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Acrobat Chapter 8: Tips and Tricks for PDF's

Acrobat Chapter 8: Tips and Tricks for PDF's

Owned by Daniel LaGrow, created
Last updated: Jan 24, 2025
12 min read

Instructions

Section 8.1: Creating a Title

Method 1

  1. In the Tasks Pane, open the All Tools Pane and click on the Prepare for Accessibility button.

    The All Tools Pane in Adobe Acrobat with Prepare for Accessibility highlighted in a black box.

  2. In the Prepare for Accessibility Pane, click on the Check for Accessibility Button.

    The Prepare for Accessibility Pane in Adobe Acrobat with the Check for Accessibility option highlighted in a black box.

  3. The Accessibility Checker Options box will appear. Click the Start Checking button at the button of the box.

  4. The Accessibility Checker pane, click on the Document dropdown menu. Right click on the Title error and click Fix.

  5. The Description box will open. Uncheck the Leave As Is box under Title. Then type in a new title and click the OK button. The PDF now has a new title.

Method 2:

  1. Click the Menu button in the top left corner, then click Document Properties.

  2. In the Document Properties box, go to the Description Tab.

  3. Click Initial View, then Show. You will see a drop down list. Choose Document Title.

  4. Click OK.

Section 8.2: Creating Bookmarks in PDFs

Method 1:

  1. Have the selection tool selected and highlight your text you want marked.

  2. Go to the Bookmark tab and select, New Bookmark. A new bookmark will appear below.

Section 8.3: Combining Multiple PDFs

  1. Select the All Tools tab, and in the All Tools pane, click the Combine Files Tool.

  2. In the Combine Files page, you can click Add Open Files to add files that are already open in Acrobat. You can also click Add Files to add new files.

  3. For this example, click the blue Add Files button. Search your computer for the files you want to add to the PDF. Once you have all of your files, click Combine. Your Acrobat file should now have both pdfs together.

Section 8.4: Adding More Pages

Method 1: Adding Pages in Adobe Acrobat

  1. Go to the Navigation Pane, and select the Page Thumbnails button.

  2. In the Pages Pane, you can click the blue plus symbol between each page thumbnail to add a page and click Blank Page.

  3. Another way you can do this, is by clicking the Options button and click on Insert Pages.

  4. In the expansion menu, click A Blank Page.

  5. Either way, you will have a new page in your project.

Method 2: Adding Pages from Other Files

  1. Go to the Navigation Pane, and select the Page Thumbnails button.

  2. In the Pages pane, click the Insert Pages button. Your computer’s file directory will open.

  3. Find the file you want added to your PDF and click the Open button.

Section 8.5: Replacing Pages

  1. Go to the Navigation Pane and select the Page Thumbnail button.

  2. Click on the Options Menu and click Replace Pages in the expansion menu.

  3. Find your folder that has your new page and click Open.

  4. In “Replace Pages” be sure your page is set to the page you want replaced and click OK. Your page will then be replaced.

Section 8.6: Changing your PDF Page Order

  1. In the Tasks Pane, click All Tools. Then click the Organize Pages Tool.

  2. Click on your page that is out of place.

  3. Drag the page to where you want it to go.

  4. If you want a collection of pages moved, click one page, and hold shift.

  5. Click a few pages and they automatically become highlighted. Drag the pages to where you want them.

Section 8.7: Extracting Pages in PDFs

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click on the Page Thumbnails button and select the pages you want extracted.

  2. Click on the Options button and select Extract pages.

  3. In the Extract Pages box, you can choose additional pages for extraction. As well as an option to delete the pages, or make the extracted pages a separate file. If you want all of your extracted files on one page, do not do anything and click OK.

Section 8.8: Cropping your PDFs

  1. In the Tasks Pane, click on the Edit Tab.

  2. In the Edit Pane, go to the Modify Page section and click Crop Page.

  3. Your mouse’s shape will change into a crosshair. Click and drag to create a box around the content you want cropped.

  4. Double click your box, and the Set Page Boxes Box will appear. In the Set Page Boxes Box, go to the Margin Controls section, and change the numbers in Top, Bottom, Left, and Right boxes. Try to line up the cropping lines to the edges of the object. Click OK.

  5. Now your page has been cropped and only your boxed content is visible.

Section 8.9: Splitting a PDF

Method 1:

  1. Click the Organize File Tool and choose split.

  2. In the Split by menu, choose the number of pages you want split, then click the Split button.

Method 2:

  1. Click the Organize File Tool and choose split.

  2. In the Split By menu, choose the File Size in the dropdown menu and choose a low number of megabytes. Finally, click on the Split button.

