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How to Remove Comments from PDF: 7 Ways for Win, Mac & Online (2026)
How to Remove Comments from PDF: 7 Ways for Win, Mac & Online (2026)
- 1 Comments, markups, and annotations are different things. Comments are notes; markups are highlights, underlines, drawings. Deleting one type may not remove the others --- always check all three after cleanup.
- 2 Match the tool to the task. PDNob or Adobe for individual removal; desktop comment panel for bulk; online tools only for simple non-sensitive docs; Word (watch layout); Mac Preview for basic use.
- 5 Scanned / flattened PDFs are the hard case. Marks may be baked into the page image; only OCR + page recreation or the original unmarked file can clean them.
- 6 PDNob is the recommended all-in-one pick. 0.25s cold start, annotation management, OCR, Windows + Mac.
- 7 Always review after deletion. Highlights, drawings, stamps, and text boxes often survive a comment-only cleanup.
Removing comments from a PDF is the process of deleting the notes, highlights, underlines, drawings, and other markup elements that reviewers, editors, or collaborators have added to the document. The best method depends on whether your PDF contains normal comments, highlights, drawings, scanned pages, or editing restrictions.
How to remove comments from PDF depends on the tool you use. For most editable PDFs, PDNob PDF Editor provides a simple way to select and remove unwanted comments and annotations. This guide explains how to remove comments from PDF files using seven practical methods, including PDNob, Adobe Acrobat, free online tools, Microsoft Word, and Mac.
Part 1. Quick Answer: How to Delete All Comments from a PDF
Choose Types of Tools Based on Comment Volume and Control
- If you need to delete all comments from a PDF, open the file in a PDF editor that supports annotations and select the comment or annotation to delete it.
- For bulk removal, use your software's Comments panel to select multiple items and remove them together.
- A desktop PDF editor usually gives more control than a basic browser viewer, because you can review comments, highlights, drawings, and notes before saving the cleaned file.
PDF Comments vs. Markups vs. Annotations: What's the Difference?
These terms often overlap, but they can refer to different elements inside a PDF.
- Comments: Notes or feedback added to specific areas of a PDF.
- Markups: Highlights, underlines, strikethroughs, drawings, and other visual changes.
- Annotations: A broader term that can include comments, notes, stamps, shapes, and markups.
This difference matters when you want to know how to remove annotations from PDF files completely. Deleting a text comment may not remove a highlight or drawing. You need to check the document for every type of annotation.
Which Method Should You Use? If...Then Quick Guide
Use the following guide to choose the right method:
- If you need to remove one comment: Use PDNob or Adobe Acrobat.
- If you need to delete all comments: Use a desktop PDF editor with comment controls.
- If you need a free option: Try an online PDF editor for a simple document.
- If you do not have Adobe: Use PDNob, Smallpdf, Word, or your Mac's built-in tools.
- If the PDF is scanned: Use a tool with OCR or recreate the clean PDF.
- If the comments are locked: Check the PDF permissions before trying to remove them.
- If you only want to hide comments: Turn off the comments or annotations view instead of deleting them.
The right method can save time, especially when you need to delete all comments in the document at once rather than opening every page and removing notes one by one.
If your goal is to remove all markings from a PDF, inspect every page after deleting the comments. This check helps you find highlights, boxes, arrows, or handwritten marks that may remain.
Part 2. How to Remove Comments from a PDF with PDNob (Recommended)
PDNob is a lightweight AI-powered PDF editor that focuses on comment-heavy review work. The page layout stays clean, with dedicated bookmark and comment has dedicated preview management tools to improve your comment management efficiency. An AI assistant can also helps to take care of routine cleanup in the background, so you don't have to click through every page by hand. Editors, reviewers, and those who ususally process PDF comments will find it easy to cleanup comments due to well-designed user interface without extra settings or steps.
- PDF editing : Edit text and other PDF content without rebuilding the whole file.
- Annotation management : Work with highlights, underlines, notes, and other markup elements.
- OCR support : Process scanned PDFs and turn image-based content into editable text.
- Page management: Insert, delete, extract, split, and rearrange PDF pages.
- Windows and Mac support: Work on PDF files across supported desktop systems.
These features make PDNob useful when you want to delete all comments PDF files contain and also check the rest of the document for unwanted markings.
How to Delete Individual Comments with PDNob
If you only want to remove one or two comments, you do not need to recreate the PDF. You can open the document in PDNob and select the unwanted annotation.
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Open PDNob PDF Editor and import the PDF that contains the comment you want to remove.
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Open the annotation or comment tools, then locate the comment you want to delete.
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Click the unwanted comment to select it, then choose the Delete option to remove it from the PDF.
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Review the page to confirm the comment is gone, then save the cleaned PDF as a new file.
