Create PDF s What is a PDF? A Portable Document Format, or PDF, is a file format developed by Adobe that is used to maintain an original document and allow the document to be shared with anyone, no matter what hardware, software or operating system they may use, as long as they have either Acrobat Pro, or the free Acrobat Reader. PDF is the default file format that is produced when files are accessed and/or modified using Adobe Acrobat. Documents from any application can be converted to PDF and the PDF documents will retain the original appearance, layout, and print quality independent of the files native application. Acrobat can be used to make edits to documents, add links, add form fields, and add audio and video to a document. PDF Strengths Any document can be converted into a PDF either from the software program itself; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, by Printing a file as a.pdf, or from within Acrobat Pro. PDF s will ensure that all formatting, page brakes, and images are rendered just as they are in the original document. PDF s can be electronically signed by anyone using Acrobat Pro or Acrobat Reader. PDF files can be protected to limit the copying of text, graphics, making changes, and printing a document. PDF s can be redacted, meaning sensitive information can be deleted from a document so no one can see it. Has a built in Accessibility checker to make documents Accessible for individuals with disabilities. The Adobe accessibility standards are linked below. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdf-accessibility-wcag-508-compliancestandards.html Create PDF s 1
Adobe Acrobat DC versions Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Must purchase this software Ability to do all features within Acrobat Reader plus o Convert Microsoft Office documents to PDF o Export PDFs into an editable Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file o Edit text and images o Organize pages o Combine multiple documents into searchable PDFs o Password protect PDFs o Convert Word files into fillable PDF forms o Add audio and video to PDFs o Add actions to PDFs o Compare documents o Redact sensitive information from a document o Enhance Accessibility within a PDF o Create PDFs from Microsoft Project, Visio, or AutoCAD documents Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Free to use o Can be downloaded from https://get.adobe.com/reader/ Used to view, search and print PDFs Users can add comments to PDFs, as well as fill and sign forms Cannot create PDFs Acrobat DC for Mobile Free for Android, ios and Windows mobile devices Print from your mobile device Add comments Fill and sign documents and forms Create PDF s 2
Acrobat DC Layout After a file is opened in acrobat, open files in Acrobat will be located in tabs on the top of the window, similar to tabs in a web browser. The selected file will display in the middle of the screen in the document pane. To the left of the open PDF s will be a Home tab, which will open the Acrobat Start screen, as well as the Tools menu, which will access all available tools within Acrobat. On the top of the screen under the opened files is the Acrobat toolbar. The Acrobat toolbar contains the most commonly used tools such as Save, Print, Page Navigation, Zoom, and Page view. The toolbar is customizable to display tools used most by a user. On the right side of the screen, is the Tools Pane, which will display even more commonly used tools. These tools in the Tools pane may also be customized by users. Note: If the Tools Pane doesn t display, click on small triangle on the right side of the screen to expand the Tools Pane. This triangle can also be used to collapse the tools. Create PDF s 3
On the left side of the screen is the Navigation pane. In the Navigation pane, there are icons that will allow users to view page thumbnails, bookmarks, and file attachments. To view any of these options, click on the appropriate icon. Note: If the Navigation pane is not visible, there will be a small triangle half way down the window that will allow the navigation pane to be expanded or collapsed. Create PDF s PDF s may be created in Acrobat Pro, from Office products using built in tools for PDF conversion, or by exporting a file as a PDF from an Office product. Acrobat Pro DC There are many different file types that can be created into a PDF from Acrobat Pro including, but not limited to;.doc(x),.xls(x),.ppt(x),.bmp,.psd,.jpeg,.html, and.m4v. Note: Before creating a PDF, make sure the file is not open in any software program. To create a PDF within Acrobat Pro, click on the File Menu, choose Create, and then choose PDF from a File. Tip: The shortcut is Ctrl-N. Note: Acrobat may open the original document software in the background to ensure all settings are carried over into the new PDF file. When the document is created as a PDF, the PDF will open in Acrobat Pro. By default, the PDF is not saved when it is created. To save the new PDF, navigate to the File Menu and choose Save As. Create PDF s 4
On the Acrobat Save As PDF window, there is a list of storage locations on the left side and any recent folders are listed in the middle of the window. To save the file in a recent folder, click on the folder name in the Recent list. To save the file in a folder that is not listed, click on the Choose a Different Folder button to browse the computer for the correct folder. On the Save As PDF window, navigate to the correct folder location, provide a unique name inte the File name textbox and then click the Save button. Create PDF s 5
