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Adobe Acrobat Pro – Applying Acrobat Commands

Files added to a portfolio aren’t static. That is, you can open a file from the portfolio, make changes (such as Reader-enabling the file or adding a digital signature), and save the revised file. Some commands can be applied directly in the Portfolio window.

Scanning into a Portfolio

You can’t append a scanned PDF to an existing file in your portfolio. Instead, the scanned file is added as a new PDF.

Opening files for editing. Although not every file type can be edited from within your portfolio, a great many file types can. Check out the sidebar “Update These Files…” for a list of formats.

Follow these steps to edit a PDF file:

  1. Select the file to work with from the Home or List mode, and then click Preview  on the Portfolio toolbar to display the files in the Preview Portfolio window
  2. Click Open  to display the file in Acrobat. You can access all the Acrobat menus and tools.
  3. Make your changes as necessary and save; the portfolio file is automatically updated.

    NOTE

    The same process applies to non-PDF files, although the files open in their native program.

Update These Files …

Not all files from every program can be updated from within Portfolio, but the list of program formats that allow updating is impressive:

  • Microsoft Office XP, 2003, 2007, 2008
  • Adobe CS2 and CS3 formats
  • Other Adobe formats, including those generated by Adobe Flash, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Fireworks, and Adobe FrameMaker
  • AutoCAD 2007 and 2008
  • Files generated by OS applications such as WordPad, Notepad, and so on

Editing in portfolio. Some commands can be applied directly in the Portfolio window to a selected file or files, such as Reduce File Size, Run the PDF Optimizer, and others. Select the file or files in Home or List mode, and then choose the menu item. A sampling of the commands you can use in Portfolio are listed in the sidebar “Command Your Portfolio.”

Command Your Portfolio

PDF Portfolio includes a number of commands you can access from within the Portfolio window. Many of these commands are applicable to individual files as well as the overall portfolio file. Here’s a list of some commands, and where to look for techniques and sidebars elsewhere in the book:

  • Convert multiple selected non-PDF files to PDF in one step (#20, “Merging Multiple Files into a Single PDF Document”)
  • Reduce File Size and PDF Optimizer (#33, “Optimizing a PDF Document”)
  • Print (#36, “Choosing Settings for Basic and Production Printing”)
  • Bates Numbering (#52, “Applying Page and Bates Numbering”)
  • Insert Header/Footer (#53, “Inserting Headers and Footers”)
  • Apply Watermark/Background (#54, “Adding Watermarks and Backgrounds”)
  • Batch Processing (#55, “Batching Tasks to Save Time”)
  • OCR (#61, “Extracting Active Text from an Image”)
  • Extend features to Adobe Reader (#79, “Starting a Shared Review”)
  • Secure the Portfolio (#119, “Using Security Levels and Passwords for a Document”)

Control the Action with Buttons

You can assemble all the content for your portfolio, and then add buttons for actions, such as opening a file from a list of ancillary documents in an annual report. To do that, select the file and click Open  on the Portfolio toolbar to open the file in a regular Acrobat window. Once the file opens, you can access all the usual tools and menus. (Read about using buttons in Chapter 15, “Controlling Action and Interaction.”)

Linking Portfolio Files

Here’s an interesting fact: Linking relationships aren’t maintained when files are added to a portfolio, but can only be created within the portfolio.

To add a link, double-click a file in Home or Details mode to open it in Preview mode. Choose Tools > Advanced Editing> Link tool  and define the link. Be sure to use the “Go to page view” action to display another page in the portfolio, rather than the “Open a file” action that you’d usually use when linking two documents.

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