IT Matters

About PDF Portfolios

A PDF Portfolio contains multiple files assembled into an integrated PDF unit. The files in a PDF Portfolio can be in different formats and created in different applications. The original files retain their individual identities and file types but are assembled into one PDF Portfolio file. Users can open, read, edit, and format each component file independently of the other component files in the PDF Portfolio.

You can create a PDF Portfolio by using the File > Create PDF Portfolio command.

Adobe Acrobat 9.1 comes with 8 standard PDF Portfolio Layouts plus the Basic Grid in the Basic Layouts Category of the “Choose a Layout” tab. (see image to the right). Additional layouts can be installed into Acrobat in the form of .nav files (navigators) and will appear under a new category. To discover new categories, use the drop-down list which defaults to “Basic Layouts”.

If you’ve received a .nav file and want to install it so that you can create PDF Portfolios using the new layout, follow the instructions below.

Installation:

Windows XP:

1. From Windows, select “Start” then “Run”. Paste the following line into the text box and press enter

%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Adobe\Acrobat\9.0\

2. Create a directory called “navigators” if you don’t already have one

3. Copy the .nav file to the “navigators” directory

4. Restart Acrobat if it’s running.

5. In the “Edit PDF Portfolio” panel you should see a new category in addition to “Basic Layouts”. The category name will be different based on the .nav file.

Windows 7:

1. From Windows, select “Start” then “Run”. Paste the following line into the text box and press enter

If you don’t see “Run” in your “Start” menu, follow these steps

1. Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.
2. Click the Start Menu tab, and then click Customize.
3. In the Customize Start Menu dialog box, scroll through the list of options to find the Run command check box, select it, click OK, and then click OK again.

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\9.0

2. Create a directory called “navigators” if you don’t already have one

3. Copy the .nav file to the “navigators” directory

4. Restart Acrobat if it’s running.

5. In the “Edit PDF Portfolio” panel you should see a new category in addition to “Basic Layouts”. The category name will be different based on the .nav file.

OSX:

1. In your user folder, navigate to the following location: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/9.0_x86/

2. Create a folder called “Navigators” if you don’t already have one

3. Copy the .nav file to the “Navigators” folder

4. Restart Acrobat if it’s running.

5. In the “Edit PDF Portfolio” panel you should see a new category in addition to “Basic Layouts”. The category name will be different based on the .nav file.