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The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
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September 28, 2009
Fall Acrobat eSeminar Series
Want to learn more about how to use Acrobat 9?
My colleague Mark Middleton and I will be hitting the interwebz for a series of eSeminars this fall. lWe are trying a few new topics which we hope you will enjoy!
Date |
Topic |
| Tuesday, September 29th | Creating PDF Forms |
| Friday, October 9th | Acrobat 9 Portfolios eSeminar |
| Friday, October 23rd | Acrobat Security eSeminar |
| Friday, November 13th | Acrobat 9 Tips and Tricks eSeminar |
1PM–2PM ET |
|
More details on the seminars if you click the More button below.
September 10, 2009
What's the difference between Acrobat versions?
Probably the most frequently asked question I'm asked is— "What's the difference between Acrobat Reader, Standard, Pro and Pro Extended?"
And, the second most frequently asked question is— "What's the difference between Acrobat 8 (or other version) and Acrobat 9?"
There are detailed "official" matrices you can download from the Adobe website, but they probably don't speak as directly to you, the legal professional.
I've put together two "unofficial" documents that speak to both of the issues above.
So when you want to know which version of Acrobat has redaction, or if web capture changed in version 9, these PDFs will help.
Download the Files
Acrobat 9 Legal Feature Matrix
Shows differences between
Adobe Reader, Standard, Pro and Pro Extended
(214K PDF)
Acrobat 7-8-9 Comparison for Legal Professionals
See new features added in Acrobat 8 and 9.
(179K PDF)
September 7, 2009
Acrobat 9 for Legal Professionals eSeminar on Monday, 9/14
Need to find out what's new in Acrobat 9 for Legal Professionals?
Sign up for our free, 1-hour eSeminar!
Monday, September 14, 2009 |
My colleague Mark Middleton and I will show off all of the top features of Acrobat 9 Professional during this live demonstration.
This event is held in cooperation with the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
During the seminar, we'll cover:
- PDF Creation
- Bates Numbering
- Redaction
- Form Data Collection
- Typewriter Tool
- Metadata Removal
- SharePoint integration
- PDF Portfolios
Sign up today!
Just click on the link below:
http://events.signup4.com/AcroLaw
April 3, 2009
Rick's Slides from the ABA Techshow, Some new movies
Last year, over one hundred people attended my "Acrobat for Legal Professionals" track at the ABA Techshow.
I think all of them came up to me afterwards and asked for a copy of my slides!
To stay ahead of the game, I'm posting them here, in advance.
The slides include some tips for getting to many Acrobat features including Bates Numbering, Redaction, etc.
And, for everyone, I posted three new movies on my all new Movie Page:
- Creating a Custom Stamp
- Understanding and Working with Comments
- Exporting a PDF to Excel
The link to the slides is in the full article.
Enjoy!
March 17, 2009
Acrobat 9.1 is Available
Last week, Adobe released updates to Reader 9 and Acrobat 9.
If you are using Acrobat or Reader 9, I recommend that you upgrade. The 9.1 update includes performance fixes, stability improvements and also addresses security vulnerabilities.
To update, choose Help> Check for Updates or download the patch and apply separately.
The links:
Acrobat Standard and Pro 9.1 Update (Windows)
Acrobat Pro Extended 9.1 Update (Windows)
Acrobat 9 Pro 9.1 Update (Macintosh):
Acrobat 9.1 Release Notes (All platforms)
Read on for my evaluation of the improvements and fixes for he legal market.
March 9, 2009
Slides for March 9 & 10 Events
The effervescent Mark Middleton and yours truly will be presenting two identical seminars over the next couple of days, so I've posted the slides for these events here.
The event (s) is named Acrobat 9: Save Time, Meet Deadlines, although the slides title is a bit different.
The slides do have some useful information including our speaker notes and include:
- Top new features of Acrobat 9
- Pricing
- Differences between the various versions of Acrobat such as Reader, Standard, Pro and Pro Extended
Enjoy!
Click the full story to get them. If you're receiving my blog via email, then make sure to click the story title to launch the article in your browser.
February 26, 2009
Materials for Electronic Closing Binders using Acrobat 9 eSeminar
If you attended my Electronic Closing Binders eSeminar, you're in the right place! Here are all the materials you seek . . .
Traditionally, at the end of a transaction such as a real estate closing, we would present our client with a binder stuffed full of all of the documents associated with the deal. These “old school” binders were time-consuming to create and costly to distribute. Creating an electronic closing binder in PDF is a far “greener” alternative that saves time and enhances client satisfaction.
You can download my complete guide and a set of slides in the complete article.
| I created a 36-page guide Creating Electronic Closing Binders using Acrobat 9. This document should give you everything you need to create great closing binders. |  |
| Note: If you receive my blog via email, make sure you click on the title of the article to go to the full entry. |
February 12, 2009
Slides for 2/12/09 Legal Redaction and Metadata Removal eSeminar
February should officially be renamed eSeminar Month . . . this month I've already virtually presented to over a thousand customers!
Later today, colleague Mark Middleton and I will present "Legal Redaction and Metadata Removal" and there are a few hundred folks signed up. If you missed signing up, go my seminar sign up entry.
Can I get a copy of the slides?
You sure can, right after the break by clicking on the MORE link.
| Reading this via a Blog Feed in Email? Click the title of the article to go directly to my blog and download the slides. |
January 15, 2009
Slides for 1-15-09 Acrobat Legal eSeminar
Can you send me the slides?
