Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional® - extending the envelope

Citation

(2007), "Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional® - extending the envelope", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2007.07724fab.001

Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional® - extending the envelope

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore

Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional^® – extending the envelope

The business literature is starting to mention knowledge workers with more frequency. Emerging work on creative culture highlights the productivity gains that result when knowledge workers are able to collaborate on projects. Often their work product will contain elements from several software programs. Thus a marketing report might contain a Microsoft Word® document, an Excel^® spreadsheet, a CAD drawing and perhaps some.JPG images. Being able to tie that all together with losing any formatting is critical. Adobe stresses the complexity of some document communication tasks illustrates and provides the ability to manage them. For example, Adobe cites industries such as the legal profession as well as architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) as facing stringent document accuracy requirements. These two areas have the potential of including numerous software output formats in a single document. Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional® can handle the task and can help improve productivity, lower costs, help speed development of products and services and avoid costly mistakes.

One geopolitical issue is that the world is getting flatter in terms of where knowledge workers live and with whom they create knowledge. Often, knowledge workers employed by the same company may live in far-flung locations like the USA, the UK, India, and Japan. Collaboration among members of a global organizational team presents some interesting challenges.

For example, recently, two co-authors and I traded Microsoft Word drafts of an article we are writing. Two of us are in the USA; one is in Chile. We suffered a communication problem. We worked sequentially and sent an edited file via e-mail. Somehow, the formatting changed after each author opened the file. This was especially vexing in two areas. One included all the figures which shifted position and size with each new visit. The other was paragraph formatting which waffled between single spaced and double spaced randomly. We thought we were firmly in the twenty-first century since we work at separate universities and shared our drafts via email. This time, technology or gremlins stymied us. The only solution seemed to be to forward edited Word drafts along with fresh Adobe Acrobat versions that preserved the original formatting. It worked but that solution clearly does not take advantage of one of Acrobat 8’s strengths, the ability to share reviews of a document electronically.

The new release boasts ten new product features that offer remarkable functionality. In this review we will concentrate on those with the most application to marketers.

Shared reviews

Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional (Acrobat 8 Professional) handles both virtual collaboration and document format control admirably. When a program reaches its eighth edition, one can expect a host of features that make its use easier and its application more sophisticated. The first feature that struck us as particularly valuable is document sharing. Document sharing just happens to be one of great value for our recent personal problem. Adobe terms it shared reviews, which offers robust tools for initiating, managing and tracking document reviews. Using shared reviews, all co-authors can see each other’s comments by publishing comments to and retrieving comments from a server, separate from the PDF file. The changes appear immediately, avoiding the problem of simultaneous but different changes which must be resolved post hoc. Using shared reviews requires no additional software. One does need a workspace which can be an existing network folder, a shared workspace on a SharePoint server, or even a folder on a web server.

One issue with multiple contributors to a document is the difficulty in identifying who contributed what and why they did it. Not knowing makes asking clarifying questions difficult. Adobe understands the importance of tracking reviewer contributions and makes it easy. In fact, one can compile all reviewer comments into one document and sort by author, date, or page. The task requires a single click. Moreover, comments added to Adobe PDF files can be imported back into the original Word and AutoCAD files from which the Adobe PDF documents were created, making assessing team member contributions straightforward. In an organizational setting in which rewards are based on contribution, the feature can avoid problems at bonus time.

One of Adobe’s acts of genius was making Adobe Acrobat reader free and updating it continuously. The now universal access to the reader makes the Acrobat standard completely robust and safe from competitive threats. The company has continued the tradition by allowing Adobe Reader^® 8 users to participate in a shared review and make comments even though they might not have Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional. Participation takes the form or providing access to the Acrobat review and commenting tools to users of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 8. This feature is very helpful when the users include external clients, partners, extended team members, or consumers like lead users. One more feature shows the depth and scope of Adobe’s knowledge of its users’ needs. Acrobat 8 Professional allows users to set a deadline for reviewer comments. More importantly, it automatically alerts reviewers when the deadline approaches. This last piece helps insure that comments will actually come. Managing contributions from individuals outside of an organization is tricky since they have their own time pressures and responsibilities. The reminder may not be as effective as controlling someone’s paycheck but it does increase the probability of compliance.

For those of us who use Acrobat regularly, we still have access to the helpful tools, like sticky notes, text edits, highlighter, stamps, callout, shapes, and clouds – for review and mark-up of Adobe PDF files. Both Microsoft Word and Acrobat have commenting tools, but Acrobat’s has a more robust set of editing features. The combination of online editing and the editing tools adds efficiency to the process. The shared workspace allows all reviewers to see each other’s comments which can help resolve issues, and answer questions without the need for additional e-mail messages. There are also notifications and tracking details regarding changes since the file was last opened. For those of us road warriors who use our notebooks on planes and trains without an internet connection, we can use that time effectively and still contribute to a review. Acrobat 8 allows reviewers to add comments to a document when they are offline, like when they are traveling. The next time they are able to log in to their workspace, the editing changes will be sent automatically.