PDF s from Office Products In Office products, PDF s can be created from the Acrobat tab, only if Acrobat Pro is installed on the computer. PDF s can also be created from the File menu, Save as Adobe PDF, or from File, Export option. Note: When creating a Word document to convert to PDF, it is best practice to create the original document using Styles within Word. By doing this, every style heading in the document will be converted into a Bookmark, which will make navigating the PDF much easier. Acrobat Tab If Acrobat Pro DC is installed on a computer, the PDF Maker add-in is automatically installed in all Microsoft Office applications, which will add an Acrobat tab in the ribbon. To create a PDF from an Office file (.doc,.docx, pptx,.xls,.xlsx, etc.), click on the Acrobat tab within the Office program. Preferences Before creating a new PDF, it is recommended to verify the PDF preferences; Conversion settings, Security, Bookmarks, etc., set for the new PDF. To check\verify the PDF preferences, click on the Preferences button on the left side of the Acrobat tab, which will populate the Acrobat PDFMaker window. Note: Any changes made in Preferences will stay until they are changed. This means that any future documents will receive the exact settings that were set on the previous conversion. These settings will also carry over for a PDF created when using the File, Save as Adobe PDF option. On the Acrobat PDFMaker window there will be four tabs, Settings, Security, Word, and Bookmarks. Create PDF s 6
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Settings On the top of the settings tab is a Conversion Settings dropdown that sets how the content in the file gets converted to a PDF. Typically, the Standard option works in all cases, but there are some options that could save time and file size, depending on the type of file that is being converted. Here are a few Conversion settings options; High Quality Print, Press Quality, and any PDF/X options These options are best for Commercial Printing. PDF/A This is an archiving option that is best used for file that is intended for longterm viewing. Smallest File Size This is a good option if the original document has many large photographs. The smallest file size will reduce the file size while keeping the images viewable. Below the Conversion Settings will be options to; View Adobe PDF result - Opens Acrobat after the file has been created. Prompt for Adobe PDF file name - Asks for a file name and the location to save the new file. Convert Document Information - Carries over document information such as; Author Name, date created, etc. into the PDF. PDF/A Compliance This option is for archiving purposes. The last options are the Application Settings; Attach source file Embeds the original document as an attachment in the PDF. Create Bookmarks Creates bookmarks from Word Heading styles to make for easier navigation within the PDF. Add Links Makes any links in the original document active hyperlinks in the PDF. Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF Allows the PDF to be read by a screen reader without losing content. Tip: For more information on accessibility check out Adobe s website; http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdf-accessibility-wcag-508-compliancestandards.html Or CSU s accessibility website, http://accessibility.colostate.edu/ Create PDF s 8
Security The Security Tab will allow a password to be typed to open a PDF as well as restrictions to be set on the type of editing that can be done to a PDF, or if printing the PDF is allowed. The first option on the security tab is the ability to require a password to open the document. If this box is checked a password will be required to open the PDF. To set a password, check the checkbox and enter a password in the Document Open Password textbox. Important Note: DO NOT forget this password. If this password is forgotten, the document cannot be opened. The permissions section has options to require a password to make any changes to the PDF, allow for printing, allow for changes to be made, and the ability to copy contents from the PDF. To set restrictions on the PDF, check the checkbox next to Restrict editing and printing of the document. Create PDF s 9
If the Restrict editing option is selected, a password must be entered. This password is required to make any changes to the Permissions of the document, or to edit the document, if that option is disabled. Note: The Permissions password must be different than the password to open the document. The default setting is to not allow the PDF to be printed. To change this setting to allow for either high or low resolution printing, click on the dropdown and select the appropriate option. Note: To print the PDF, a user with the Permissions Change Password would have to change the permissions to allow for printing. By default, changes are not allowed on a PDF with the Restrict editing option selected, unless the Change Permissions Password is entered. To change this setting, click on the Changes Allowed dropdown to select one of the following options; allow users to Insert, delete, rotate pages, allow the ability to fill in forms, allow the ability to Comment and fill in forms, or allow anything except for the extracting of pages from the PDF. On the bottom of the Permissions section, there are a few more options on restricting the PDF. Tip: The only option selected by default is the Enable text access for screen reader devices. It is highly recommended to keep this option selected to allow for Accessibility on the PDF. To enable the ability to copy content within the PDF, place a checkmark next to the Enable copying of text, images, and other contents. Create PDF s 10
