Planet PDF Tips & Tricks

Snap to grid using Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When adding objects such as comments, images or form fields to your PDF documents, ensuring the correct position and alignment can be a nightmare. Luckily, owners of Acrobat can use the Grid Tool to arrange objects so they align perfectly. Use the 'Snap to grid' feature to align these objects against the grid lines displayed.

Converting paper documents to PDF using Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Looking for a quick and easy way to convert your paper documents into PDFs? Look no further! Paper documents can quickly and easily be converted to PDF using Acrobat's "Create PDF from scanner" feature.

Simple PDF creation using Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Looking for a "quick and dirty" way to create PDF documents? Using Acrobat, creating PDF documents is just a single click away. This tip explains how.

Copying text in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you only need to cite some PDF text, it can be inconvenient and inefficient to send the whole PDF document. It may be easier to simply copy and paste the desired text into an email or report and forward it on. This tip explains how.

Add PDF bookmarks in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

PDF bookmarks can drasically improve the navigability of longer PDF documents. Luckily, it's a snap to create them in Adobe Acrobat. This ip explains how.

Insert pages into existing PDF documents with Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you need to add new content such as a cover page, spreadsheet or appendix to an existing PDF document, you can do this easily in Acrobat. This tip explains how.

Simple PDF creation with Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you need to create PDF files quickly and simply, why not use Acrobat? This tip explains the simplest way to create PDF files directly from your desktop.

Merging multiple files in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

One of the most convenient things about PDF is its ability to combine files from different source programs such as Word and Excel into combined documents for emailing, filing or archival purposes. What's more, the source documents don't even need to be converted into PDF before being merged. Supported file types will automatically be converted during the merging process.

Touching-up text in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Let's set the scene: after you've created your PDF, added any bookmarks, links, JavaScript or other interactive content, you quickly check through your PDF document before sending it off or posting it to a web site. Unfortunately, you find that you've misspelled the name of an important client! Luckily, Adobe Acrobat's TouchUp Text Tool can save you from having to regenerate the entire document.

Cleaning up PDF documents in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

If you are posting your PDF document to a web site, you'll generally want to upload a clean copy that will streamline the viewing experience for your site visitors. This tip outlines a quick way to remove unnecessary annotations, widgets, JavaScript, links, bookmarks and attachments, along with optimizing your documents for fast web viewing.

Reordering pages in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Need to make some last-minute changes to your PDF document? Perhaps the page order has been jumbled? Never fear, changing the order of pages in a PDF is child's play using the drag-and-drop capability within Acrobat's Navigation tab. This tip explains how.

Markup PDF pages with drawings

Dan Shea — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Using Acrobat, PDF has been established as a popular and user-friendly medium for collaborative workflows. Not only can you add sticky notes or highlight text, you can even draw polygonal or freehand annotations. This tip explains how.

Creating web links in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Given the ease with which online content can be updated, linking to web pages from within PDF documents can be a great way to provide access to the most up-to-date information. It's easy to do, too. This tip explains how.

Reducing screen clutter in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Are you looking to remove all distractions to read your PDF content? Perhaps you just want to remove all distractions so that you can skim through your PDF document before signing off on it and sending it off? This tip explains how to reduce on-screen clutter in Acrobat to allow you to focus your attention completely on the content.

Opening PDF documents in Full Screen Mode

Dan Shea — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Are you looking to present your PDF presentations in a less cluttered way with greater visual impact? Adobe Acrobat allows users to configure the opening settings of PDF documents to display them in full screen mode. It's as effective as a PowerPoint display and very easy to accomplish. This tip explains how.

Adding notes in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

One benefit of PDF files is that it's possible to add annotations without compromising the integrity of that content by editing it directly. One such option is adding a note in Acrobat. This tip explains how.

Opening PDF documents in Full-Screen mode in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

If you have a graphically rich PDF, you might want to set it to open in Full-Screen mode to reduce clutter and increase the document's visual impact. This is particularly useful when preparing PDF (rather than, say, PowerPoint-based) presentations. This tip explains how to set your PDF documents to open in Full-Screen mode every time in Acrobat.

Custom stamps in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

While Acrobat comes pre-loaded with a selection of stamps, including 'Approved', 'Declined' and 'Accepted', users can also create custom stamps of such things as company logos for use on their PDF documents. Complex or graphically rich stamps can be created or prepared in imaging applications before being added to Acrobat's selection. This tip explains how to create a custom stamp using an existing file.

Importing and exporting form data in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

When using PDF forms, it's possible to export, store and import the data in Form Data Format (FDF). Since an FDF file only includes the form data and not the form itself, it is much smaller and more lightweight that the complete PDF form, making it more efficient to manipulate. This tip explains how to export and import FDF data using Acrobat.

Applying page numbers and the date in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

You may often find yourself needing to add page numbers to a PDF document to enhance navigability or stamp a date for version tracking purposes. This tip explains how to perform these functions in Acrobat.

Cropping pages to highlight areas in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

When you receive a PDF that contains, say, an image that is surrounded by text, how do you highlight the image? One way is to export the graphic to an imaging application such as Photoshop, but that involves additional applications and the associated loading times. A great "quick and dirty" fix here is to use the "Crop" tool to hide the content that surrounds the image, leaving you with PDF which displays only an image, just the way you wanted it. This tip explains how.

Apply a watermark in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

When you need to produce documents on company letterhead but don't want to save on the expense and hassle of pre-printed paper, you might want to apply PDF watermarks and either send the document via email or print the document contents and letterhead at once. A watermark allows you to insert text and graphics across one or more pages in a document and place them in front of or behind page content.

Emailing PDF documents

Dan Shea — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

OK, so you're done creating your PDF document and have it looking just the way you want, but you want to send it off for a second opinion, or perhaps you need someone to sign-off on it. Never fear, sending PDF documents via email is a piece of cake in Acrobat 7.

Sticky notes in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Perhaps the most intuitive way to annotate a PDF document is to add an electronic sticky note. While physical sticky notes are useful with hard-copy documents, electronic sticky notes are more efficient and provide a natural and familiar means by which to add and share comments on PDF documents without obscuring their content.

Print to PDF from any application

Dan Shea — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Perhaps the simplest way to create PDF documents using Acrobat is via the Print command. Any application that features such a command will include an 'Adobe PDF' entry in its list of printers upon installation of Adobe Acrobat and this can be used to 'print' a PDF version of the active document.

Extract pages from a PDF in Acrobat

Dan Shea — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Acrobat allows users to extract individual pages from PDF documents. This is a very convenient function for users looking to obtain excerpts of longer documents.

Copy images in Acrobat 7

Dan Shea — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Acrobat allows users to copy and re-use images from PDF documents when this is not specifically prohibited by the file's security settings.

Add document information in Acrobat 7

Dan Shea — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

One handy feature of Acrobat 7 is that it allows users to add 'Document Information' (AKA metadata) such as title, subject, author name and a selection of keywords to PDF documents for simpler categorization and archival. Better yet, adding document metadata is a quick and easy way to take the pain out of tracking down your PDF documents the next time you need them.

Add a file attachment with Acrobat 7

Dan Shea — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Many is the time that you will want to attach a PDF or other file to your primary PDF document before sending it on or for archival purposes. For instance, you may want to attach a copy of the document's original source file, companion documents or other related materials. Luckily, the PDF format allows for just this, via Acrobat 7's attachment features.

PDF readability shortcuts in Acrobat 7

Dan Shea — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

To streamline Acrobat's interface, why not pick up a few simple keyboard shortcuts? This tip covers several shortcuts related to adjusting the zoom level for a more personalized and immersive reading experience.