How to Use zipBoard’s Review Tools to Annotate and Comment on Digital Content?

To annotate and comment on digital content in zipBoard, open a file from your project, pick a tool from the review bar on the left and click where you want to leave feedback. You can annotate PDFs, videos, images, webpages and SCORM courses, view and hide all comments, turn feedback into tasks and share the content for external review.

Annotations keep communication in context: you leave notes directly on your websites, videos, images, courses and PDF documents, so everyone stays in sync. Annotation is available to all users for many content types. You only need the one-time zipBoard browser extension to review live websites/URLs and courses hosted online; PDFs (in the upgraded PDF viewer), images, videos, audio and zipped SCORM/HTML files open in the browser without it. See Difference Between the Embedded Annotations and Browser Extension.

How do I add content to review?

Select the project, then click Review Content. From there you can add a new file or choose content your team members have already added.

How do I add annotations to content?

Open the content, click the comment icon on the review bar on the left of your screen, then click where you want to add the comment. The process is the same for every content type. You can mention people in a comment by typing @.

There are many annotation tools available. Learn more about all the annotation tools.

PDFs

Click the comment icon and click on the page where you want to leave feedback. The annotation then appears on the screen.

Adding a comment on a PDF in zipBoard

Videos

Select the video you want to annotate and use the tools on the side to add comments.

Timestamped feedback on a video in zipBoard

Images

Select the image and add your annotations.

Webpages

Enter the URL you want to review. zipBoard supports both static and live websites.

SCORM courses

Add the course to zipBoard as a zip file, select the content and start reviewing. See How to Upload and Review SCORM or Valid HTML Content with zipBoard.

How do I add a new comment instead of a task?

In review mode, make your annotation or use the comment option, and make sure Add as task is unchecked before you save. The feedback is then saved as a comment rather than a task.

You can also add a comment from the project: select External Feedback in the project menu bar and click Add Comment.

How do I view all annotations at once?

Click the comment counter on the right of your screen to see all comments. You can reply to each comment there, and clicking a comment takes you to it on the content.

How do I hide or unhide comment pop-ups?

Click Hide to close all comment pop-ups when they block your view of the content. Your feedback stays saved; click Unhide to show the pop-ups again.

How do comment and reply counts work?

The comment counter on the right side of the screen shows the total number of comments added. Replies don't change that counter. Instead, each comment has its own counter that tracks its replies, starting at 1 for the comment itself.

How do I manage annotations as tasks?

All annotations can be managed from a centralized task dashboard, so you can track feedback until it's reflected in the content. Learn more about using the task manager.

Open the file you want feedback on, click the three dots at the top and select Share. You'll see several sharing options, each with its own use case.

The Require Signup / Login toggle controls whether reviewers must log in to zipBoard. Leave it off when you share with external or non-technical stakeholders who'd rather not log in. Learn more about the different share link options.