Posts in Category "Acrobat X"

What’s the difference between Acrobat 8, 9 and X?

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (33)

One frequent question I receive is:

What’s the difference between Acrobat 8, 9 and X?

When considering an upgrade, that likely is the first question you’ll ask.

Unfortunately, it isn’t very easy to find this information on the Adobe website. To save you some time, I’ve put together an Acrobat Feature History document (PDF of course!) that you may find helpful.

Acrobat 8-9-X New Feature History.pdf (137K PDF)

What’s the difference between Adobe Reader X, Acrobat X Standard and Acrobat X Pro?

Determining which version of Acrobat is right for you or your organization is a different question, but no less important.

Fortunately, Adobe has an excellent feature matrix available to help with this. It’s easy to find on the Adobe website, but I’ve included it below. One stop shopping!

Acrobat X Family Matrix long.pdf (250K)

Continue reading…

Customizing Toolbars in Acrobat X

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (195)

Yesterday, I received a note via email from a consultant who asked:

Why did Adobe eliminate the Previous Page and Next Page buttons from Acrobat X?

Acrobat X (and earlier versions) only display a default set of page navigation tools:

Default navigation toolbar in Acrobat X

Adding in other Tools

It’s easy to add in all of Acrobat’s page navigation tools and— once you do— they stay that way.

Here’s how:

  1. Right-click on the Page Navigation section of the toolbar
  2. Choose the Page Navigation menu item
  3. Choose Show All Page Navigation Tools

Customizing the page navigation tools in Acrobat

Here’s the result after making this change:

Acrobat Toolbar after adding in page navigatio tools

Try Customizing other Toolbars

Try right-clicking on the toolbar and exploring other options to add to the main toolbar.

Here are the ones I normally add:

  • Select & Zoom> Marquee Zoom Tool
  • Edit> Take Snapshot
  • Edit> Advanced Search
  • Page Display> Single Page View

Continue reading…

Flatten Form Fields and Comment using a FREE Acrobat X Action

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (28)

Flattening is the process of moving editable information— form field data and comments— into the main document layer so that it cannot be edited or changed.

At left, below is an illustration of editable form and comments elements. After flattening (right), the appearance of the elements remains, but they are no lonager editable.

Flattening Illustration

Many folks simply print the document to the Adobe PDF print driver to flatten a document. However, that process takes several steps and eliminates bookmarks and other information.

Why would I need to Flatten a document?

Here are a few reasons that you might want to flatten a document:

  • To ensure that comments are printed
  • To prevent someone from changing the text inside a PDF form
  • To lock your stamp on the document

To make the flattening process easier, you can use a FREE Acrobat X Action to flatten your document.

Acrobat X Flatten Action

The Acrobat X File Name Stamper Action automates the process of flattening the document. Just open your Actions Panel and click!

How do I get the Acrobat X Action?

You can get the  Action over on the Actions Exchange on AcrobatUsers.com,

Alternately, you can download it direct below.

The PDF document you download below includes:

  1. Installation and use instructions
  2. Action (embedded in the PDF)

Enjoy!

Flatten_Doc.pdf (753K)

Hint:

Right-click and Choose Save Target As . . . to save to your desktop

You will need Acrobat X Pro to run the Action

Continue reading…

Removing Acrobat X’s Default Actions

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (2)

Acrobat X Action Icon

Acrobat X Pro ships with a number of default Actions to help you automate various processes.

While useful, you might wish instead to create some extra room in the Actions Wizard panel so that more of your own custom Actions will appear.

Unfortunately, you cannot delete the default Actions, at least from Acrobat itself.

However, if you have Administrator rights on your PC or Mac, you can remove them.

Removing Acrobat X Pro’s Default Actions

Windows 7 or Vista

  1. Quit Acrobat if it is running
  2. Navigate to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\Sequences\ENU
  3. Delete all the files inside this folder
  4. Restart Acrobat

Windows XP

  1. Quit Acrobat if it is running
  2. Navigate to: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\Sequences\ENU
  3. Delete all the files inside this folder
  4. Restart Acrobat

Mac OSX

  1. Quit Acrobat if it is running
  2. Open your Application folder
  3. Locate the Adobe Acrobat X Pro folder and open it
  4. Right-click on Adobe Acrobat Pro.app and choose Show Package Contents
  5. The Contents folder will appear
    • Open the Resources folder
    • Scroll down to find the Sequences folder and open it
    • Open the ENU folder
    • Delete all the files inside
  6. Restart Acrobat
Playing Safe
You might wish to copy the Default Actions rather than delete them.

 

Troubleshooting

  • When I try to open the folder, the system says I don’t have access rights (or similar message).
    You need to be an administrator on your machine to make these changes. Contact your IT staff for help.
  • Can’t Find Acrobat in the Application Folder
    The instructions below are for Acrobat in the default location by the Acrobat installer. If you or your IT staff installed Acrobat in an alternate folder it may not be in this location

  • Can’t Find the Sequences Folder
    An Acrobat Action needs to be run at least once after installation before the Sequences folder is created
  • I found a Sequences folder, but none of the standard Actions are inside.
    You are looking at the User directory which contains your custom sequences. Instead, navigate to the proper directory above.

