Adobe Acrobat Tutorial

• Introduction
• Converting Documents to .pdf Format
• Basic Navigation
• Editing Text
• Saving Changes
• Working with Pages
• Creating Links on Pages
• Creating eForms

  Introduction 

Acrobat is not a program used to create original content, you can convert pre-existing documents into a format that can be viewed exactly as you intended. The audience only needs the free Acrobat Reader (downloadable at http://www.adobe.com) to view your document.

With Adobe Acrobat, you can convert, view and edit documents  in Portable Document Format.

Acrobat PDF is one of the most important and most versatile of all file formats. Most common uses include electronic replacement for a printed software manual, acting as the underlying medium for Web-based publications, downloadable eBooks, onscreen presentations, office collaboration, legally-binding document exchange, commercial print workflows and electronic archiving. PDF can even act as a graphic file standard for both bitmap photo-editing and vector drawing programs!

To find out more about Adobe Acrobat open Acrobat and access Help > Acrobat Help.

  Converting Documents to .pdf Format  

You can convert a Microsoft Office document to .pdf format in a few different ways.

Converting Documents to .pdf Format Using the Tool Bar

The first method is to use the built-in button or tool bar that is installed in Microsoft Office when Acrobat is loaded on your computer. (NOTE: If you do not see Acrobat menu or Acrobat buttons in your Microsoft Office application, please read support knowledgebase article at  http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/2b326.htm )

• With the document open in the Microsoft Office application, simply click on the Convert to Adobe PDF button, as highlighted in the picture below
• Alternatively, you can also choose Convert to Adobe PDF from the Acrobat pull-down menu, highlighted in the picture below.
• You will be prompted to give the file a location and name (see picture below). By default, the same name as the original file will be used, but with the .pdf extension. If you will be putting the file on a Website, ideally you would choose a file name with no spaces (but you can use underscores or hyphens to give the illusion of separate words)

Converting Documents to .pdf Format Using the Print Menu

Another way to convert a file to .pdf is to use the Print menu, because Acrobat is, in effect, actually "printing" the document with the proper formatting to the new file type.

• With the file open in the Microsoft Office application, click on the File pull-down menu, and choose Print.
• In the Print dialog box, go to the pull-down menu next to Printer Name and choose Acrobat Distiller.
• In the Excel example below, you would also want to choose the type of output you want. Under the Print what pull-down menu (as highlighted in the picture below), you can choose to have the Entire Woorkbook or Active Sheet(s) view be saved.
• You will be prompted to give the file a location and name

Hands-on Activity 1: Right Click the link below and chose save target as to save file to your computer. Convert it to PDF document using above instructions.
acrobat.xls

  Basic Navigation 

Moving a PDF page with the hand tool is like moving a piece of paper on a desk with your hand.

Show/Hide navigation pain will open the Navigation Plane on the left hand side of your document. This allows you to choose between Bookmarks, Thumbnails, Signatures, and Annotations. Clicking on a specific tab, such as Bookmarks, will display that specific thing. You can view a multi page document by using thumbnails and bookmarks.

• Bookmarks: Bookmarks usually will take you to the top of a given page. There are additional pages listed below a bookmark if you see a plus or a triangle next to a bookmark listing. Simply click on the bookmark icon to be taken to that page. Bookmarks are included by the author of the document, so, there is a chance some documents might not have them. (NOTE: When you create your Document from MS Word document use styles  drop-down box to set headings. Bookmarks will be automatically generated.)

• Thumbnails are graphical representations of the page. Clicking on them will take you to that page. Thumbnails may or may not be present. Also, the three navigation tabs can be dragged to your desktop to create a floating palette.

You can view documents in three different sizes by selecting one of the following buttons: . The left choice will give you the actual size, the middle choice will be fit the window, and the right choice will be fit the width.

You may also do a word find by using the button and a search using the button.
Click the Magnifying Glass Icon to get a closer look at the document.