Word tab If a document is being created through the Acrobat tab in Word, the Word tab will display which will have options that are specific to Word documents. Word Features Convert displayed comments to notes in Adobe PDF This option will convert any Word comments from the original document into Notes in the new PDF. o When this option is selected, all reviewers will appear in the comment box below. o The comment box will list all reviewers with the option to include all of the comments, to force the notes to open, to change the color of the notes in the PDF, and the total number of comments per reviewer. By default, the notes are not opened in the PDF, they must be clicked on by the user, unless the Notes open option is selected. Convert footnote and endnote links Integrates the footnote and endnotes into the PDF. Create PDF s 11
Bookmarks Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks Converts all heading types from the Elements list into PDF bookmarks. This option is selected by default. Convert Word Styles to Bookmarks Converts all text styles in the elements list into PDF bookmarks. o This option is not selected by default. If this options is checked, every style used in the Word document will be converted into a PDF bookmark. Typically, if a Word doc contains a specific style, or two, that are to be bookmarks in the PDF, it is best to place a checkmark next to the specific style(s). When selecting a style, the bookmark level should be changed as well. Levels are numbered from 1 to 9. The lower the number, the higher the level For example, a level 2 bookmark will be displayed under a level 1 bookmark. Convert Word Bookmarks Converts user created Word Bookmarks into PDF bookmarks. Create PDF s 12
When all preferences on the Acrobat PDFMaker have been set, click the OK button and then save the file. Create PDF To create the PDF with the settings that were set in the Preferences icon, click on the Create PDF icon within the Acrobat tab, to create the PDF. The office program will now prompt for a location and name of new PDF document. Navigate to the appropriate folder and enter in a unique file name. On the bottom of the screen, there will be two options, one to View the Result and one to Restrict Editing. These will be checked, or unchecked, based on the options that were chosen from the Preferences button. Create PDF s 13
Save as Adobe PDF A PDF may be created from an Office product by navigating to File Menu and choosing, Save As Acrobat PDF. Note: If any setting changes were made on the Preferences button within the Acrobat tab in Office, these settings will carry over to the file created through the Save as Adobe PDF option. Make sure to double check Preferences before using this option. The Save As window will populate asking for the folder and filename of the new PDF. Navigate to the appropriate folder and enter in a unique file name. Create PDF s 14
Under the filename, there will be two options, View Result and Restrict Editing. These options will be checked, or unchecked, based on how these options were used previously, or based on the options selected in Preferences on the Acrobat tab. To change either of these, simply check or uncheck the corresponding box. To change a password, or any other security setting, place a checkmark in the Restrict Editing checkbox. Note: If the Restrict Editing checkbox is already checked and a setting has to be changed, uncheck the checkbox and then recheck it. Office will populate the Acrobat PDFMaker window, showing only the Security Tab from the Preferences button. This will allow new security options to be selected for the current PDF. When the security settings have been changed as desired, click on the OK button. Create PDF s 15
Before saving the PDF, it is recommended to look at the options on the Options button, which is located next to the Save button. Office will populate the Acrobat PDFMaker window, which will allow document information to be included such as bookmarks, comments, etc. There are also options to create a PDF of a specific page number, or page range. Note: It is recommended to make sure the Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF option is selected to meet with Accessibility compliance. When all necessary changes have been made, click the OK button. On the Save As window, click on the Save button to save the file. Create PDF s 16
File, Export A PDF may be created from an Office product by navigating to the File menu, choosing Export, Create Adobe PDF, and then clicking on the Create Adobe PDF button. The Save As window will populate asking for the folder and filename of the new PDF. Navigate to the desired folder and enter in a unique file name. Create PDF s 17
