By Bryan Guignard

Acrobat 6 is as capable of producing complex form layouts as other dedicated form design packages, Bryan says and demonstrates.

If you've run into the situation where Acrobat 5 may not always print your document to the correct paper size, Bryan may have a solution. The fix for this confusing glitch is in the Distiller Properties settings, he explains.

Bryan notes the apparent absence of PDFWriter in Acrobat 5.0 -- must be custom installed for Windows, and is totally gone on the Mac -- and explains why the demise of the utility is primarily a good thing.

Bryan explains how Adobe Acrobat users can use PDF bookmarks to provide a very powerful -- and easy to create -- navigational tool. His JavaScript-enabled tip opens up "many possibilities for circumventing a whole host of design problems."

Bryan takes a close look at -- and is impressed by -- the text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities of Acrobat 4.0x, and suggests some possible uses.

Bryan likes to stay informed on the newest, and forthcoming developments related to Adobe Acrobat and related technologies. He likes what he sees in the move to PDF Structure and Marked Content, capabilities that will open up a wide range of new opportunities for Acrobat and its users.

Sure, some of us know that you can set a few transition effects to display when a PDF is viewed in full screen. But did you know that there are many more ways that are not nearly as well documented for adding effects? Bryan explores the methods you can use to add permanent transition effects to your PDF documents/slide shows.

Bryan offers three useful tips.

Bryan examines what a PDF document is made up of. Comprised of document objects, page objects and content objects, Bryan clearly explains how these objects relate to form the PDFs you make and use.

Bryan takes a pragmatic approach to his column with his PDF Templates kit. This kit consists of two files. The Template Interface, and a second PDF file which is a sample of invisible PDF paper along with the PostScript code snippet used to create it.

Perhaps the most obvious limitation is Reader's inability to save modifications to a PDF file. Some people wrongly assume that Reader is broken or didn't install properly when they notice the Save command is missing. Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with Reader, as this is the way it's supposed to be. Bryan explains what situations are appropriate for Reader, and when you'll need the full product.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Wordprocessors > PDF but didn't know where to ask. "Despite its popularity, universality, and ease of use, PDF still finds itself at odds with wordprocessors much more often than it should, or needs to. Although PDF paints a pretty rosy picture for the DTPers, and the high end graphics world, the same cannot be said of PDF's relationship with wordprocessors." Bryan explores in depth this relationship.

What does it take to become an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), and what do you get out of it? Bryan discusses how to begin your preparation, the areas you'll need to familiarise yourself with and the benefits certification can give you.