To place hidden tools in the toolbar alongside the visible tools, hold down the mouse button on the related tool or the triangle next to it until the additional tools appear, and select the Expand This Button option. To collapse the hidden tools again, click the triangle to the right of the tools.
Use to select text or to select an image.
Another useful button is TouchUp Object tool. You will need it to Edit any pdf document.

  Editing Text  

You can edit the text within a .pdf document using Adobe Acrobat.

To edit text, select the TouchUp Text Tool . Use the I-beam to select some text. You are limited to changing text within that line only.

To insert a new line hold down Ctrl key and click where you want new line to be inserted.

To change text attributes click Tools - TouchUp text - Text Attributes, highlight text you want to edit and change it attribute(s).

  Saving Changes 

Use to save changes.

To create a Fast Web View document:

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > General. Select Options in the left panel of the General Preferences dialog box. Select Save As Optimizes for Fast Web View (This option is set by default.) Click OK.

2. Use the File > Save As command to save your file.

Hands-on Activity 2: Right Click the link below and chose save target as to save file to your computer. Or you can use file you created in Hands-on Activity 1.
acrobat.pdf
Change  05/05/2003 to the current date. Save the document.

  Working with Pages 

• To insert a page: Choose Document > Insert Pages. Select a .pdf and it will be inserted into your current .pdf.

• To insert an image: Choose File > Import > Image. You can then choose an image that will be inserted into your current .pdf.

• You can also use the Import command to scan an item directly into a .pdf

• To remove a page: Choose Document > Remove Pages. Select which page number(s) you would like deleted.

• To move a page: Click on the thumbnail of that page and move it to the desired location.

• To change the numbering of your page: Choose Document > Number Pages. This is where you tell Acrobat to start the numbering at page 2 (in case you have a cover letter), tell it to start new numbers (maybe you want separate numbered pages for each chapter of a book), and what type of number style you want (1,2,3, a,b,c, i,ii,iii).

• Other page features within the Insert Menu: Crop Pages, Rotate Pages, Extract Pages and Replace Pages.

  Creating Links on Pages 

You can create links between pages or within a document and creating hyperlinks to Internet sites.
Start with an existing PDF document. Click on the link button , highlight the word or words that are to be the links. The following window will open:

Set Action Type to "World Wide Web" to  create hyperlinks within a PDF document. Select the World Wide Web option. Click edit URL to set the URL (ex: http://www.gsw.edu).

Set Action Type to "Open File" to create link to another file on your computer. When you click the Select File... button, you will navigate to the file which you want it to open.

Set Action Type to "Go to View" to set a link within the same document. This is very useful if you have a large document and you create an index with links to various sections of the document. To do this, choose the Go to View option and then go the page to which you want to link.  Position the top of the page at the top of your screen, then click on the Set Link.

Hands-on Activity 3: Right Click the link below and chose save target as to save file to your computer. Or you can use file you created in Hands-on Activity 1 or 2.
acrobat.pdf
Create link to http://www.gsw.edu. Save the document.

  Creating eForms 

Select the form tool from the toolbar and drag the cursor to create a form field. This opens the Field Properties dialog box. Fill in the name of the field and select Text from the Type pop-up menu.

Note: Radio buttons, check boxes, or other options may be selected instead of Text. For these options, be sure to check the Border Color box to set a border.

With the Appearance tab selected, you can choose the border and font properties for your form field. Make sure the Form Field Is field is set to Visible, as shown below.

Switch to to see what the form will be like.

To add buttons in Field Properties Dialog box choose Type: Button. Make it visible but doesn't print.

On the options Tab type in text you want to be displayed on the face of the button.

On the Actions Tab choose on Mouse Up - Add - Execute Menu Item - Edit Menu Item.
Then click File - Print - OK.
(Note: To create Reset button choose "Reset Form" as Action type.)

Hands-on Activity 4: Right Click the link below and chose save target as to save file to your computer. Or you can use file you created in Hands-on Activity 1, 2, or 3.
acrobat.pdf
Add

• fields: name, phone extension, and date;

• buttons: reset, and print .

Save the file.