Adobe Acrobat 6 PDF For Dummies

\ Adobe Acrobat 6 PDF For Dummies\ \ \ \ By Greg Harvey\ \ \ John Wiley & Sons\ \ \ \ Copyright © 2003\ \ Greg Harvey\ All right reserved.\ \ \ ISBN: 0-7645-3760-1\ \ \ \ Chapter One\ \ \ The Ins and Outs of PDF Files\ * * *\ In This Chapter\ * What is a PDF file?\ * The benefits of using PDF files\ * Where PDF files come from\ * The different flavors of PDF files\ * * *\ \ I'm so enthusiastic about Adobe PDF files that I think the abbreviation PDF\ should stand for Pretty Darn Fantastic instead of the more mundane\ Portable Document Format. In PDF files, you not only see the first inklings of\ a truly paperless office (or as close as we're likely to get), but also the delivery\ of a truly universal file format; that is, one truly capable of being opened\ and used on any of the many computer operating systems currently in use.\ In this chapter, you get introduced to what makes PDF files so special and\ how they can be used to your advantage, especially in office environments\ that mix and match different computer platforms. As part of this process, you\ also get acquainted with the different versions of PDF files and how they can\ be tailored to fit the particular needs of those who use the documents.\ \ The Purpose of PDF Files\ PDF, as the name Portable Document Formatimplies, was developed by\ Adobe Systems as a means for digital file exchange. The main idea behind the\ file format is to enable all computer users to be able to open, review, and print\ the documents saved in it. This means that users who work on computers\ that don't have the software with which the files were originally created can\ still see the document as it was originally designed and laid out, including all\ its fonts and graphics.\ The key to this digital file interchange is the nifty little software program\ known as Acrobat (although Adobe originally named it Carousel when it first\ appeared in 1993). A free form of this software, known as the Adobe Reader, is\ available from Adobe Systems for all the major personal computing devices\ and most versions of all the operating systems known to humankind. As of\ this writing, these forms include:\ \   Microsoft Windows machines with the following versions: Windows 3.1,\ Windows 95 (OSR 2.0), Windows 98 SE, Windows Millennium Edition,\ Windows NT 4.0 (with Service Pack 5), Windows 2000, or Windows XP\ \ \   Macintosh computers with version 7.5.3, 8.1-8.6, 9.1-9.2, or OS X of the\ Macintosh operating system\ \ \   Palm handhelds with OS 3.0 or later\ \ \   Pocket PC computers with Windows CE or Windows 2002\ \ \   IBM AIX workstations with IBM AIX 4.2.1\ \ \   HP 9000 Series workstations (model 700 or higher) with HP-UX 9.0.3\ \ \   SGI workstations with Silicon Graphics IRIX 5.3\ \ \   DEC workstations with DEC OSF/1, version 4\ \ \   Sun Solaris SPARCStations with Sun OpenWindows 3.0 or later, Motif\ 1.2.3 or later, OpenLook 3.0, or CDE 1.0 or later\ \ \   Computers running versions of Linux including Red Hat Linux 5.1 or\ Slackware Linux 2.0\ \ Acrobat 6 and Adobe Reader are both major upgrades to the Acrobat software\ family. Consequently, backward-compatibility with older operating systems is\ limited. In order to run Acrobat 6 on Windows you must use one of the following\ operating systems: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows NT\ Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 Professional with Service\ Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC\ Edition. Macintosh users must use OS X versions 10.2.2-10.2.6.\ All you have to do to get the appropriate version of Adobe Reader for your\ current operating system is point your Web browser to the following page on\ the Adobe Systems Web site at\ adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html\ and in the Step 1 of 2 area of the Adobe Reader download page choose your\ language, your connection speed (dial-up or broadband), and your computer\ platform. After you choose your computer platform, the Step 2 of 2 area\ appears. Note that the selections you make in Step 1 determine the version of\ Adobe Reader best suited for your computer system. If your current system\ is compatible with Adobe Reader, you are offered two choices: either the\ Basic or Full versions if you chose dial-up as your connection speed, or Full if\ you chose broadband. The Basic version is 8.7MB and can typically take up\ to 30 minutes or more to download with a 56K modem. The Full version of\ Adobe Reader has enhanced features that are described in the Step 2 of 2\ dialog box and weighs in at a hefty 15.3MB - not a big deal if you have\ broadband Internet access but worth the consideration if you use a modem\ to connect to the Web. After choosing your desired version of Adobe Reader,\ click the Download button. After downloading the Adobe Reader to the desktop\ of your computer platform, double-click the icon representing the compressed\ version of the program to unpack and install it on your computer.\ After you install the Adobe Reader on your computer, you can then open,\ review, and print any PDF file that you get, regardless of what application programs\ were used in generating its text and graphics, and regardless of the\ computer platform on which these programs ran. (See Chapter 2 for details\ on how to access and review PDF files with the Adobe Reader.)