This approach works well when you need to understand how to delete comments in PDF without affecting the original text or page layout.
How to Delete All Comments at Once in PDNob
When There Are Many Comments
Deleting comments one by one can take a long time. Open the comment or annotation list in your software, review the items, and remove the ones you no longer need.
If your software supports multi-selection, select all the comments together and delete them in one action. Save the cleaned PDF under a new filename so you keep the original as a backup.
Check for Other Markings
After saving, review the document page by page. Look for highlights, drawings, sticky notes, stamps, and other markings that may not fall under ordinary text comments.
How to Remove Comments from a Locked or Scanned PDF
If the PDF Is Locked
A locked PDF can prevent editing or annotation removal. Check the document's permissions first — if the owner has restricted editing, you may need the correct password or permission to make changes.
If the PDF Is Scanned
A scanned PDF creates a different problem: the page may exist as a flat image rather than separate editable comments. Running OCR can extract the text, but it does not automatically make every visible mark a removable annotation.
Check First
Before you try to delete anything, check whether the annotation exists as a separate PDF object or as part of the page image — that distinction decides the whole approach.
Part 3. How to Remove Comments from PDF in Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat remains a common choice for PDF review and editing. Its official instructions show that users can open a PDF, select Comment, choose a comment from the Comments pane, and use the comment options to delete it.
Delete a Single Comment in Acrobat
To remove one comment in Acrobat:
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Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat and select the Comment option to view all comments added to the document.
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Find the comment you want to remove, then click it to select the specific comment on the PDF page.
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Open the comment's options menu and select Delete to remove the selected comment from the document.
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Save the PDF and reopen it to confirm that the selected comment has been removed successfully.
This method works well when you only need to remove a small number of comments. It also gives you a clear view of the comments before you delete them. Adobe's current help documentation confirms this basic deletion process.
How to Delete All Comments in Adobe PDF at Once
Use the Comments Panel
To delete many comments at once, open the Comments panel in Acrobat, select multiple comments, and delete them together. The available options depend on your Acrobat version and document type.
Closing the Panel Is Not Deleting
Do not confuse closing the Comments panel with deleting. Closing only hides the comments from your current view; it does not remove them from the file.
Verify After You Save
After deletion, save the document, reopen it, and check several pages. Comments are not the only markup — also look for highlights, drawings, stamps, and text boxes that may have survived a comments-only deletion.
Part 4. How to Remove Comments from PDF for Free, Online, or Without Adobe
You do not always need Adobe Acrobat to clean a PDF. Several other methods can help, depending on the document and the type of comments it contains.
Remove Comments from PDF Online Free
An online editor can work well when you have a short PDF and do not want to install desktop software. Smallpdf, for example, lets users open a PDF in its editor, select comments or highlights, delete them, and download the edited file. Its current guide notes that its online editor does not provide a single-click "remove all" button, so users delete the items individually or in batches.
A basic process looks like this:
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Open a trusted online PDF editor, such as Smallpdf, and upload the PDF file you want to clean.
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Select the comment, highlight, or other markup you want to remove from the PDF page.
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Click the Delete or trash icon to remove the selected comment from the document.
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Review the PDF, then download the edited file and check that all unwanted comments have been removed.
This method can help when you need to remove comments from PDF online free for a simple document. However, avoid uploading sensitive contracts, financial documents, IDs, or confidential business files unless you trust the service and understand its privacy terms.
Remove Comments from PDF in Word on Windows
Microsoft Word can help if you first convert the PDF into an editable Word document. This method works better for text-heavy PDFs than for complex layouts.
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Open Microsoft Word, select Open, and import the PDF file you want to edit.
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Allow Word to convert the PDF into an editable document, then locate the comments or markup you want to remove.
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Select each unwanted comment and use the Delete Comment option to remove it from the document.
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Review the converted document for layout changes, then save or export it as a PDF again.
The conversion can change fonts, spacing, tables, images, or page breaks. Therefore, check every page before you share the new PDF.
If you want to delete all comments in the document at once, Word may help when the comments become normal Word review items after conversion. However, this method does not always preserve the original PDF layout.
How to Remove Comments from a PDF on Mac
Mac users can use a PDF application that supports annotations. Open the PDF, select the comment or markup, and use the delete option.
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Open the PDF on your Mac using Preview or another PDF editor that supports comments and annotations.
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Find the comment or annotation you want to remove and click it to select the specific item.
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Press the Delete key or use the available delete option to remove the selected comment from the PDF.
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Save the PDF and reopen it to check that the unwanted comments no longer appear.
Quick Checklist
Before sending your cleaned PDF, check these points:
- Delete unwanted comments.
- Remove highlights and drawings.
- Check every page.
