You can reuse individual images from a document if permission is given by the document author. Begin by clicking the Select tool on the Basic toolbar. The Select tool automatically changes to an arrow when the pointer is held over an image. Then, click to select the image, which is highlighted. If you want only a portion of the image copied, drag a marquee with the Select tool.
When you release the mouse, the area you surrounded by the marquee is highlighted. Wait a second or two, and the Select Image icon displays on top of the selected image (Figure 83a).
Figure 83a. Select an image on the document; when you hold the pointer over the selection the Select Image icon displays over the image.
Move your pointer over the icon and the menu opens. The only option available for a selected image is to copy it to the clipboard (Figure 83b).
Figure 83b. Click the menu option to copy the image to the Clipboard.
Click outside the selected image or click another tool to deselect an image. Once you have the image or image segment copied, you can reuse it. You can also save the image as a file. Select the image in the document, and then right-click to open the shortcut menu. Choose Save Image As, name the image, and specify the save location.
What if you want to reuse some of the content on a page that contains both text and graphics? You can copy and paste each element separately, or you can use the snazzy Snapshot tool. Here's how:
Select the Snapshot tool on the Basic toolbar.
Select the content from the page:
Click anywhere on the document to capture the visible content on the Document pane.
Drag a marquee around a portion of the page.
Drag a marquee around a portion of an image on the page (Figure 83c).
Figure 83c. Using the Snapshot tool, you can drag a marquee to select a portion of the image.
You see a flash as the image's colors are inverted within the marquee and the content is captured. The selected area is surrounded by a dashed line until you deselect the tool or select another tool.
An information dialog appears telling you that the content has been copied to the clipboard. Click OK.
Note:
The information dialog isn't something you really need to see more than once. Fortunately, the dialog includes a check box that you can click to hide the message. Go ahead. Click it.
Paste the clipboard content wherever you need it, or use it to create a new PDF document.
Out of the Way, Please
If you are trying to select an image on a document that has overlying text, you could be in for some serious frustration unless you change one of the preferences. By default, the General Preferences include a setting to select text before images. Choose Edit > Preferences > General (on a Mac, Acrobat > Preferences > General) and check select Images Before Text from the Select Tool Options pull-down list.
Snapshot? Maybe Not
If you need to modify or index the text you're copying, don't use the Snapshot tool; use the Select tool instead. Content copied with the Snapshot tool creates a graphic, uneditable image of whatever it captures, whether it's images or text.
Drag and Drop Shot
You don't have to mess around with copying and pasting when you're moving images. Open the recipient document next to the document with the image and arrange the documents on the screen. Then, select the image in the PDF document and drag it to the other document.
OK, so you want to stamp your document. Maybe you need to give reviewers some advice about the document's status or sensitivity. This tip from author Ted Padova demonstrates how to add stamps with the Stamp Tool along with related comments.
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