\ Adobe Reader comes in two versions with very different feature sets that you\ can compare during the process of downloading the program. Adobe also created\ not two, but three different versions of Acrobat 6: Professional, Standard,\ and Elements. In order to compare the different features of these products,\ Adobe provides an Acrobat family features matrix page on their Web site. Go\ to the following page on Adobe's Web site to view this important information:\ adobe.com/products/acrobat/matrix.html\ \ Benefits of Using PDF Files\ The most important benefit derived from the use of PDF files is that anyone\ whose computer is equipped with Adobe Reader can open, read, and print\ them. This essentially enables you to concentrate on the software tools that\ you have at hand and feel are best suited for producing the document without\ having to worry about whether or not your client or coworker has the\ same software available to them. As you'll soon see, this is only one of the\ many important uses to which you can put your PDF files with Acrobat 6.\ Keep in mind that the availability of many features described in the following\ sections depend on which version of Adobe Reader or Acrobat 6 you are\ using. For that reason, it's a good idea to go to the Acrobat family features\ page described in the previous section to familiarize yourself with all of\ Adobe's new Acrobat products.\ \ What you designed is what they see\ Because you are assured that your PDF files will essentially appear on-screen\ and print as you originally designed them, no matter the computer on which\ they're opened or the printing device to which they're output, you don't have\ to hold back on your design, avoiding the use of certain more decorative\ fonts and/or complex layouts. Figures 1-1 and 1-2 illustrate this situation. In\ Figure 1-1, you see a PDF file as it appears when opened with Adobe Reader\ on a computer running Windows. Figure 1-2 shows the same PDF file as it\ appears when opened on a Macintosh computer. As you can see, they are\ both comparable in terms of the appearance of their fonts and their layout.\ \ PDF files in the review cycle\ While PDF debuted as a universal file format for viewing and printing documents\ on various types of computers and printers, thanks to advances to the\ Acrobat software (and here I'm referring to the full-fledged Acrobat program\ that you must pay for rather than the freebie Adobe Reader available for\ download), you can now make PDF files an integral part of your design review\ process. After converting a document to PDF, you can disseminate copies of\ it to each of the people from whom you need feedback or approval before\ you put it into use. Each of these people can then add their feedback by\ adding comments or actually marking up the PDF document in Acrobat 6.\ You can then collect their feedback and make the necessary changes either\ to the PDF version of the file in Acrobat 6 or to the original document (prior\ to PDF conversion) in the program used in its creation. If managers, coworkers,\ or clients are required to sign off on the document (either in its original\ or revised form), they can indicate their approval by stamping the document\ with their approval or by digitally signing off on it, as shown in Figure 1-3.\ (See Chapter 9 for details on how to use PDF files in a review cycle and\ Chapter 11 for details on how to use digital signatures.)\ \ Providing forms, both paper and electronic\ With the widespread reliance on the World Wide Web for getting and submitting\ crucial information, PDF files have taken on another important use, that\ of providing forms to fill in both online and after printing. Acrobat 6 makes\ form creation about as easy as it can be.\ If you need to make certain paper forms available on your company's intranet\ or your public Web site so that users can download, print, and then fill them\ in by hand, you can use Acrobat 6 to scan the paper forms and immediately\ convert their digital images into PDF files (see Figure 1-4). If you need to be\ able to search and edit the text in the electronic versions of these forms, you\ can use the Paper Capture feature - Acrobat's version of OCR (Optical\ Character Recognition) software - to convert the text image into searchable\ and editable fonts. (See Chapter 6 for details on scanning paper forms and\ converting them into PDF files with Acrobat 6.)\ If you need to get feedback or process informational or order forms directly\ from your company's intranet or its public Web site, you can use Acrobat 6 to\ design the electronic forms. Acrobat 6 makes it possible to add all types of\ interactive fields, including text boxes, combo boxes (also known as dropdown\ list boxes), check boxes, radio buttons, and command buttons (that\ users can select to do things such as submit their information or clear the\ form). With the addition of a simple CGI (Common Gateway Interface) script\ (courtesy of your friendly IT personnel or Internet service provider), you can\ store the data submitted by way of your PDF forms in text files that your\ favorite database or spreadsheet program can read and store. (See Chapter 14\ for details on creating interactive PDF forms for use online.)\ You don't have to use the World Wide Web or a company intranet to be able\ to fill in electronic PDF forms that you create with Acrobat 6. Users who have\ Acrobat 4 or later installed on their computers can open and fill in these electronic\ forms using this version or later of Acrobat.