Adobe Acrobat User Guide
Adobe Acrobat, the go-to software for creating and reading PDF files, can be used in many different ways to help you get more done in less time and with fewer resources. Take a look at this step-by-step guide to learn how to use Adobe Acrobat to get the most out of your PDFs, including advice on where to find Acrobat’s features, what they do, and how to use them effectively. We’ll also cover some lesser-known features that can be quite helpful if you know how to use them right!
Getting Started
Adobe Acrobat XI is a powerful document-management tool that can help you read, view, and work with all types of documents. If you’re new to Adobe Acrobat or just new to using it in a business environment, there are a few things you should know. This guide will show you how to set up your account with Adobe so that you can start taking advantage of what it has to offer.
Adobe Reader is a free application that you can use to view, navigate, and print your PDF files. Although it’s a useful tool on its own, many people consider it much more user-friendly when paired with Acrobat XI.
Working with Files
Often you can simply email a file back and forth with other users or coworkers, but there are times when files are too large or need special handling. This is where Adobe Acrobat comes in. With it, you can do things like break a long file into smaller pieces, split one large file into multiple smaller ones, and secure your files against corruption. Here’s how to do all that and more.
By compressing data, you reduce its size. Compression does not change file contents; rather, it makes a copy that takes up less space than another identical copy. For example, if you’re sending ten pages in a 12MB Word document via email, you could use Adobe Acrobat to split them into two 6MB files and send both attachments instead of one 10MB attachment.
You can use Acrobat DC to combine multiple files into one. You can also split a single file into two or more parts, then distribute each part by email or another means. When you’re finished working with a large file, you may want to remove sensitive information from it before you dispose of it. Don’t just delete a document—this will only delete your local copy and leave your original data intact on your computer. Instead, employ one of Acrobat’s secure deletion tools.
Formatting Text
The first step in formatting text is deciding how you want it to look. Click a word and select A A under Text Effects at the top of your toolbar. From there, choose options like bolding or changing font styles. You can also select words or paragraphs and hit CTRL+B for bold, CTRL+I for italics or CTRL+U for underline.
If you want text in a specific font size, click on it and select A A under Text Size at the top of your toolbar. From there, choose your desired font size. You can also use CTRL+MouseWheel to change the font size in increments. If you plan on printing out your document or are going to share it with others via email, it’s best to stick with 10 or 12 point fonts for legibility. Font sizes above 14 may be too small to read easily. You can also adjust line spacing by clicking on a word and selecting A Line Spacing from your toolbar.
Capturing Screenshots
In order to capture a screenshot of your page, you’ll first need to open your document. In Windows, you can do so by double-clicking on it, or right-clicking and choosing Open. If you have it set up as a shortcut on your desktop, then just clicking once should suffice. Once your file is open, go ahead and navigate to where you want to take a snapshot of your page. You can either highlight text or drag across an image in order to select it for capturing. Once you’ve selected what you want captured, press Ctrl + PrtScn (or Command + Shift + 3 if using Mac) in order to copy that section into your clipboard.
Adding Forms and Data Collection Tools
If you’re creating an online document that requires recipients to fill out forms, you may be surprised at how easy it is to add these tools. These tools have many uses, from asking users for their contact information so that you can follow up with them and include them in more surveys or focus groups, to collecting data on customers’ interaction with a website or product. Here are a few simple ways of doing it.
1) Adding Form Fields Using Annotate > Text Box: Add text boxes wherever you want to ask your readers questions. For example, if you want people to tell you about themselves by entering their age and occupation, create two text boxes and type Age into one field (or just A) and Occupation into another (or just O). Then click OK when finished adding text boxes. 2) Creating a Data Collection Tool Using Data Merge: Create a form using one of your documents as a template, then use Data Merge to collect responses and export them as a new document. The steps are pretty straightforward—just make sure you know where you want to save your responses before beginning! 3) Creating a Contact List From Scratch: You can also collect information from scratch using all sorts of different fields—just make sure you don’t ask for too much info!
Adobe Acrobat Sharing Documents
Whether you’re collaborating with co-workers, or simply sharing photos or documents with friends and family, there’s no better way to do it than using a Portable Document Format (PDF). Advantages include small file sizes, ease of access and editing and collaborative features. Here’s everything you need to know about getting started with Adobe Acrobat.
Creating PDF files is easy and doesn’t require any additional software. You can just as easily send them by email as create them directly on your desktop – which is useful if you work on an online document creation platform such as Google Docs or Zoho Office Suite.
Protecting Documents
Protecting a document or set of documents is essential if you want to retain your original format and ensure that readers can’t copy or print specific sections. You can also password-protect a file if you have sensitive information you don’t want others to see. When applying protection, Acrobat asks whether you’d like an encrypted document or password-protected one.
Securing Documents
Adding security to a document will ensure that only those you’ve approved can view its contents. This is especially important if you’re sharing sensitive information in your PDFs, such as patient health information. To secure a file in Acrobat, go to File > Security, and select Add a password. Then type in whatever name and/or password you want and save your work when finished.