When the review initiator has all the comments, has reviewed them and is ready to integrate feedback into the source document, Acrobat 8 Professional does something really valuable. It allows the review initiator to export the changes back to the original Word or AutoCAD files. The savings in time from eliminating the need to retype the edits back into the original document can be immense.

Other new features in Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional

For those of us who use an earlier version of Adobe Acrobat, the new features are worthy of note. Perhaps the most noticeable feature appears on start-up; there is a new user interface and getting started screen. Adobe calls it “Getting started with Adobe Acrobat.” It is a new, more streamlined, task-based user interface. The screen launches automatically at start-up and provides an at-a-glance overview of core functionality. Clicking a link in the “Getting started” screen immediately launches a desired task or help section. Thoughtfully, users have the option of turning it off if they prefer the standard Acrobat toolbar.

Combining different software formats into a single PDF document

We have already mentioned the challenge of creating a modern document using modern software tools. Take the example of marketers writing a marketing report. That report will probably contain the standard tool box of applications like Microsoft Word, Excel and perhaps Access. It might contain images, PowerPoint slides, CAD diagrams, e-mail copies and even web pages. Each format is different and sometimes cannot be combined at all. At best, adding something like a spreadsheet to a word processing file changes the format of the spreadsheet. Acrobat 8 Professional can combine all of them into a single, well formatted Adobe PDF file.

Basically users have two choices. One choice is to merge the files together, resulting in a new, unified document with a continuous page flow. That is the system used by programs like Microsoft Word when one adds different file elements into the Word document. The format is a Word format. In this case Adobe creates an entire document in PDF format. A second choice is to assemble the files into a PDF package. A package groups the files together but ensures that the individual documents remain distinct. The package has advantages if individual elements need further work. For example, even if the original spreadsheet is not available, a spreadsheet in a package can be preserved or modified. If the spreadsheet is modified, the new results can be used to update the analysis. A package has some valuable benefits.

Acrobat 8 Professional adds the PDF package feature. It was designed to address specific document workflows where distinct documents must remain intact and unchanged, and therefore cannot be merged with other documents. This is important for several applications including the law. Courts require separate documents for submission. Legal documents can be packaged together, but will remain separate for court submission. In architecture, detailed architectural drawings must be approved before construction can proceed. In the past, they were physically signed. Today they are digitally signed. Acrobat 8’s package feature allows drawings to be individually signed as they are approved. As construction progresses, more drawings can be signed until the job is completed. At that point, the entire package can be signed. PDF packages satisfy a need in many industries. They can preserve the individual digital signatures and security settings in each component document. In some fields, business cannot proceed without them.

The user ergonomics are helpful also. Since the two tasks are substantially different, the program offers two highly descriptive graphics which convey the essence of combined files versus a package. Acrobat 8 Professional yields great savings in time and effort. Using either method, the merged PDF file or a PDF package of files, it is easy to select the individual pages, worksheets or layouts of the original PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, or AutoCAD files One can quickly arrange them in any order, and control the size of the resulting file easily. File size control is a helpful option and in general one trades off file size versus quality. One may accept the default file size or a smaller size which reduces the resulting PDF quality. When media space or transmission time is critical, the smaller file size may be acceptable. There is a third option: higher quality. The higher quality PDF file will require more disc space but again, quality may be more important than file size.

Combining files using either method is not instantaneous. However, processing on a 2 megabyte file proceeded in less than a minute. The real time saving came when a complicated job was done in just a few steps.

Virtual collaboration using Acrobat Connect^®

Acrobat 8 introduces one-button access to the real-time, web-based collaboration services provided by the latest member of the Acrobat family, Acrobat Connect. Readers may be familiar with its previous incarnation as the program, Breeze. Acrobat Connect is a separate program but is accessible from the new user interface. There is a button marked “Start meeting”. When a user presses that button for the first time, a menu opens which invites sign-up for a free trial of Connect. Through connect, users can share presentations and collaborate with others online in the privacy of a personal meeting room. True to its philosophy of easing access, Connect does not require the other co-workers to download or install other software in order to access the meeting room.

Connect features live video and audio. It provides an onscreen central work space (shared content) for collaboration as well as a sign in panel to identify who is in the meeting. There is also a speaker’s panel which will display video to accompany the meeting audio. One worker controls the presentation but can hand off control to another in the meeting. Whoever is in charge can share the contents of his or her computer screen and open applications to share with others. Everyone sees exactly the same thing at the same time. It is too bad that computer help desks did not have access to this technology years ago since the communication potential is remarkable. Overall, Connect is an amazingly helpful communication and collaboration tool that we plan to review separately in a future issue.

