[AEM Forms]{class="badge positive" title="Applies to AEM Forms)."}
Review and Annotate an Interactive Communication
Reviewing an interactive communication typically means sharing screenshots, composing emails, or holding side conversations, none of which can be tied back to the exact field or section being discussed. Annotations solve this by giving reviewers a dedicated, read-only view of the interactive communication where they can click any component and leave a comment pinned to that exact spot on the canvas.
All reviewers share the same annotation view, so feedback is visible to everyone in one place. Annotations exist only during the authoring and review process, they never appear on published or customer-facing output.
Before you begin
Reviewers and authors must each be assigned to the appropriate out-of-the-box reviewer and author groups before they can access the annotation canvas or the resolve workflow.
Add an annotation
Perform these steps as a reviewer.
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Navigate to Forms & Documents and select the interactive communication you want to review and click Annotate in the toolbar.
The read-only Annotations View opens with the interactive communication displayed on the canvas.
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To attach a comment to a specific component, click that component on the canvas.
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Enter your feedback in the comment box, then click the blue post button to save the comment.
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Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each component that needs feedback.
For example, click the bank address block and add Update Address, then click the Make and Model cell in the Vehicle Details table and add Update Car Model.
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When you have finished adding comments, click Submit Feedback.
A success message confirms your feedback was submitted. Each comment appears as an annotation pin at the location you selected, and all other reviewers can see it immediately.
Review the annotations
Perform these steps as an author.
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Navigate to Forms & Documents, select the interactive communication, and click Edit to open it in the Interactive Communication Editor.
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Select a component that shows a reviewer annotation pin.
For example, select the bank address block. In the Properties panel, expand the Comments section to view the attached annotation. The reviewer comment update address appears here.
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Review each comment and make the necessary changes to the design.
For example, update the bank address text as requested by the reviewer.
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Once you have addressed a comment, click Resolve in the Comments section.
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Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each remaining annotation.
For example, select the Make and Model cell in the Vehicle Details table, update the value to Creta SX(O) as requested in the Update Car Model comment, and mark it as Resolved.
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Click Save.
A resolved annotation pin changes from open to closed (grey), distinguishing completed review items from those still outstanding. The resolved comment remains visible in the history so the full review trail is preserved.
Considerations
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Reviewers and authors must be assigned to the appropriate out-of-the-box groups. Custom group configurations are not supported.
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If you reduce the size of a component after an annotation has been placed on it, the pin remains at the original position rather than moving with the component boundary.
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Annotations on fragments within a document are not supported.
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Annotations on the Table component are not yet supported.
Frequently asked questions
How do I attach a comment to a specific field rather than a general area?
Click directly on the component in the annotation canvas. The pin is attached to that component and appears to all reviewers in the same annotation view.
How does an author know which components have open annotations?
Annotation pins are visible directly on the canvas in the Interactive Communication Editor. Selecting a component shows all its attached comments in the Properties panel.
Do annotations appear in the published PDF output?
No. Annotations are part of the authoring and review workflow only. They are never included in published or customer-facing output.
What is the difference between an annotation and a comment?
An annotation is a positioned pin tied to a specific component on the canvas, visible in the read-only annotation view. A comment is a general note attached to the interactive communication as a whole, added from the Comments panel in the editor. See Versioning and Commenting for details on comments.