Guides for

• New Students
• Students
• Faculty
• Staff
• IT Staff

Search the UBIT site

Questions and comments about this should be sent to: cit-webmaster@buffalo.edu
Privacy Accessibility Statement
Last updated:
Copyright © 2006
All Rights Reserved.

Documentation

Adobe Acrobat Professional for Windows

Adobe Acrobat Professional is a tool that allows users to import existing text or graphics files and save them as the popular .pdf format. These files can then be viewed externally using either Adobe Acrobat Professional or the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Professional is a good solution for many different kinds of documents because it combines relatively small file sizes with advanced features, including in-depth security and customizability options.

Adobe Acrobat Professional is available for use at the University at Buffalo's Public Computing Service Areas, but must be purchased to obtain a license for personal computer use.

Adobe Acrobat Professional vs. Adobe Reader

Adobe has two separate programs available that work with .pdf files. This document pertains to Adobe Acrobat Professional, which is responsible for creating and editing .pdf files. Acrobat Professional is licensed software, meaning you must purchase a copy of it for each machine that it is to be installed on.

Acrobat Reader is a completely separate application used for displaying previously created .pdf files. Acrobat Reader cannot manipulate .pdf files in any way. It does have the ability to view and print .pdf files, and allow images and text in a .pdf file to be copied into other files if the creator of the file has specified that permission to the user. Adobe Reader is free software that can be downloaded from the UB Tech Tools Downloads page at:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/computing/software.

Creating a PDF File

Adobe Acrobat Professional cannot create documents on its own. It must convert pre-existing files into .pdf format.

Converting a Pre-existing File

1. Click start, select All Programs, Acrobat 7 Professional, then Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional.
   
2. Adobe Acrobat Professional will start. Select File, Create PDF, then From File.
   
3. A file browser window will appear. Use it to search for the file you would like to convert. Select the file by clicking it, then click Open. The application that originally created the file (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) will open, and there will be a brief pause while Acrobat Professional converts the document into .pdf format. When your document appears in Acrobat Professional, you are ready to begin editing.

Converting a File from within Microsoft Office Applications

1. Open a file in a Microsoft Office application that you would like to convert to .pdf format.
2. Underneath the program's standard toolbar, you will see the Adobe Acrobat Professional Toolbar.
   
   
3. Click the Convert to Adobe PDF button (by default located on the far left of the toolbar). If the Adobe Acrobat Toolbar is not visible, select Adobe PDF from the menu bar at the top of the screen, then Convert to Adobe PDF.
4. If you have not already saved your Microsoft Office file, you will be prompted to do so before the conversion takes place. Click Yes to save your file.
   
5. A file browser window will appear with which you can save a copy of the Microsoft Office file to be converted. Browse to where you would like to save the file, choose an appropriate file name, then click Save.
6. Another file browser window will appear. This window designates a location in which to save the converted .pdf file. The name of the original file and the .pdf file do not have to match, nor do they have to be saved in the same location. They are two separate files and can be individually manipulated after they are both saved. Browse to your selected location, name the file however you would like, then click Save.
7. There will be a brief pause while the conversion takes place. When your document appears in the Adobe Acrobat Professional window, you are ready to begin editing.

Editing a PDF File

Editing files from within Adobe Acrobat Professional is handled differently from most other editing programs because Acrobat cannot create new documents on its own. Because of this, most of Acrobat's editing tools focus on the manipulation of previously existing content. In much the same manner as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat treats incoming text and images as pre-existing objects that can be modified to the user's specifications before being re-saved.

TouchUp Text Tool

The main tool for editing text in Adobe Acrobat Professional is the TouchUp Text Tool. With this tool, the user can select an existing block of text and modify it before inserting it back into the document.

1. The TouchUp Text Tool is available from the Advanced Editing Toolbar. To view the toolbar, click on View in the menu bar, select Toolbars, then Advanced Editing.
   
2. Select the TouchUp Text Tool from the Advanced Editing Toolbar.
   

Note

The TouchUp Text Tool is only meant for minor editing. If you have a significant amount to edit, do so in the program which created the original file, then save it as a PDF.

3. A text manipulation cursor will replace the mouse arrow. Insert the cursor by clicking the area of text to be edited. Acrobat Professional will now act in much the same way as a text editor such as MS Word. You can move the cursor, highlight, and add or delete text with the TouchUp Text Tool.

TouchUp Objects Tool

The TouchUp Objects Tool treats text, images, or Adobe Acrobat items such as buttons or hyperlinks as static objects that can be repositioned on the screen. The specific details of these objects cannot be manipulated, but their orientation on the page can be edited.

The TouchUp Objects Tool is available in the Advanced Editing Toolbar. See Step 1 of the TouchUp Text Tool section above for instructions on accessing the Advanced Editing Toolbar.

1. Click the arrow next to the TouchUp Text Tool to display the TouchUp Tools pull-down menu.
   
2. Select TouchUp Object Tool.
3. The TouchUp Text Tool icon will be replaced with the TouchUp Object Tool icon on the Advanced Editing Toolbar. Click on it to begin using the TouchUp Object Tool.
   
4. The mouse pointer will change to a black arrow with a small square in its lower right corner. Click on any object, picture, or block of text in your document, and it will be "selected," or bordered by a blue line.
   
5. The selected object can now be moved around the screen and repositioned to your liking.

Crop Tool

Photo editors such as Adobe Photoshop generally contain a crop tool that allows you to select a certain area of an image and "cut away" the rest. Adobe Acrobat Professional allows you to use this same tool on the document you are editing. You can crop any section of your document, even if the desired selection contains pieces of several different objects. This cropped selection can then be manipulated and edited just like any other document.

