachment Properties dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 11. OK button
  1. Double-click the icon to listen to the audio comment.

Note that the comment appears as a Sound Clip in the Comments panel.

Audio Comment listed as Sound Clip in the Comment panel in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 12. Audio comment listed as Sound Clip
  1. To delete the audio comment, right-click it and then select Delete from the shortcut menu.
Delete option in the audio comment shortcut menu in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 13. Delete option

How to Attach Audio Comments Recorded with Other Software

You can attach audio comments recorded in other software such as Window’s Sound Recorder as long as the file is saved as a WAV or AIFF. You can’t use MP3 files.

  1. Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
  2. Select Comment in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
  3. Select the Attachment button in the Comment toolbar (see figure 3).
  4. Select Record Audio from the drop-down menu (see figure 4).
  5. Your cursor will become a speaker icon. Click the icon on the page where you want to insert the comment (see figure 5).
  6. Select the Browse button in the Sound Recorder dialog box.
Browse button in the Sound Recorder dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 14. Browse button
  1. Locate and select the audio file in the Select Sound File dialog box and then select the Open button.
Open button in the Select Sound File dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 15. Open button
  1. Select the OK button (see figure 8).
  2. Select the ear, microphone, or sound (speaker) icon in the Icon menu in the Sound Attachment Properties dialog box (see figure 9).
  3. (Optional) Adjust the color and opacity of the dialog box as necessary (see figure 10).
  4. Select the OK button (see figure 11).
  5. Double-click the icon to listen to the audio comment.

Related Resources

Three Ways to Print PDFs with Comments and Mark-Ups in Adobe Acrobat

How to Change the Font and Font Size of Comments in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader (PC & Mac)