Define the review task
Before sending the document, write down the decision you need. Are reviewers checking figures, improving wording or approving the layout? Asking three people to review everything at once often produces duplicate comments and conflicting priorities. For longer documents, assign sections or perspectives without preventing useful overlap. State when feedback must arrive to be included in the next revision.
Identify the review version clearly. A date and version number may be enough if everyone uses the same convention. Keep page numbering stable while comments are being collected. A reference to page twelve becomes less useful after two new pages are inserted at the front. If a replacement version is unavoidable, say explicitly which earlier version it supersedes and whether existing comments still need to be reviewed.
Try the feedback route
Open the PDF in the application participants are likely to use. Test highlighting, adding a comment and saving the file again. Then check that the annotation remains in the saved document. If you are sharing a document link, also test permissions from a recipient's perspective. A link working for its creator does not prove that other people can comment on the file.
Agree what makes a useful annotation. Rather than simply writing unclear, identify the statement and explain why it needs changing. For figures, include the source or the proposed replacement value where possible. Longer discussions can happen separately, but record the resulting decision against the document or in a decision log. This preserves the reason a suggestion was accepted or rejected after the conversation has ended.
Give consolidation to one person
Decide in advance who will review comments and resolve conflicts. When separate files are returned, include an identifiable reviewer in each filename. Keep the unchanged returns until consolidation is complete. Apply amendments to the editable source if that remains the authoritative document. Otherwise, corrections made only in a PDF can disappear when someone exports the source again.
After exporting the revised PDF, check the changed areas once more. Pay particular attention to page breaks, tables and cross-references that may have shifted during editing. Clearly label the completed version and close the previous review request. If issues remain unresolved, name them specifically and assign responsibility. A document filled with answered comments has not necessarily been approved: the person responsible still needs to make the required decision. Keep that decision separate from the mechanical task of collecting feedback.