\ \ Document archiving\ Let's face it: Paper archives are not just bulky and heavy, but they also\ degrade quickly and are a veritable nightmare to search. For this reason\ alone, out of all the possible uses for Adobe's Portable Document Format,\ archiving your documents as PDF files may prove to be the most important\ to you. Imagine all your paper contracts, correspondence, company reports,\ and the like stored as collections on CD-ROMs, from which you can retrieve\ individual files through searches for keywords or for vital statistics such as\ author name, client name, or job number.\ You can use the Paper Capture feature in Acrobat 6 on the Windows or\ Macintosh platform to scan and convert such paper documents into searchable\ PDF files. After you do that, Acrobat makes it easy for you to organize\ these files into collections (known officially as catalogs), which you can index\ for truly speedy retrieval using the Acrobat 6 search feature. (See Chapter 6\ for details on converting paper documents to PDF and Chapter 13 for details\ on cataloging and indexing your files prior to storing them on various media.)\ The Paper Capture feature in Acrobat 6 for Windows restricts you to scanning\ and converting paper documents of no more than 50 pages in length. If you\ know that you must scan and convert documents longer than 50 pages on\ the Windows platform, you need to purchase the standalone module,\ Acrobat Capture 3 for Windows NT, 2000, or XP or Acrobat Capture 2.0 for\ Windows 95/98.\ \ PDF in the prepress workflow\ One of the most obvious uses for PDF files is in the prepress workflow, during\ which documents that require professional printing are checked for potential\ printing errors and readied for conversion from electronic images to the film\ or plates used in the final printing of the document using high-end imagesetters\ (a process known in the industry as preflight). Acrobat 6 (Professional\ version only) contains a number of prepress-related printing options, along\ with an overprinting preview and an on-screen color correction feature.\ These specialized print options and error-checking features in Acrobat 6 are\ designed to help professional graphic artists and service bureau personnel in\ finding and eliminating potentially costly printing problems. Most users not\ directly involved in this end of the business will have no reason to fool with\ these printing options or use these specialized preview features. (If, for some\ unknown reason, you are interested in knowing more about these prepress\ features, refer to Chapter 8.)\ Always check with your service bureau personnel to find out what, if any,\ prepress options they want you to use prior to sending them your PDF files\ for preflight. Some houses definitely prefer that you not use any of these prepress\ options, so it's always good to check it out ahead of time.\ \ Quick and easy Web site retrieval\ If you are involved with your company's Web design or you are a Web freak\ who travels frequently and is therefore bereft of a way to stay connected to\ the Net, you can use the Acrobat 6 Web Capture feature to copy and convert\ to PDF specific Web pages or even entire Web sites that are of interest to you\ (see Figure 1-5). After you've converted a set of Web pages or an entire Web\ site into PDF files, you can then browse them from your hard drive with\ Acrobat or Adobe Reader without being connected to the Internet.\ As both a road warrior and Web enthusiast, you can use this feature to keep\ up on the latest online information right from the comfort of your portable\ computer at those times when you're traveling or just waiting to travel.\ If you work as a Web designer, the Web Capture feature provides a perfect\ means for distributing your Web pages for approval to your client or coworkers.\ If they have Adobe Reader or Acrobat 6 on their computers, they can even\ annotate the pages with their suggestions in the form of notes and markups or\ even give you that final nod of approval using the stamp feature. (See Chapter 7\ for details on retrieving and converting Web pages to PDF.)\ \ Continues...\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Excerpted from Adobe Acrobat 6 PDF For Dummies\ by Greg Harvey\ Copyright © 2003 by Greg Harvey.\ Excerpted by permission.\ All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.\ Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.\ \

Introduction1Pt. IPresenting Acrobat and PDF Files7Ch. 1The Ins and Outs of PDF Files9Ch. 2Accessing PDF Files21Ch. 3Getting Acquainted with Acrobat 653Pt. IIThe Wealth of Ways for Creating PDF Files79Ch. 4Distilling PDF Files81Ch. 5Converting Microsoft Office Documents107Ch. 6Capturing Paper Documents121Ch. 7Capturing Web Pages133Ch. 8Printing PDF Files147Pt. IIIReviewing, Editing, and Securing PDFs159Ch. 9Annotating PDF Files for Review161Ch. 10Editing PDF Files203Ch. 11Securing PDF Files239Ch. 12Extracting Text and Graphics from PDF Files263Ch. 13Cataloging and Distributing PDF Files275Pt. IVPDFs as Electronic Documents291Ch. 14Creating Interactive Forms293Ch. 15Building and Publishing eBooks237Ch. 16Making PDFs into Multimedia Presentations355Pt. VThe Part of Tens377Ch. 17Top Ten Third-Party Acrobat Plug-Ins379Ch. 18Top Ten Online Resources383Index387