- Confirm that no comment icons remain.
- Save the cleaned file under a new name.
- Reopen the saved PDF.
- Search for any remaining annotations.
This final review matters when you need to know how to remove comments from PDF results that stay clean after another person opens the file.
Part 5. How to Fix It When Comments Still Appear After Deleting
Sometimes you delete comments but still see marks in the PDF. This usually happens because the visible item is not a normal comment, the file contains restrictions, or the mark has become part of the page itself.
How to Remove Locked Comments in PDF
If you cannot select or delete a comment, check whether the PDF has editing restrictions. Some PDFs limit changes to the document owner or authorized users.
Try these steps:
Check the document's security or permissions.
Ask the owner for editing access if required.
Open the PDF in a different editor.
Check whether the visible mark is actually a comment.
Save a new copy after making permitted changes.
Do not try to bypass a password or permission restriction without authorization.
How to Hide Comments in PDF Without Deleting Them
What Hiding Actually Does
Hiding comments is not the same as deleting them. When you hide comments, they stay in the file but stop appearing in your current view or in print; when you delete them, they are removed entirely. If you send a PDF with hidden comments to someone else, they will still see the comments.
How to Hide Comments in Your PDF
Turn off the comments or annotations view in your PDF application. This keeps the comments in the file while hiding them from your current view.
This distinction matters. Hiding is not deleting. If you send the PDF to someone else, they may still see the comments.
Diagnose Before You Act
Use hiding when you may need the feedback later. Use deletion when you want a clean final copy.
Flattened or Scanned PDFs: Why Deletion Fails
Why Deletion Stops Working
In a flattened or scanned PDF, the visible marks no longer behave as separate comments — they have been merged into the page itself, either by flattening or because the page exists as a single image. A normal delete command cannot remove them as standalone annotations.
The Real Fixes
The only real fixes to remove these marks are to edit or recreate the affected page, run OCR to extract the text, or return to the original unmarked document.
Diagnose Before You Act
Before you try to remove markings from a PDF, check whether the marks exist as separate annotations or as part of the page content — that single check decides your whole approach.
Part 6. FAQs on How To Remove Comments from PDF
Q1. How do I remove annotations from a PDF?
A1: Open the PDF in a compatible editor, select the annotation, and choose Delete. Check for highlights, drawings, stamps, and notes because annotations include more than ordinary comments. If you need to know how to remove annotations from PDF instructions for a large file, use a PDF editor with a comment or annotation panel so you can review multiple items more efficiently.
Q2. How do I delete all comments in a PDF at once?
A2: Open the PDF in a desktop PDF editor and use its Comments or Annotations panel. Select multiple comments when supported and delete them together. If your main goal is delete all comments PDF cleanup, review the document afterward because highlights and drawings may remain even after comments disappear.
Q3. Why can I still see comments after deleting them?
A3: You may still see marks because they are highlights, drawings, stamps, flattened content, or part of a scanned page. Closing a Comments panel also does not delete comments. If you are checking how to delete comments in PDF, first select the visible mark. If the editor cannot select it, the mark may not exist as a normal annotation.
Q4. Is deleting comments the same as flattening a PDF?
A4: No. Deleting removes selected comments or annotations from the file. Flattening can merge annotations with the page content, which can make them difficult or impossible to edit separately. If you need to delete all comments in the document at once, deletion is usually the better choice when you want to preserve editable PDF content. Use flattening when you intentionally want to make annotations part of the final page.
Conclusion
Knowing how to remove comments from PDF files helps you create cleaner documents for clients, coworkers, teachers, customers, and other readers. You can remove a single note with a few clicks or clear many comments with a PDF editor. Your best choice depends on the PDF type, the number of annotations, and whether the file contains restrictions or scanned pages.
For quick cleanup, online tools can work for simple and non-sensitive documents. Adobe Acrobat provides established comment controls, while PDNob PDF Editor offers PDF editing, annotation management, OCR, and other document tools in one desktop application.
If you regularly need to delete all comments PDF files contain, PDNob can be a useful option for handling comments and other PDF editing tasks without rebuilding the document from scratch.
- Make scanned PDFs searchable and editable with 99% OCR precision
- Batch convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PPT, images, PDF/A, Text, EPUB, etc., up to 30% faster
- Edit PDFs easily like Word, including text, images, watermarks, links, and backgrounds
- Annotate PDF with highlights, comments, shapes, stickers, and stamps
- Run smoothly on any PC without lags or crashes, even on low-spec machines
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AI Tools Writer / Workflow Analyst
Rachel has spent the last 5 years testing and writing about AI-powered tools across writing, design, and research workflows. She focuses on practical AI tool usage, helping knowledge workers turn generative AI into everyday productivity.
