Adobe Acrobat Professional is one of the most misunderstood products we enounter in graphics.

If you mention a presentation software, capable of incorporating audio, still images, and video, most people think of Microsoft Power Point.

If you mention the ability to include buttons to navigate through pages, play or stop events, or perform file operations (save, print, etc.) people generally think of Dreamweaver or another web page production tool.

If you mention Acrobat, most people assume there is nothing to it. Isn't that the free download that reads .pdf files? It's a simple little "reader".

This problem has existed for years. Adobe makes Reader, which is freely distributed to read portable document format files.

Adobe also makes Acrobat Professional, which generates these files. This is a very robust program. We require it of all students in the graphics curriculum, and I should add that it is a three unit class that runs 18 weeks, twice/week.

At that, we still don't quite have enough time to cover the topics of interest to our focus. Acrobat includes government level encryption, a secure signature feature (are you who we think you are?), a method to invite a person into your secure area and confirm that they are now granted various rights.
On a simple level, it can be password protected to two levels of security.

I can generate a piece of art for a distant client and email it or use file transfer protocol to distribute it to clients over the web. If they pay the bill, I can send them the release password to print, copy, or modify the file.
I can set the password to prevent them from opening the document, and I can control the initial view presented to the client.
In today's seminar, we will look at some BASIC form use in Acrobat. There are more technnologies to consider but that goes beyond our scope for the morning. Please realize that there is a lot more going on than what meets the eye !

Craig Polanowski, program lead

Handout Links

homework assignment for those desiring credit

application for Fresno Pacific course credit

agenda (pdf)

The "original" pdf form from FCC web

The Giant PDF form handout

Text

Adobe Acrobat 8 , Deubert. Peachpit Press. ISBN: 0-321-47079-6

Adobe Acrobat 8Classroom in a Book, Adobe Press. ISBN: 0-321-47085-0






Web Resources
http://blogs.adobe.com/spartacusacrobat/2008/03/forms_and_nice_results.html

Adobe info on forms

http://www.pdfzone.com/c/a/Authoring/Acrobat-9-to-Include-Expanded-Forms-Support/

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