Reviewers shouldn't have to pick a tool before they can leave a note. With Aproove, they don't.
Online proofing tools need dynamic features to keep up with your workflow. Aproove's Multi-Function Markup Tool adapts to what the reviewer is pointing at. Click on text and it offers to extract and highlight. Click and drag in open space and it draws a freehand shape. Drag a rectangle and it boxes the region. Click anywhere and it drops a sticky note. One palette, no tool-switching. For production and packaging specialists, deeper tools are available per user: color separations, densitometer, measurement, barcode scanning. For folded materials like mailers and packaging, a rotation tool flips the proof to the orientation the reviewer actually needs.
What it is
The Aproove Multi-Function Markup Tool is the everyday annotation tool. It’s the best annotation tools for client feedback on web projects and so much more. Rather than presenting reviewers with a palette of separate tools and forcing them to pick one before they can act, Aproove gives reviewers a single tool that switches function based on context. The tool is always selected. The action adapts.
Four functions live inside the same tool:
- Sticky Note. Click anywhere on the proof to drop a note marker at that exact point.
- Freehand markup. Click and drag to draw any shape. Useful for circling, underlining, drawing around an area. Multiple shapes can attach to a single note.
- Text extraction and markup. Hover over text and the tool adapts. Highlight characters, words, or paragraphs. The selected text can be pulled into the note where it becomes editable, with red and green color coding showing what was deleted and what was added.
- Fixed box. Click and drag a rectangle around an element. Useful for targeting a specific block of text, image, or region.
A single note can carry multiple markup elements. A reviewer can drop a sticky note, draw a freehand circle around the affected area, and attach a text extraction of the offending paragraph, all to the same note thread.
Why it matters
Tool-switching during review feels minor in any single instance and adds up to substantial cognitive cost across a project. A reviewer working through a fifty-page document in a traditional review tool stops every few notes to ask "which tool do I need for this one?" Each context switch breaks attention, slows the next decision, and introduces error: the wrong tool gets picked, the markup applies imprecisely, the note misses what the reviewer was actually trying to flag.
The Multi-Function Markup Tool removes that decision. The reviewer points at what they want to mark. The tool figures out what they probably want to do. The reviewer confirms or adjusts. The note is captured. The reviewer moves on.
The benefit is not just speed. It is attention preserved. Reviewers spend their cognitive effort on what they are reviewing, not on selecting the best online proofing tools.
Built for production and packaging specialists
Some reviewers need more than general-purpose markup. The best soft proofing tools for packaging design look different than the tools a casual reviewer needs. Production designers checking color builds, prepress teams verifying barcodes, packaging specialists confirming dielines and spot plates. Aproove provides those tools on a per-user basis, so the everyday markup palette stays clean for general reviewers while specialists get the depth they require.
Densitometer and Ink Coverage Tool. Hover over any object in the proof to read its color build. Capture the build into a note with color correction instructions attached. Used heavily by prepress teams checking against press limits and by brand teams confirming color match against approved specs.
Color Separations. Aproove can be configured to detect every color channel inside a proof, including spot plates (Pantone colors, dielines, varnish, substrate, glue area, folds, seams) and display each one independently. In single proof view or compare view, a reviewer selects a channel from the dropdown and views only that channel. Essential for packaging review and any work where the spot plate matters.
Measurement Tool. Measure the distance between two points on screen with metric results: distance, XY position, area, and (where applicable) angle. Useful for verifying clearances, confirming print dimensions, and catching layout errors that visual inspection might miss.
Barcode and Postal Checking Tool. Drag a box around any barcode or postal code in the proof. Aproove scans the code and reports whether it can be read. For QR codes, a successful read produces a clickable URL so reviewers can verify the link goes where it is supposed to go. Aproove supports over 60 barcode formats including 1D, 2D, and Postal (see Supported File Formats for the full list).
The rotation tool
Proofs of folded materials (mailers, packaging, brochures) are usually created in the orientation they will be folded into, which means some content displays upside down or sideways when the reviewer opens the proof. Reviewers should not have to tilt their head or open the file in another tool to read it.
Aproove's rotation tool flips the proof to whatever orientation makes the content readable. Markup applies in the rotated view and stays anchored to the correct location on the underlying file. When the proof exports, the original orientation is preserved.
[IMAGE: rotation tool screenshot showing a packaging proof rotated for review]Benefits
- No tool palette to navigate. The Multi-Function Markup Tool switches mode based on context. Reviewers point at what they want to mark and the tool adapts.
- One note can carry multiple markups. A sticky note, a freehand shape, and a text extraction can all attach to a single thread, so a complex note does not fragment into separate annotations.
- Text edits show what changed. Red and green color coding inside text extraction notes makes it obvious what was deleted and what was added, so the artworker applying the change does not have to interpret.
- Specialist tools available per user. Densitometer, color separations, measurement, and barcode scanning are available to production and packaging users without bloating the casual reviewer's palette.
- Sixty-plus barcode formats verified at review. Reviewers catch unreadable codes before they ship, not after.
- Spot color and dieline visibility. Each color channel can be isolated for review, including Pantone, varnish, substrate, glue area, and folds.
- Rotation for folded materials. Mailer and packaging proofs flip to the orientation the reviewer actually needs, with markup staying anchored to the correct file location.
Built for regulated environments where failures create real risk
Insurance, healthcare, and enterprise teams face unique approval challenges. Aproove handles state-by-state variations, mandated language, FDA submissions, and multi-geography brand governance without breaking a sweat.
Trusted by leaders
Used by teams that cannot afford uncertainty in their approval process.
"Implementing Aproove has dramatically reduced errors, increased motivation and satisfaction across the teams and importantly, saved the operation significant hard costs."
“The Aproove team are the best team in the world. I feel like I'm their only customer, they are always there for me.”
"Within a short period, we were able to reduce 25 workflows into a single workflow. The team saw a 15-week reduction in getting new marketing packages from idea to market. More importantly, it ensured that all the packages were compliant with regulatory requirements. All steps, comments, and approval are captured and saved for any audits."
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