How to Track Changes in InDesign During PDF Revisions

A reviewer asks you to replace a sentence, remove a paragraph, and move an image. You make the changes in InDesign. A day later, someone asks what changed and whether the original wording can be restored.

InDesign has a Track Changes feature for text edits. Turn it on before editing, then review the marked changes in Story Editor. For a complete revision record, keep the reviewed PDF and record layout changes separately. The text tracking feature does not provide a history of everything that happens on a page.

Here is how to use it during a PDF review round without losing the connection between a requested correction and the finished proof.

What InDesign Track Changes records

Adobe describes change tracking as a way to mark text additions, deletions, and moves within a story. A story is a continuous flow of text; it may run through several linked text frames. The tracked edits can then be reviewed and accepted or rejected. [1]

Moving an image, changing a frame size, or adjusting a color needs a separate record. Likewise, a PDF comment is a request from a reviewer. A tracked text edit records work in the source document. Keep both when you need to explain why a passage changed.

1 Save the starting version

Keep the annotated PDF and the InDesign file that produced it together. Save a working copy for the new revision round, using names such as Brochure_v03_reviewed.pdf and Brochure_v04_working.indd.

If the source has already changed since the proof was exported, identify those changes before applying more feedback. A comment attached to an older paragraph may need clarification. Tracking switched on now will not reconstruct edits made earlier.

Agree who can approve wording and who will review the completed changes. This avoids a designer making a reasonable correction that another stakeholder later reverses.

2 Turn on tracking before editing

Open the InDesign working file and follow Adobe’s documented setup [1]:

1. Choose Window > Editorial > Track Changes.
2. Place the text cursor in the story you want to track.
3. Select Enable Track Changes in Current Story in the panel.
4. For document-wide text work, choose Enable Track Changes In All Stories from the panel menu.

Then make the agreed corrections. For example, if the PDF asks you to replace “Delivery within five days” with “Delivery within three business days,” edit that passage in the source. Keep the original comment available so the person reviewing the edit can check the instruction and its scope.

For a document with separate headings, captions, and body stories, check that tracking is enabled wherever you will edit. Do a small test correction and inspect it before working through the full review round.

3 Review the edits in Story Editor

To inspect the text, place the cursor in its frame and choose Edit > Edit in Story Editor. Adobe’s Story Editor presents the story in a continuous text view and can also expose overset content. [2]

Tracked additions, deletions, and moves have visual indicators in Story Editor. Use the Track Changes panel to move through them and inspect the recorded user, time, and type of change. [3] The markup is reviewed in Story Editor rather than as redlines on the designed page. [4]

Compare each edit with the approved PDF instruction. Check the full sentence, particularly where a deletion changes punctuation or a replacement leaves a repeated word. A correct replacement in the wrong occurrence still needs fixing.

If changes seem to be missing, check the story you selected, whether tracking was enabled before the edit, and whether the tracked-change display is hidden. Return to the layout afterward to see how the new wording fits.

4 Accept or reject the text changes

In Story Editor, use Next Change in the Track Changes panel to navigate the story. Accept Change incorporates an edit; Reject Change restores the previous text. Review each item before using either command. Adobe documents this review process separately from enabling tracking. [3]

Avoid accepting everything simply to make the file look finished. A reviewer may have approved a replacement sentence while leaving a nearby question unresolved. Keep that question open in the feedback record.

Save a review copy before accepting the final changes if you need to retain the marked text state. Turning tracking off stops recording new edits; it preserves existing tracked changes. [1] It is not a substitute for accepting or rejecting them.

5 Record layout changes alongside the text review

Use a short revision log for work the text tracker does not cover. Include the proof version, page or section, requested change, outcome, and person responsible. Record an image replacement with the approved asset filename and any crop instruction.

For example, “Page 6: replace the product photograph with Product_front_approved.jpg; keep the existing frame” tells the next person what to check. “Image fixed” leaves them guessing.

Keep decisions distinct from implementation. “Approved” means the team agreed on an instruction; “applied” means someone made the edit; “checked” means the result was reviewed. Those stages can happen at different times.

If you already maintain a spreadsheet of PDF feedback, add the outcome there rather than creating another disconnected list.

Related guide: How to Export PDF Comments to Excel

6 Check the layout and the new PDF

Text review cannot show whether a longer sentence has pushed a caption out of place. Return to the designed pages and inspect the edited areas, following linked text into subsequent frames where needed. Then export and open the next proof.

Before sending it, confirm that:

• Text corrections match the agreed feedback and intended scope.
• Remaining tracked edits have been reviewed or clearly handed over.
• Image and layout changes have a usable record.
• Changed areas have been checked for overflow, awkward breaks, and shifted content.
• Unresolved questions have an owner and are visible in the handoff.

For the full checking process, use our practical InDesign revision checklist.

From PDF feedback to the revised source file

Tracking helps you review the edits that were made. Applying the feedback is another part of the job: finding the intended passage, interpreting the instruction, and updating the source.

FormatStack’s upcoming fully automated workflow is being built to turn annotated PDF feedback into source-file edits, starting with InDesign. Your team will still need clear decisions on ambiguous requests and a review of the resulting document.

Contact sales@formatstack.com about launch availability and your PDF-to-InDesign revision workflow.