The Crop Tool is available in the Advanced Editing Toolbar. See Step 1 of the TouchUp Text section of this document for instructions on accessing the Advanced Editing Toolbar.

1. Click on the Crop Tool icon.
   
2. Use your mouse to drag a crop box around the area of your document that you wish to crop out.
   
3. The crop box can be resized and dragged around your document until you are satisfied with the area you have selected. Clicking outside of the box will erase the box and let you draw a new crop box.
4. When satisfied with your selection, double-click within the borders of the crop box.
5. The screen that appears is the Crop Pages window. From within this window, you can adjust very specific properties regarding your crop, including the margins and page ranges. When satisfied, click OK.
   
6. Your cropped selection will automatically be fitted to the screen. You can continue to crop portions of the document if you wish.
   

Snapshot Tool

The Snapshot Tool allows you to quickly and easily copy a section of your document to the clipboard. It can then be pasted into any other document or program without affecting the original Acrobat document.

1. Select the Snapshot Tool icon from the top left of your screen.
   
2. Drag a box around the portion of your document for which you wish to take a snapshot. A window will appear confirming your snapshot and highlighting the snapshot region.
   
3. You may now enter the application you wish to copy your snapshot into and paste it from the clipboard.

Adding Headers and Footers

1. To add headers or footers to your Adobe Acrobat Professional document, select Document, then Add Headers & Footers.
   
2. The Add Headers & Footers window will open. Click on either the Header or Footer tab at the top of the page to choose which you would like to insert.
   
3. To insert the date as your header or footer, select a format from the Style pull-down menu under Insert Date, then click Insert.
4. To insert a page number as your header or footer, select a format from the Style pull-down menu under Insert Page Number, then click Insert.
5. If you would like to insert a custom header or footer, select the appropriate tab labeled either Header or Footer. Enter the text into the text boxes at the top of the window. Any text you enter into the left, center, or right text boxes will appear in that respective area of the header or footer. You can then use the Font and Font Size tools to customize the text's attributes. The Page Options on the right side of the window will allow you to customize the margins of the headers and footers. This may be necessary if you are applying headers and footers to a cropped selection of your document.
6. Click OK when satisfied with your Header and Footer options.

Adding a Hyperlink to an Adobe Acrobat Document

Adobe Acrobat Professional allows you to add hyperlinks to your document. Adobe's .pdf documents can be viewed embedded in a web browser if the client-side computer has Acrobat Reader installed and properly configured with their browser. This integration between Acrobat Reader and web browsers means that it can be beneficial to include usable hyperlinks in your .pdf documents for web viewing.

The Link Tool, which allows you to add hyperlinks to your .pdf document, is available in the Advanced Editing Toolbar. See Step 1 of the TouchUp Text section of this document for instructions on accessing the Advanced Editing Toolbar.

1. Click on the Link Tool icon on the Advanced Editing Toolbar to begin creating a hyperlink.
   
2. The Link Tool in Adobe Acrobat Professional is unique because it allows you to create a hyperlink out of any section of your document, regardless of whether it is text, an image, or a combination of both. Drag a box around any area and it will become a hyperlink.
3. The Create Link window will appear. Here, you can customize your hyperlink. Selecting Go to a page view will allow you to link to a specific page within the document you are creating. Open a file will allow you to link to a file on the local machine or network, while Open a web page will open a web browser and direct it towards a specific URL. Custom link is an advanced option that allows you to further specify what actions are taken when a link is clicked, and is not recommended for novice users. Click Next when you are satisfied.
   
4. A red box will appear around your hyperlinked area. Move the mouse over the link to select it. You can drag the borders of the link box and move it around your document using the mouse.
   

File Security Features

One of Adobe Acrobat Professional's most useful features is its ability to add customized security levels to .pdf documents. Using these features, you can password protect documents, assign specific permissions regarding their usage, and encrypt them to maximize their level of security.

To view the security options for your document, click Document, select Security, then Secure This Document.

Restricting Opening and Editing

After you click Document, select Security, then Secure This Document, the Select a Policy to Apply window will appear. Double-click on Restrict Opening and Editing Using Passwords.

Once you have double-clicked on Restrict Opening and Editing Using Passwords, the Password Security Settings window will appear. From this window, you can change many security options that relate to your document.

• Compatibility: You can choose from the pull-down menu which versions of Adobe Acrobat can open your document. This is important because the newer versions of Acrobat contain much higher levels of encryption. The encryption level is listed just below the Acrobat version, and changes as you choose different versions of Acrobat. In general, the higher the encryption level, the better; however, users of older versions may not be able to view your file.


• Select Document Components to Encrypt: In this section, advanced users can choose which specific parts of the document to encrypt. However, novice users should not change any of the options in this section.
  
  
• Select Require a password to open the document if you would like your document to be password-protected. If you choose to do so, enter your password into the Document Open Password field.
  
  
• If you would like to password protect certain permissions in your document, select the checkbox labeled Use a password to restrict printing and editing of the document and its security settings. You may then select which options you would like as the defaults. These options can then only be changed if the proper password is entered. This feature is useful for protecting copyrighted images or text, and ensuring that the integrity of the document is kept intact. It is recommended that you leave the Enable copying of text, images and other content and Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired boxes selected.

Displaying Restrictions and Security Settings

Selecting Document, Security, then Show Security Settings for This Document displays a breakdown of the different security and encryption options that have been enabled or disabled on the current document. By selecting tabs from the top of the window, you can also view other properties of the document.

Saving and Printing Adobe Acrobat Files

Saving Adobe Acrobat Files

Document Information