Ever wished you could turn your PDF into a virtual meeting room?

Perhaps one of these scenarios rings a bell…

• You just finished a proposal and need to get feedback from your coworkers
• You need to get corrections from your advisor before you can wrap up your thesis
• You are a real estate agent and need quick input on some property listings
• You and a colleague need to respond to a brief first thing tomorrow but you live in different cities

• You are reviewing a complex new product design with your technical team
• You are revising a contract and want input from other company departments
• You and your study group need an easy way to work together on digital class notes
• You are designing a logo and need feedback from your clients

These are just a few common situations that involve groups working together on PDFs. But no matter where you are or what you’re doing, PDF collaboration can be tough.

You can’t just mark up a PDF with any old reader. Everyone in your group needs an annotator with the right tools for the job – this can be a nightmare to find, often requiring annoying downloads, frustrating installs, and even a chunk of your hard-earned cash.

Then there’s the matter of working on the document itself. Passing PDFs back and forth is a headache. Mark-ups get messy, comments get lost, and valuable content gets hidden behind confusing or conflicting version titles.

And let’s not forget those email threads which either go on forever or splinter and scatter through your inbox, sprouting attachments like weeds. It’s hard to figure out who’s talking to whom about what, and half of what you have to say gets lost in the noise anyway.

All of this wastes energy, time, and money.

You need a lightweight, easy, hassle-free way to work on PDFs no matter where you are or what device you’re using. You need a solution that’s consistent, clear, and keeps everything neatly in one place.

You need Xodo Connect.

Let’s look at an example…

You are an energetic and tech-savvy graphic designer.

You’ve been hired to design a website for a small startup.

The owners, Alysha and Karim, need to wrap everything up before their meeting with the developer later in the week. The clock is ticking, but that’s the way you like it.

In fact, you’ve already whipped up a great initial design based on their requirements. Now you need their input before you can start the final draft.

But you have a problem. Alysha and Karim don’t have time to meet with you in person before the deadline. You’ll have to send them something to review electronically.

Your design combines graphics and text, so the smart option is to convert it to PDF, then send it to them for feedback and suggestions. But none of you have the time (or the patience) to wade through a long, confusing email thread bulging with poorly labeled document attachments.

This looks like a job for Xodo Connect!

You grab your iPad to invite Alysha and Karim to Connect and collaborate.

Starting your connection

1. Open the PDF in Xodo’s mobile app and tap on the    Connect icon in the Action Bar.

2. Enter your own name and email and tap OK, then enter Alysha and Karim’s email addresses and tap OK again to send the invitations.

3. To open the file in Xodo Connect so you can join your collaborators, return to Xodo’s browsing menu and tap on Xodo Connect, then tap your document to get started.

When Alysha and Karim receive the invitation, they simply click on the link in the email Xodo sent them on your behalf. This opens the document in their web browser.

That’s it. No tricks. No gimmicks. It’s fast, it’s free, it’s painless. And it works for anyone, anywhere.

Within a couple minutes, you’re all online. Time to get started!

Annotating your PDF

Xodo has a diverse selection of PDF annotation tools. With Xodo Connect, the three of you can…

  Insert sticky note comments

  Highlight text

  Underline text

  Strikeout text

  Create ellipses

  Create rectangles

  Create straight lines

 Draw freehand

Using her PC, Alysha highlights, underlines, and adds sticky notes to text descriptions she wants you to change. Karim prefers his Galaxy Note tablet, using the Ellipse and Freehand tools to circle parts of your design and scribble rough alternatives with his finger.

You add comments to their annotations as they work through the document. For example, Karim circled a picture of an emu, but you’re not sure why. This information is important to your finished design – you need more details. Is it the color of the bird? The size? The position? Or maybe he just detests birds?

You better add a note to his annotation to find out what he means.

Commenting on annotations

1. From the annotations toolbar, tap the    Select tool.

2. Tap on Karim’s annotation. (On a desktop device, you double-click his annotation after clicking the    Select tool.)

3. The comment box appears. “I’m not sure why you circled the emu. Could you provide more details?” you type. Then save the note.

You move on to review other annotations. There’s lots to be done and not much time to do it. But you check the Annotations outline regularly to see if anyone’s answered your questions.

Viewing all annotations and comments in one place

The Annotations outline allows anyone in your group to quickly browse mark-ups and read comments in one convenient place.

• If you’re on a desktop device like Alysha, the Annotations outline is on the left panel, below the Annotation tools when you click on the Annotations icon.

• If you’re using a mobile device like Karim, the Annotations outline is accessed by tapping on the Collaborators & Chat icon in the main toolbar.

After adding notes to some of Alysha’s highlights, you check the Annotations outline and notice that Karim already replied to your question about the bird.

It turns out he actually loves birds, but he thinks eagles are more regal than emus. And now that you think about it, he’s right. Time to go hunting for the most regal eagle photos you can find!

With the input Alysha and Karim have already provided, you feel comfortable starting on the final design while they continue annotating. You’ll check back in a couple of hours to see what other suggestions they’ve added.

Now you’re confident you’ll hit your deadline. This is going to be your best design yet!

This is just one example of how to use Xodo Connect to work together in groups. The people, the devices, and the goals may change, but the tools stay the same. Using Connect is a piece of cake.

If you have other examples you would like to share, we would love to hear them! Tweet us or comment on this post and tell us how you use Xodo Connect.

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