Comment Markers for Feedback in Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop streamlines creative collaboration by allowing stakeholders and collaborators to leave contextual feedback directly on active design canvases using comment markers. This article explains how comment markers function within cloud documents, how they visually pin notes to specific coordinates on the canvas, and how designers can interact with, resolve, and manage these annotations in real time.

Cloud Document Integration

Comment markers operate through Photoshop’s cloud document system. When a document is saved as a Cloud Document (.psdc) or shared via the Share for Review workflow, the Comments panel (Window > Comments) becomes active. This panel bridges stakeholder input—whether submitted via Photoshop on the desktop, iPad, or through the Adobe Creative Cloud web interface—directly onto the designer's working screen.

Placing and Displaying Markers on the Canvas

Feedback can be added as a general document comment or anchored to a specific visual element using spatial tools:

  • Pin Placement: Selecting the Pin tool from the Comments panel enables users to click anywhere on the canvas. This creates an anchored marker (represented as a numbered or icon-based pin) at the exact pixel coordinates selected.
  • Lasso or Region Markup: Reviewers can also draw shapes or bounding boxes around specific areas to highlight regions that require edits.
  • Visual Indicators: Comment markers sit as a visual overlay above the active design layers. They are non-destructive and do not alter the underlying pixel or vector data.

Interacting with Markers

When a comment marker is placed on the canvas:

  • Bidirectional Selection: Clicking a pin marker on the canvas automatically scrolls to and highlights the corresponding thread in the Comments panel. Conversely, selecting a message in the Comments panel illuminates its corresponding marker on the canvas.
  • Threaded Replies: Designers and reviewers can reply directly to pinned comments, mention team members using the @ symbol, and maintain a historical log of revisions.
  • Filtering and Resolution: Once an edit is complete, clicking the checkmark resolves the thread, which can either hide the marker from view or archive it based on current filter settings.

Managing Marker Visibility

To prevent canvas clutter while designing, markers can be toggled on or off. In the Comments panel, users can hide all pins to focus strictly on editing, or filter comments by status (Resolved, Unresolved), reviewer name, or date to isolate specific tasks.