Under the filename, there will be two options, View Result and Restrict Editing. These options will be checked, or unchecked, based on how these options were used previously, or based on the options selected in Preferences on the Acrobat tab. To change either of these, simply check or uncheck the corresponding box. To change a password, or any other security setting, place a checkmark in the Restrict Editing checkbox. Note: If the Restrict Editing checkbox is already checked and a setting has to be changed, uncheck the checkbox and then recheck it. Office will populate the Acrobat PDFMaker window, showing only the Security Tab from the Preferences button. This will allow new security options to be selected for the current PDF. When the security settings have been changed, click on the OK button. Create PDF s 18
Before saving the PDF, it is recommended to look at the options on the Options button, which is located next to the Save button to ensure they are set as desired. Office will populate the Acrobat PDFMaker window, which will allow document information to be included such as bookmarks, comments, etc. There are also options to create a PDF of a specific page number, or page range as well. Note: It is recommended to make sure the Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF option is selected to meet with Accessibility compliance. When all desired changes have been made, click the OK button. On the Save As window, click on the Save button to save the file. Create PDF s 19
Creating a PDF from PowerPoint When creating PDF s from PowerPoint, the majority of the options are the same as they are for any other Office document, but there are a few PowerPoint specific options to be explained. Acrobat Tab in PowerPoint When creating a PDF from the Acrobat Tab in PowerPoint, navigate to the Preferences button to see the PowerPoint specific options. The PowerPoint specific options are located on the bottom of the Acrobat PDFMaker window. These options are; Convert Media Adds most multimedia, such as video, in the PowerPoint file into the PDF. Preserve Slide Transitions Adds slide transitions from the PowerPoint file into the PDF. Convert hidden slides to PDF pages Converts all hidden slides in the PowerPoint file into pages with the PDF. Create PDF s 20
Convert Speaker Notes Converts speaker notes in the PowerPoint file into text notes within the PDF. Note: For media and/or transitions to be viewed/played in Acrobat, the PDF must be viewed in Full Screen mode, which can be accessed by going to the View Menu in Acrobat and selecting Full Screen Mode. When all of the preferences are set on the Settings tab, and the Security tab if applicable, click the OK button on the bottom of the Acrobat PDFMaker window. Note: This will only set the preferences for the PDF; it will not create the PDF. To create the PDF, click on the Create PDF button on the Acrobat tab. The Save As window will populate asking for the folder and filename of the new PDF. Navigate to the desired folder and enter in a unique file name. Create PDF s 21
PDF from a Scanner A PDF can be created from a scanner in Acrobat, but in order to use this feature, a scanner must be hooked to the computer and the proper print drivers installed. To create a PDF from a scanner, go to the File menu in Acrobat, select Create, PDF from a Scanner, and then choose the appropriate setting for the document that is being scanned. Tip: Grayscale will typically produce a nicer looking output compared to Black and White. When a document is scanned, the document will scan as an image, not as a document with text. When a PDF is created this way, a lot of the features of PDF s are lost; Find, editing the PDF, forms, etc. In order to create the scanned document into a searchable, editable PDF, a tool called Optical Character Recognition must be used on the document. Create PDF s 22
Note: Depending on the type of scanner that is being used, some scanners may run OCR, Optical Character Recognition, or text recognition as the document is being scanned. This option will work, but the document may take a long time before the scan is complete. Create PDF s 23
Optical Character Recognition (OCR, Text Recognition) Optical Character Recognition (OCR, Tech Recognition) is a tool that will allow users to convert a PDF that is an image into a fully functional, searchable, editable PDF. To use the OCR tool, open the Enhance Scans tool by clicking on the Enhance Scans Tool, which is located in the Tools Pane on the right side of the window. Note: If the Tools Pane is not visible, click on the grey triangle to enable the Tools Pane. If the Enhance Scans tool is not in the Tools Pane, click on the Tools tab on the top of the window. In the Tools search, search for Enhance Scans and then click Open under the Enhance Scans tool. Create PDF s 24
The Enhance Scans will open and will be placed under the Acrobat toolbar, on the top of the document pane. On the Enhance Scans tool, click the Recognize Text icon and select either In This File, or In Multiple Files, if there are multiple scanned documents that need to be recognized. When Recognize Text is selected, Acrobat will open a new toolbar under the Enhance Scans tool. On this toolbar, there are options to select specific pages to recognize text, select the language to search for, as well as a Settings Option. Typically, the default settings on the settings option are the best option when running text recognition, but it may be worth looking at the settings to verify they are set at the maximum. To verify the settings, click on the Settings icon. On the Recognize text window, there will be some duplicate options from the toolbar, such as which pages to run the text recognition on and the language output. There will also be two other options; Output and Downsample to. Create PDF s 25