We always get this question after our eSeminars, so this blog entry includes the slides from today's (1-15-09) Acrobat for Legal Professional eSeminar.
The slides are in the full article.
| Did you receive my blog feed via email? Click the title of the article to go to my blog page to download the slides. |
Slides from Government Redaction eSeminar
If you attended today's Redacting Sensitive Information with Acrobat 9 eSeminar for government agecies, here's my slide deck for reference.
Enjoy!
October 30, 2008
Watch the Acrobat-SharePoint Integration eSeminar
Many of our customers have either deployed or are interested in deploying Microsoft SharePoint.
Today, my colleague Mark Middleton and did a 1-hour SharePoint eSeminar. Our Partner OmTool also participated; they offer the free Swiftwriter plug-in for Acrobat that provides check-in/out from SharePoint.
 |
Watch Archived SharePoint eSeminar |
If you are not very familiar with SharePoint, it’s hard to describe this popular Microsoft product in a sentence. SharePoint may be used as a web portal, an enterprise search engine, as a collaboration tool, for content management and more.
You probably want to get the most you can from SharePoint in your organization. Since PDFs are one of the most frequently encountered document types in enterprises, Adobe is interested in SharePoint, too.
Click the Permalink below to view the slides— with narrative sticky notes — from the presentation.
January 29, 2008
What's going to be in the next version of Acrobat?
Many legal users, especially those that look after technology for larger firms, have a real interest in planning ahead for new technology purchases.
Since PDF has become the de facto eFiling format and a paper replacement, use of Adobe Acrobat is nearly ubiquitous across law firms.
It is advantageous to know as much as you can about new software that will arrive in the months ahead. With that knowledge, you can plan your budget, anticipate training needs and investigate how the new product will fit into your existing infrastructure.
What new features will be in the next version of Acrobat?
I can't tell you here, but you may be able to find out yourself by signing up for Adobe's Pre-release Program.
Read on for more information about Adobe's Pre-release Program.
December 18, 2007
Materials for Today's Communication Challenges
Although I focus mainly on two markets (Legal and Life Science), I was recently asked to conduct one of Adobe's horizontal events which are not specific to any vertical market.
The eSeminar was Today's Communication Challenges. In this eSeminar, my colleague Jim Merry and I offered a high-level overview and demonstration of what Acrobat can do for Knowledge Workers.
Knowledge Workers work in many disciplines, but have several common tasks that they need to accomplish:
- Document Preparation Presentation, and Sharing
- Protecting Sensitive Information
- Electronic Forms and Data Collection
- Electronic Document Review & Approval
The slides include many helpful resources including links to tutorials, books and more.
Read on to get to the download materials.
October 2, 2007
Materials for Reducing Risk and Commenting eSeminars
From time to time, Adobe asks me to present eSeminars on topics which are not exclusively related to the legal market.
Recently, I wrote the script and worked with a team to develop a scenario-based eSeminar called Acrobat in Action. During the event, we showed how Acrobat could be used by program managers, marketing, engineering and operations.
I was also asked to do two follow-up seminars which take place this week:
- Reducing Risk with Document Security
- Easier Reviews and Faster Feedback (Commenting)
I like to post my materials (presentation) for access by the audience, and my blog is a perfect place to do so. Since Adobe will be recording these events, I'll update this blog entry once I have a link to the archived recordings.
For those who want to see something specifically legal-focused, try these archived eSeminars:
Legal Forms on Demand eSeminar
Read on to download the materials and hear more about how I create the demos.
August 9, 2007
Materials for Legal Forms Seminar
Wow! 337 attendees for the Creating Acrobat Forms for Legal Professionals (August 9, 2007 event).
I've added some additional materials since my original post.
There are now three downloads available:
- Presentation
- Acrobat Form Elements Sample
- LiveCycle Designer Dynamic Form
Youll find these three goodies and more details below . . . I've also added a list of links that you might find helpful.
July 28, 2007
Hear Rick's Podcast on Lawbiz.com
Ed Poll is one of the nicest people you'll meet in the legal business. Ed has practiced law for over 25 years as a solo practioner, partner and COO of a mid-sized firm.
Since 1990, Ed has worked as a consultant to law firms around the country.
Not only does Ed know a lot about running law firms and bringing in business, he also is a great legal technologist. Even better, he's a consultant who likes to share!
On Ed's lawbiz.com website, (opens in a new window) he offers articles, books and services that will help your firm run better.
His lawbiz blog (opens in a new window) is another great resource. The blog also hosts podcasts.
Click for details about two podcast interviews I did with Ed on the topic of Acrobat 8.
July 26, 2007
30 Dirty Tricks: Attendee Materials
My colleague Tim Huff and I developed these materials for our recent 30 Dirty Tips for Acrobat 8 Seminar.
The event was recorded and I'll post the link to the archived version here when it is available.
The materials are a 25-page PDF with step-by-step instructions that will allow you to do some pretty amazing things with Acrobat.
Enjoy!
Click below to get to the materials.
May 29, 2007
Securing Legal Documents - Preso and Resources
On May 24th, my colleague Mark Middleton and I presented a Securing Legal Documents and Information eSeminar.
In the seminar, we covered password, certificate and policy-server security.
Click to see (53 minutes) |
The presentation was requested by many attendees, so I thought I'd post it here.
I've also included a single-page PDF which lists a number of security resources.
Click to get to these documents…