Summary: Markups and comments are an essential part of the proofing process. Ziflow offers a variety of tools that are used to highlight areas that need attention. In addition, reviewers can Like, Reply, Label, and Resolve comments, as well as attach files. All threads of conversation are kept within the Proof Viewer.

Available for any user or guest reviewer that has been granted Comment permissions.

Features outlined in this article:

Once you are inside the Legacy Proof Viewer, click on the Comment button in the upper right corner. This will open up a comments section. Now you can start typing your comment, or you can create a comment with a markup. If you want to do the latter, simply select your tool (square, circle, arrow, line, freehand drawing tool, or text annotation tool) from the pop-up window:

Next to the markup tools is the color picker where you can decide what color you want your markups to be set in:

Once you have selected your markup tool simply click and drag over the area on the proof that you wish to markup. Once you have placed the markup on the page, you have the ability to:

Once you've added the markup, type in a comment that will be associated with it.

You can see other reviewers' comments as they will appear in real-time. You can click on any comment in the list, and it will highlight the markup on the page. In reverse, you can also click on any of the numbered pins on the proof, and it will highlight the comment.

If you click through the comments, Ziflow will automatically display the markup at a convenient zoom ratio making it very user-friendly to scroll through all the comments.

There are two types of comments that can be added to a proof:

Option to switch between public and private comments will show when public and private comments are allowed in the stage settings on the proof:

Reviewers can switch between public/private comments using the button under the comment field.

If you want to see the list of the private comments alone, you can use the Private only filter:

If you changed your mind and you want to alter a public comment to private (or vice versa) you can do it by opening a comment menu and choosing a needed option.

If you want to edit a comment, you can do so by clicking the comment menu icon. Please note that you can only edit your own comments.

You can delete your own comments by clicking on the comment menu icon, however, this can only be done while the proof is unlocked. Once the proof is locked, or a new version is uploaded, you can no longer remove your comments.

If you have Manage permissions, you can remove other users' comments in addition to your own.

**Please note that if you delete a comment, it will also delete any replies and any files that have been attached to the comment.

If you change your mind and want to restore the deleted comment, you can use the Restore option visible in the placeholder field. To view the placeholders for the deleted comments, you need to enable Show deleted comments option:

*The Restore option is available for Proof Owners and reviewers with Manage or Admin permissions. They can restore all deleted comments. Reviewers with Comment permissions can restore only their own comments.

You will notice that underneath each comment is a Reply button.

You can reply to comments and start a discussion thread. This is very useful in clarifying comments so that the feedback is crystal clear.

The circle icon near the comment allows reviewers to resolve comments. Once clicked, it will turn green, and Ziflow will send an email notification about the action. A reviewer can also unresolve a comment by clicking on the green circle icon.

The flag icon allows reviewers to choose a label such as To do. Other labels can be added by account admins under Proofing Settings, so when the reviewer clicks on the icon, a list of all available labels will be presented. Once a reviewer chooses the label, it will be added to the comment/reply, and Ziflow will send an email notification about this action.

The Thumbs up icon (Like this comment) is a quick way to say you agree with a comment. We have not added a thumbs-down icon because if someone dislikes a comment, we would encourage them to reply with some context as to why they disagree.

If you need to show a particular comment to someone, you can copy its link and share it. The person who will open the link will be redirected to the proof opened in the Proof Viewer with your comment highlighted.

When comparing proof versions, you may copy a comment from one version to another.

Attaching files to comments/replies can be done in two ways.

Option 1: When adding a comment or replying to a comment, click on the paperclip icon under the comments box, then navigate to the file you wish to attach.

Option 2: Simply drag the file(s) you wish to attach directly into the comment box. The comment box will turn into an uploader icon and then show a progress bar once you drop the files in.

If you wish to remove your attachment, simply click on the trashcan in the comment box next to the file.

If you want to download an attachment from a comment, then simply click on the attachment (as shown in the screenshot below). This will open the file where you can click the download button.

Please note that files attached to comments/replies are being scanned by our antivirus, so if any of the uploaded files are infected, then we will remove them from the attachments list automatically.

Summary: @mentions are an easy way to draw someone's attention to a conversation or message.

Available for: Any reviewer with Comment permissions on all Ziflow editions.

Where is the feature accessible? @mentions can be used when adding comments or replies within the Proof Viewer.

Once you use the @ sign, a dropdown menu will appear with a list of all the reviewers within that stage. Select the reviewer by clicking on their name to confirm your selection.

If you want to let reviewers @mention all reviewers on the proof regardless of their stage, the Ziflow Admin must enable this setting in Settings > Proofing settings > General.

Yes, a special account setting allows all contacts to be listed when using @mentions. It is located under Settings > Proofing Settings > General.

Available for: users on our Business and Enterprise plans.

When the above option is enabled, and you use @mentions when commenting, you will be able to see who is not added as a reviewer on the proof.

When you @mention someone who is not added to the review process, you will be asked to share the proof with them and assign them to the chosen stage.

Once a reviewer uses @mentions to draw another reviewer's attention, Ziflow sends an email containing comment/reply text and proof details.