Output There are three output options for a PDF; Searchable Image, Searchable Image (Exact) and Editable Text and Images. Searchable Image The Downsample to option is set to 600 dpi (dots per inch). If the original document was scanned at a higher resolution, Acrobat will change the resolution from the original, to 600 dpi. Acrobat will also descew the document, meaning if the document is crooked, Acrobat will straighten it out, which will make it easier for Acrobat to recognize the text within the document. Searchable Image (Exact) The downsample to option will be grayed out. Acrobat will make the document searchable and look exactly as the originally scanned document looked. Acrobat will not change the resolution of the PDF, nor will it descew the document. Note: When either of the searchable image options are selected, Acrobat produces an invisible searchable text layer that will be placed on top of the scanned document image. Editable Text Acrobat will generate a font to replace the scanned text that is on the document, which the document text to be edited in Acrobat. When this option is selected, the document will become smaller in size, and may produce a cleaner page. After selecting the options from the settings window, click on the OK button on the bottom of the Recognize text window. Recognize Text To run OCR on the PDF, click on the Recognize Text button on the Enhnace Scans toolbar. Create PDF s 26
Unrecognized Text Anytime OCR is run, there may be some text that Acrobat is unable to recognize. To make sure all text within a document is searchable, it is recommended to run the Correct Recognized Text tool. Correct Recognized Text allows a user to physically type in the text that is displayed in the document, which Acrobat will then be able to recognize. To check if there is any unrecognized text within a PDF, click on the Recognize Text dropdown on the Enhance Scans toolbar and then select Correct Recognized Text. Acrobat will display any unrecognized text, images, etc., which are called suspects, inside red highlights on the page. It is recommended to click on all red suspects that contain text to verify, or correct, what Acrobat was unable to recognize. When a suspect is selected, Acrobat displays the portion image that is was unable to recognize on the Enhance Scans toolbar. To the right of the image is a recognized as textbox, which is where the correct text is typed. After typing in the correct text, click on the Accept button. Note: Acrobat may display the correct text in the recognized as textbox, but it needs confirmation to ensure it detected the text correctly. If this is the case, click on the Accept button to ensure Acrobat is able to search for this text. Create PDF s 27
There may be some suspects in a document that are not text, such as an icon, or portion of and image. In cases like these, Acrobat just needs verification that what is on the document is not text. To ensure that Acrobat does not recognize the icon as text, simply delete the text that is in the recognized as textbox, and then click on the Accept button. After looking at, and accepting, all suspects in the document, the document will be completely searchable. PDF Initial View When a PDF is opened in Acrobat, the default setting is for the first page of the document to fit the width of the Acrobat window and to allow for line by line scrolling. Initial View, which is a property setting in Acrobat Pro, will allow the PDF to be opened to a specific page, zoom level, etc. when the PDF is opened in Acrobat. To set the Initial View, open a PDF in Acrobat, navigate to the File menu and then choose Properties. On the Document Properties window, click on the Initial View tab. Create PDF s 28
In the Layout and Magnification section on the top of the page, there are a couple options; Navigation tab When the PDF is opened the navigation pane on the left side of the screen is hidden. Depending on how the PDF was created, it may be helpful to display the Bookmarks or Pages panel, when the document is opened. To see the options, click on the dropdown next to Navigation tab. Page layout This will change how the page appears in the document widow. Note: Continuous means that as the user is scrolling, the pages will scroll line by line. Any option that is not Continuous will scroll page by page. Magnification Allows the page to be zoomed to a default level when the document is opened. The default setting is to Fit the page to the width of the Acrobat window. Open to page By default, all documents will open to page 1. To have the PDF open to a particular page, enter the page number in the Open to page textbox. Window Options will change the way the Acrobat window will open when this particular document is opened. If none of the options are checked, the window will open to the size of the last time Acrobat was closed. The options for the window size are; Resize window to initial page, center window on screen, or open in full screen mode. Create PDF s 29
User Interface Options will allow for the menu bar, tool bars or window controls to be hidden from the end user. When all of the settings have been set, click on the OK button. The PDF must be Saved for these settings to be accepted. Create PDF s 30