Continue reading…

Quickly Review Case Documents with this FREE Acrobat X Quick Review Action

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (3)

One challenge faced by legal professionals is separating the wheat from the chaff when analyzing case documents.

Winning your case requires you to find facts within documents, yet the majority of documents supplied in discovery are irrelevant. How can you quickly review case documents and pull out only the most promising for further study?

Acrobat X Pro Actions can help!

With some custom JavaScript, we’ve designed an action designed to help you separate the "Keeps" from the "Rejects":

.

Acrobat X Pro Quick Review Action

The Acrobat X Create Quick Review Action provides a process to help you evaluate a large number documents by:

  • Displaying each document in turn and allowing the user to keep or reject the document.
  • Copying documents to a “Keep” or “Reject” Folder

When you run the Action, you’ll be asked to select the files you wish to process:

Then, you can select the folder in which to copy the "Keepers" and (optionally) a folder in which to copy the Discarded files:

When you run the Action, a yellow Action prompt will appear instructing you to add a comment to the documents you wish to keep.

The easiest way to add a comment is to tap CTRL-6 (or CMD-6 on the Mac).

Then, just click the When completed, proceed to the Next Step> text which will open and present the next document for review.

Complete the steps for all of the documents you wish to review.

What about Email Portfolios?

It works! Just select the Email Portfolio at the start of the process. Note that this process will extract a copy of each message to your "Keeper" folder.

How do I get the Quick Review Action?

You can get the Filename Stamper Action over on the Actions Exchange on AcrobatUsers.com,

Alternately, you can download it direct below.

The PDF document you download below includes:

  1. Installation and use instructions
  2. Action (embedded in the PDF)

Enjoy!

Quick_Review.pdf (674K)

Hint:

Right-click and Choose Save Target As . . . to save to your desktop

You will need Acrobat X Pro to run the Action

 

Continue reading…

Create a Bookmark Report using this Free Acrobat X Action

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (20)

Acrobat's Bookmark Panel

Acrobat Bookmarks are a very useful way to add navigation to a PDF document.

Acrobat’s Bookmarks Panel allows you to scroll through a list of bookmarks. Clicking on a bookmark will take you to the page associated with it.

Bookmarks can be created by an authoring application (like Word or PowerPoint) or may be created after the PDF is published.

Bookmarks are a convenient way to review documents, too. As you page through a document, just tap CTRL-B (CMD-B on the Mac) to create a bookmark.

Bookmark Reporting

Since attorneys frequently use bookmarks when reviewing documents, from time to time I’m asked:

Is there a way to create a Bookmark Report in Acrobat?

Acrobat does not offer this feature "out of the box", but with a little JavaScript magic inside an Acrobat X Pro Action, no problem!

Acrobat X Create Bookmark Report Action

The Acrobat X Create Bookmark Report Action processes multiple PDF documents and outputs a
Summary Document containing:

  • A unified report, by document, listing bookmarks in a hierarchical fashion
  • A Comma Separate Values (CSV) file which may be opened in a spreadsheet program

When you run the Action, you’ll be asked to select the files you wish to process. Then, you can choose various option in the Actions window:

Create Bookmark Report Action Window

How do I get the Bookmark Report Action?

You can get the Document Numbering Action over on the Actions Exchange on AcrobatUsers.com,

Alternately, you can download it direct below.

The PDF document you download below includes:

  1. Installation and use instructions
  2. Action (embedded in the PDF)

Enjoy!

Create_Bookmark_Report.pdf (673K)

Hint:

Right-click and Choose Save Target As . . . to save to your desktop

 

Continue reading…

Stamp File Names on PDFs with this Free Acrobat X Action

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (23)

Acrobat offers a number of ways to stamp information on documents using either the Headers/Footers function or Bates Stamping.

Unfortunately— out of the box— Acrobat does not allow you to stamp the document File Name on the document very easily.

Why would I need to stamp a file name on the document?

There are a number of legal workflows (discovery, exhibit preparation) that may result in the renaming of files. Preserving the original file name may be important so that you can establish the provenance of a file.

In addition to the file name, PDF documents also have a Document Title property which is different than the file name.

You can view the Document Title property of a PDF by choosing File> Properties and clicking on the Properties tab:

The Document Properties tab of Acrobat X

Fortunately, Acrobat X Pro Actions come to the rescue!

With a bit of JavaScript, we’ve put together a useful add-on for anybody who wants to stamp filenames on documents.

Acrobat X File Name Stamper Action

The Acrobat X File Name Stamper Action automates the process of stamping:

  • File Name
  • File Name + Date
  • Document Title
  • User-entered text

When you run the Action, you’ll be asked to select the files you wish to process. Then, you can choose various options in the Actions window:

Acrobat X File Name Stamper Options

How do I get the File Name Stamper Action?

You can get the Filename Stamper Action over on the Actions Exchange on AcrobatUsers.com,

Alternately, you can download it direct below.

The PDF document you download below includes:

  1. Installation and use instructions
  2. Action (embedded in the PDF)

Enjoy!