Acrobat 8 Professional and interactive forms

Most of us have experience with forms. Recently I submitted a peer review to a conference to be held in South America. Fortunately the conference language is English. I was able to submit my review to a web site using a link I was sent. When I logged on, I found an interactive form which allowed me to make comments and paste my review into a dialog box. The conference director was very happy about the new system for collecting review data. Authors were going to get the detailed reviews. Editors were able to view the collection of reviews for each paper along with the accept/reject/revise rating. It occurred to me then that the ability to create an active data collection form was light years away from a paper form that required data processing that was subject to errors.

After my experience with the conference interactive forms, I was pleased to learn that Acrobat 8 Professional also provides them. The program makes it easy to create, distribute and collect data from interactive PDF forms. Now a company can send out a questionnaire or an invitation via e-mail, collect the completed forms, and pool the data paperlessly in one place. The program is intelligent and saves considerable time. Interactive forms do not have to be created with programming skills. Instead, Acrobat 8 Professional can add interactive form fields to existing “dumb” forms automatically. One can use a scanned paper form or existing, static PDF or Microsoft Office form. Adobe also thoughtfully provides a series of templates to speed the form building process. To guide users, Adobe also provides a step-by-step wizard that helps to quickly build forms with customized content such as corporate logos or other graphics. Adobe includes Adobe LiveCycle™ Designer 8 software to aid in form design and creation. After a form has been created and is ready for distribution, anyone can fill it out without having to buy additional software. In another stroke of genius, Adobe made the forms compatible with the free Adobe Reader 8. So users with Adobe Reader 8 can now fill out, digitally sign, and locally save interactive PDF forms. The originator has to enable those functions in Acrobat 8 Professional. The most impressive time saver is the ability to aggregate data back into a PDF package. That stage allows easy export of the data to spreadsheets and to SPSS for further analysis or processing.

So by allowing users control over form design, distribution and the ability to send completed forms via email for compiling, Adobe has added greatly to the ease with which data can be collected for registrations, customer relationship management and even academic research.

Security

I remember the first time a student asked me to supply a copy of a letter of recommendation – in a Word file! He was a good student and really was just being naïve. I do not really think that he thought about the potential for fraud such a request entailed. At this point, I would have no qualms about sharing a PDF file with my recommendation and signature. I would be certain that I enabled a password security level to prevent unauthorized tampering. The program allows four levels of security ranging from none to password to certificate to Adobe LiveCycle™ Policy Server. For the letter of recommendation, password security would be adequate. The program allows two passwords, one to open the document (if desired) and one to change document properties.

In addition to protection from changing content, the program allows robust redaction tools. Redaction is the process of removing sensitive information from a document. In the past, redaction took the form of using something like a marker to black out sensitive words, sentences or figures on a paper copy. The process was not foolproof. Electronic black outs in a word processing document were equally faulty since conversion to another program could strip away the opaque shading. In contrast, Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional includes robust redaction tools that remove the sensitive text and can even include the legal reason the particular element was redacted. In addition, the program allows users to remove hidden information, including metadata, annotations, attachments, form fields, layers, bookmarks, and hidden text and objects – permanently.

Printing enhancements

Acrobat 8 Professional contains enhancements and new tools for inserting water-marks and backgrounds, cropping and precisely positioning content, and printing booklets. Some of us have experience using headers and footers in word processing programs. Some of us may even be familiar with watermarks. Acrobat 8 Professional makes it easy to work with the headers, footers and watermarks in PDF files. It has an intuitive interface that shows a live preview of how these elements will appear. Users can save headers, footers and watermarks as named presets for later use. The program allows users to update or remove Acrobat-created headers, footers and watermarks at any time.

System requirements

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  Intel^® Pentium III or equivalent processor;

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  Microsoft^® Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4, Windows XP^® Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition, with Service Pack 2;

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  256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended);

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  860 MB of available hard disk space (recommended optional installation files cache requires an additional 460 MB);

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  1,024 × 768 screen resolution

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  CD-ROM drive;

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  internet or phone connection required for product activation.

Estimated street price

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  Full version of Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional $449 (USA) on Adobe web site.

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  Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional $159 (USA) on Adobe web site.

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  Full version of Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 Premium $1,199 (USA) on Adobe web site.

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  Upgrade from Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium $159 (USA) on Adobe web site.

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  Upgrade from Creative Suite 1.× Premium and Standard$549 (USA) on Adobe web site.

Overall evaluation

Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional offers enhanced ease of use and valuable additional features compared to its previous release. Several marketers we polled rated the ability to share reviews, conduct interactive meetings, provide document security and combine numerous documents into a single PDF package to be highly valuable. The easy access opening panel makes it easy to use.

For companies and users with previous versions of the program or of Adobe Creative Suite, the upgrade prices range from cheap to reasonable. Considering the productivity and security benefits of the new release, even the full estimated street price is worth it.

The editor would like to thank Robert Jameson and Priya Patel for helpful insights into program operation.

Reader comments

Please send your suggestions for future hardware and software to be reviewed to: DPitta@ubalt.edu Reader suggestions are an important part of the process of selecting products for review.