PDF markup discipline: colours, authors and the rule that a markup is not a revision
A red mark on one tablet appears to move an electrical panel. No author, date or issuing instruction accompanies it, and the other foreman's tablet has no such mark. The superintendent needs to establish whether it is a question, an observation or a reviewed direction.
Give every useful markup an author, date, purpose and source drawing reference. Keep the issued sheet identifiable and route the markup through the appropriate question, instruction or record process. Colour can organize a project's annotations, but a green mark is not approval and a red mark is not proof of an authorized or installed change.
Separate annotations from authoritative issues
- Agree the purposes and authorship. Choose a small set of annotation purposes the team can distinguish, such as questions and observed installed conditions. Use labels as well as any agreed colours. Record the author, date, location and underlying sheet issue. Do not invent an author for an existing untraceable mark or imply its date is known.
- Keep the issued source intact. Preserve the original received drawing and its issue record. Identify the annotated working copy and limit who may change or publish it through the agreed process. Use the actual tool's suitable method to keep source and annotations distinguishable; confirm how recipients see them instead of assuming every device handles layers identically.
- Route the mark to the right record. Review annotations at a cadence appropriate to the work, with urgent matters raised promptly. A question may need an RFI, an observed installation needs its supporting record, and a proposed change needs the actual authorization route. Track the response and related document rather than promoting the markup itself into a design revision.
- Check the preserved and readable copies. Test what the actual export includes: annotations, authorship, dates, source identity and linked responses. Retain the editable/source evidence where required and any clearly labelled readable derivative. Canadian archival guidance identifies software dependence and metadata as preservation concerns; it does not prescribe one company-wide PDF rule or promise every export retains every field.
A blanket 'never flatten' rule can obstruct a useful readable archive copy, while saving only a flattened image can obscure the underlying record. Decide the appropriate copies with the document administrator, preserve their relationship and check the result. Keep an annotation's status explicit even when a convenient viewing copy displays it directly over the drawing.
Common mistakes
- Treating green as approval without the actual decision record.
- Saving an annotated copy over the original issued file.
- Assuming a viewing or export copy preserves every useful record field.
Checklist
Check a markup before using it
- Purpose, author and known date.
- Source sheet identity and issue.
- Observed, questioned or authorized status.
- Appropriate record and response route.
- Preserved source and tested readable copy.
Check your understanding
A green markup shows the proposed panel location. Can the crew follow it?