Filename_Stamper.pdf (682K)

Hint:

Right-click and Choose Save Target As . . . to save to your desktop

You will need Acrobat X Pro to run the Action

Continue reading…

Where is the Typewriter Tool in Acrobat X?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (128)

How do I find the Typewriter tool in Acrobat X?
With the changes to the user interface in Acrobat X, a few folks haven’t been able to find the Typewriter tool.

Don’t feel bad, you’re not the only one!

Adobe renamed the tool to make it easier for new users to find.

That probably won’t make you feel better . . .

The Typewriter tool is now called Add or Edit Text Box.

To get to it, open the Tools panel, then twirl down the Content section.

Acrobat X Quick Tools Bar

One nice new feature of Acrobat X is the new Quick Tools bar.

This toolbar at the top of the application window offers fast access to frequently used tools.

If you use the Typewriter tool regularly, you might try adding it to the Quick Tools bar:

  1. Right-click on the Add or Edit Text Box tool
  2. Choose Add to Quick Tools bar

Now, it’s easy to access the Typewriter tool whenever you need it:

Using the QuickTools bar in Acrobat X

Changing the Font and Style

After you click the Typewriter tool, a toolbar will open which will allow you to change various characteristics of your text:

Continue reading…

New in Acrobat X: Saved Search Results

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Rick Borstein | Comments (31)

One frequent request I’ve received over the six years I’ve had this blog is:

Can I save a report of Search Results with Acrobat?

In the past, I’ve always had to sheepishly say "no", but not any longer!

With Acrobat X, you can save search results to either an interactive PDF or to a spreadsheet file.

Creating a Search Report for a Single Document

  1. Open the document you wish to search
  2. Choose Edit—>Search

    —or type—

    Windows: Control-Shift-F
    Macintosh: Command-Shift-F

    Acrobat will split your screen between the Search window and the Document window.

  3. Type your search term in to the window. Here, I typed in "california"
  4. Click the Search button.
  5. The Search Results window will display.
    Click the disk icon to save your search as either a PDF or CSV file

Creating a Search Report for Multiple Documents

  1. Place the files you wish to search in a single directory.
  2. Choose Edit—>Search

    —or type—

    Windows: Control-Shift-F
    Macintosh: Command-Shift-F

    Acrobat will split your screen between the Search window and the Document window.

  3. In the Search window . . .
    A) Choose "All PDF Documents in"
    B) Choose the Browse for Location option and navigate to the folder you wish to search
    Setting up multi-document Search in Acrobat X
  4. Type in the word you wish to search for
  5. Click the Search button.
  6. The Search Results window will display.
    Click the disk icon to save your search as either a PDF or CSV file

Looking at the PDF Report

If you choose the PDF format to save the report, Acrobat will create a hyperlinked report document you can use to analyze the search results.

If you searched across multiple documents, Acrobat will provide a bookmark to each document report.

The Search Report document contains an extract for each instance found of your search term and a link to the source document.

Looking at the CSV File

CSV (Comma Separated Value) files may be opened in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.

If you have installed Microsoft Office (Mac or Windows), you should be able to double-click on a CSV file to open it in Excel.

Once in Excel, you can manipulate the columns or cut and paste cells any way you want.

Continue reading…

Rick’s Acrobat X Redaction Guide

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Rick Borstein | Comments (59)

Picture of a page with manual redaction marks on itRedaction is the permanent deletion of data from
documents.

In the past, markers were used to black out information on documents.

These days, it simply doesn’t make sense to print out a document to redact it. The process is slow, expensive and inefficient.

Law firms, government agencies and corporations around the world rely on Adobe Acrobat to safely and permanently remove content from the data stream of documents.

Adobe first offered redaction tools starting with Acrobat 8 and redaction capabilities have continued to improve with each new release.

In Acrobat X Pro, several new Redaction features were introduced:

  1. Repeat Redaction Mark across Pages
    Useful for redacting headers and footers from documents
  2. Right-click to apply Exemption Codes
    Add case codes and privacy codes as overlay text to redaction marks.
  3. Ability to apply multiple Exemption Codes
    Multiple exemption codes may be listed as overlay text on a redaction mark
  4. Partial Pattern Redaction
    Use this feature to mark part of a pattern for redaction. For example, you could mark part of a Social Security Number or Credit card number. Useful for cases where you need to identify individuals in part of a case without revealing personal identifying information.
  5. Set Appearance of Redaction Marks
    You can now set the appearance of the Redaction marks during review. For example, you can mark items with a transparent red overlay if desired.
  6. Overlay Text indicated in Comments List
    You can now view overlay text in the Comment list for quick review.

So, you want to redact some documents. How do you get started?

To help, I bring you Guide to Using Redaction in Acrobat X Pro. This article is and update of my earlier article for Acrobat 9 and offers a step-by-step guide to using these tools in your firm or organization.

In this article I cover:

  • Redaction Preferences
  • How to mark text and graphics for redaction
  • Setting common redaction properties
  • Adding Overlay Text and Exemption codes to a redaction
  • Creating a report of redactions
  • Applying redactions to permanently remove information
  • Using an Action to automate the redaction workflow

Continue reading…