FTT - Adobe Acrobat: Edit your PDFs like a PRO!

 Adobe Creative Cloud

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro for PDFs

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

Why PDFs? 

I suppose PDFs have become so ubiquitous in our digital worlds that most of us probably don't wonder at the rise of Portable Document Formats and how they became one of the standard electronic methods of conserving and sharing data online. It was initially a proprietary format created by Adobe in the early 1990s and is now THE dominant electronic writing document. We rely so heavily upon it because PDFs typically guarantee reliability. Once created, PDFs can lock in the formatting and size of whatever images or text in the exact manner of its inception. Once you save a Word doc into a PDF, there is some sense of permanence or finality associated with its creation.

But that benefit cuts both ways. Things change and so should our PDFs. Have you ever languished at your inability to "edit" a PDF? Well now that staff have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro at District 113, your PDFs should be as malleable to your fingertips as Word Docs or Google Docs (sort of).

Installing Adobe Acrobat

• Depending on whether or not you have a Mac or PC, your process might be slightly different, but generally the same. It begins with Adobe Creative Cloud. Search for the Adobe Creative Cloud icon. It is a rainbow-colored icon that MacOS users can find by opening their "Launch Pad" and Dell users can find the icon on their desktop. 
• Open Creative Cloud. It may ask you to log in. Here are the simple steps to do so. Once you log in, you will find "Acrobat DC" under "Available in your plan." Click "Install." Disclaimer, this may take 5-10 minutes to complete. 

Opening Adobe Acrobat DC

• Find a PDF on your computer and open it with Adobe Acrobat. You can right-click on it and choose the "open with" option:
  
  
  

Option 1: Edit PDF

• Assuming you've made it thus far and were successfully able to open a PDF with Adobe Acrobat, you should now see an updated list of functions on the right. One such function is labeled, "Edit PDF" and should be a fan favorite. Click on "Edit PDF" and you will be able to make changes to your PDF much like you would a Word document.
  
  
• Double click on whatever text or image you are interested in editing and you can now rewrite PDF text.  (If this is not immediately available, you may have to OCR the text first. See below) You can click and drag, resize, change the font, etc. 
  
  

  

Option 2: Organize Pages

• Clicking on the "Organize Pages" function allows you to change the layout AND order of your PDF pages. Additionally, you can add and remove pages of your PDF, or even split a PDF into mulitple files.
  
  
  
  
  

Option 3: Scan & OCR

• If you want screen-readers to be able to access your content, scanning and OCR'ing your files are critical for ADA compliance (and best practice). Click on the "Scan & OCR" option to begin.
• For simple OCR you can click on "Recognize Text" at the top and choose your file. It will then convert all of your block images into readable (and searchable) text.
  
  
  
  
  
• MAKE SURE YOU SAVE. Unlike Google Docs, any and all changes to your PDF must be saved.

Conclusion

This is just an introduction to Adobe Acrobat Reader Pro. Some of you may have had difficulties even installing Adobe Reader on to your computer. Please know that this blog is just an introduction, letting you know that this capacity exists. If you need any additional assistance installing and utilizing Adobe Reader, PLEASE let us know!