Getting Started

Adobe^® Acrobat^® XI is an essential tool in today’s electronic workflow. You can use Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Pro to convert virtually any document to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), preserving the exact look and content of the original, complete with fonts and graphics. You can edit text and images in PDF documents, initiate reviews, distribute and share documents, create interactive forms, and more.

About Classroom in a Book

Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book^® is part of the official training series for Adobe graphics and publishing software, developed with the support of Adobe product experts. The lessons are designed to let you learn at your own pace. If you’re new to Adobe Acrobat, you’ll learn the fundamental concepts and features you’ll need to master the program. If you’ve been using Acrobat for a while, you’ll find that Classroom in a Book teaches many advanced features, including tips and techniques for using the newest features.

Although each lesson provides step-by-step instructions for working with specific projects, there’s room for exploration and experimentation. You can follow the book from start to finish, or do only the lessons that match your interests and needs. Each lesson concludes with a review section summarizing what you’ve covered.

What’s new in this edition

This edition covers many new features in Adobe Acrobat XI, such as the ability to edit and reflow text in a PDF document; easily saving and reusing content from a PDF file; signing documents electronically with Adobe EchoSign; designing forms from templates in Adobe FormsCentral, which is installed with Acrobat; and combining documents of various file formats to create a single PDF file.

Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard

This book covers features included in Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard. We’ve noted where a tool or feature described in this book is available only in Acrobat Pro. Features available only in Acrobat Pro include:

• Preflighting documents and other print production tasks

• Creating PDF Portfolios

• Checking PDF documents for accessibility

• Applying Bates numbering and redaction

• Comparing versions of a document

• Using and creating actions

Prerequisites

Before beginning to use Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book, you should have a working knowledge of your computer and its operating system. Make sure you know how to use the mouse, standard menus and commands, and also how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, see the printed or online documentation included with your system.

Installing Adobe Acrobat

Before beginning to use Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book, make sure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve installed the required software and hardware. You must purchase Adobe Acrobat XI software separately. For system requirements, see the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html.

You must install the application onto your hard drive; you cannot run Acrobat XI from a disc. Follow the onscreen installation instructions.

Starting Adobe Acrobat

You start Acrobat just as you would any other software application.

• Windows: Choose Start > Programs or All Programs > Adobe Acrobat XI Standard or Adobe Acrobat XI Pro.

• Mac OS: Open the Adobe Acrobat XI Standard folder or the Adobe Acrobat XI Pro folder, and double-click the program icon.

Copying the Classroom in a Book files

The Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book disc includes folders that contain all the electronic files for the lessons. Each lesson has its own folder, and you must copy the folders to your hard drive to work through the lessons. To save room on your drive, you can install only the folder necessary for each lesson as you need it, and remove the folder when you’re done.

To copy the Classroom in a Book files:

1. Insert the Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book disc into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Create a folder named AcrobatXI_CIB on your hard drive.

3. Copy all the lessons, or only those you want to work with now, to the hard drive:

• To copy all of the lessons, drag the Lessons folder from the disc into the AcrobatXI_CIB folder.

• To copy a single lesson, drag the individual lesson folder from the disc into the AcrobatXI_CIB folder.

Additional resources

Adobe Acrobat XI Classroom in a Book is not meant to replace documentation that comes with the program or to be a comprehensive reference for every feature. Only the commands and options used in the lessons are explained in this book. For comprehensive information about program features and tutorials, refer to these resources:

Adobe Community Help: Community Help brings together active Adobe product users, Adobe product team members, authors, and experts to give you the most useful, relevant, and up-to-date information about Adobe products.

To access Community Help, press F1 or choose Help > Acrobat Help.

Adobe content is updated based on community feedback and contributions. You can add comments to both content and forums (including links to web content), publish your own content using Community Publishing, or contribute Cookbook Recipes. Find out how to contribute at www.adobe.com/community/publishing/download.html.

See http://community.adobe.com/help/profile/faq.html for answers to frequently asked questions about Community Help.

Adobe Acrobat Help and Support: www.adobe.com/support/acrobat is where you can find and browse Help and Support content on Adobe.com.

Adobe Forums: http://forums.adobe.com lets you tap into peer-to-peer discussions, questions, and answers on Adobe products.

Adobe TV: http://tv.adobe.com is an online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products, including a How To channel to get you started with your product.

Adobe Design Center: www.adobe.com/designcenter offers thoughtful articles on design and design issues, a gallery showcasing the work of top-notch designers, tutorials, and more.

Adobe Developer Connection: www.adobe.com/devnet is your source for technical articles, code samples, and how-to videos that cover Adobe developer products and technologies.

Resources for educators: www.adobe.com/education offers a treasure trove of information for instructors who teach classes on Adobe software. Find solutions for education at all levels, including free curricula that use an integrated approach to teaching Adobe software and can be used to prepare for the Adobe Certified Associate exams.

Also check out these useful links:

Adobe Marketplace & Exchange: www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm is a central resource for finding tools, services, extensions, code samples, and more to supplement and extend your Adobe products.

Adobe Acrobat XI product home page: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat.

Adobe Labs: http://labs.adobe.com gives you access to early builds of cutting-edge technology, as well as forums where you can interact with both the Adobe development teams building that technology and other like-minded members of the community.

Adobe certification

The Adobe training and certification programs are designed to help Adobe customers improve and promote their product-proficiency skills. There are four levels of certification:

• Adobe Certified Associate (ACA)

• Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)

• Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI)

• Adobe Authorized Training Center (AATC)

The Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) credential certifies that individuals have the entry-level skills to plan, design, build, and maintain effective communications using different forms of digital media.

The Adobe Certified Expert program is a way for expert users to upgrade their credentials. You can use Adobe certification as a catalyst for getting a raise, finding a job, or promoting your expertise.

If you are an ACE-level instructor, the Adobe Certified Instructor program takes your skills to the next level and gives you access to a wide range of Adobe resources.

Adobe Authorized Training Centers offer instructor-led courses and training on Adobe products, employing only Adobe Certified Instructors. A directory of AATCs is available at partners.adobe.com.

For information on the Adobe Certified programs, visit www.adobe.com/support/certification/main.html.