Section 8.10: Exporting PDFs

  1. In the All Tools Pane, click on the Export a PDF Tool.

  2. In the Convert Pane, go to the Export PDF To section and choose the software you want the PDF exported to.

  1. Under Export PDF to, click Microsoft Word.

  2. Click on the Settings Icon to get the Save As DOCX Settings box.

  3. If you want your document to have nice word flow from one page to another, click Retain Flowing Text. If you want to have your text appear in a blocky format, click Retain Page Layout

  4. If you want to transfer comments from your project, click Include Comments.

  5. If your PDF has images, click Include Images. If you want to change your “scanned” text, click Recognize Text. If needed, set your language to the one you prefer.

  6. Click OK, then back in the Convert Pane, click the Convert to DOCX button.

     

  1. Under Export PDF to, click Microsoft Excel.

  2. Click on the Settings Icon to get the Save As XLSX Settings box.

  3. In the Save As XLSX Settings box, you have a variety of settings to work with. In Excel Workbook Settings, you can choose to create a single worksheet for the document, create a worksheet for each table, or create a worksheet for each page.

  4. In the Numeric Settings, you have two choices. You can have Acrobat detect what is considered a decimal or thousands separators using regional settings. Your other option is to manually enter in separate dropdown menus what you want Acrobat to see as a decimal or a thousands separator.

  5. In the Text Recognition Settings, you can can choose a language you want identified and make the software recognize your text if it is needed.

  6. Click OK, then back in the Convert Pane, click the Convert to XLSX button.

  1. Under Export PDF to, click Microsoft Excel.

  2. Click on the Settings Icon to get the Save As XLSX Settings box.

  3. If you want to transfer comments from your project, click Include Comments.

  4. In the Text Recognition Settings Section, click Recognize text if needed, and make sure your language is set to English.

  5. Click OK, then back in the Convert Pane, click the Convert to PPTX button.

  1. Under Export PDF to, click Image Format and change it from JPEG to PNG.

  2. If you want to export your PDF as an image, click on the blue Convert to PNG button. Then save your PNGs in an easy to find location.

  3. If you want to just export your images on your PDF as images, check Export all Images and click the blue Convert to PNG button.

  4. Save your PNGs in an easy to find location.

Section 8.11: Adding Comments to a PDF

  1. In the All Tools Pane, click the Add Comments Tool.

  2. The Comments Pane will appear on the right side of the screen. Highlight a piece of text or image you want, then a comment box will appear.

  3. Write your comment and click Post.

  4. The text will now be highlighted with a little comment icon will appear over the text. If you want to change the note, click on the note icon and add a reply.

Section 8.12: Organizing Comments from Multiple People

It is very common to work on PDFs in group projects for classes. The PDF used will be passed around between several students and teachers who will add input on how to improve the project.

  1. In the All Tools Pane, click the Add Comments Tool.

  2. Leave a comment and select your comments, and in the Comments pane, click on the Options button.

  3. Click the Options button and choose Export Selected to Data File.

  4. This will create an FDF or Forms Data Format File. It will be a document that just has the comments.

Section 8.13: Protecting your PDF

  1. In the All Tools Pane, click on the Protect a PDF Tool.

  2. In the Protect a PDF Pane, click the Protect with Password Option.

  3. Select your choice of needing a password for allowing viewers to see or edit the PDF.

  4. Create your Password and click Apply.

Section 8.14: Protecting your PDF with a Password Encryption

  1. In the All Tools Pane, click on the Protect a PDF Tool.

  2. In the Advanced Options section, click Encrypt with Password.

  3. The Applying New Security Settings box will appear asking if you are sure you want to change the security on the document. Click Yes.

  4. The Password Security – Settings Menu will appear and it will give you two levels of protection. You can protect the document from being opened at all, or just from being edited. If you want the document to opened by using a password, click Require a Password and create your password. If you want restrictions on editing and printing, click the check box in the Permission section and create a password.

  5. In the Permission section, check Enable Text Access for Screen Reader Devices for the Visually Impaired.

  6. When you are done, click OK, and reenter your permission password and save the document.

Section 8.15: Redacting Content in PDFs

  1. At the top of the screen, click on the Edit Tab. In the Other Options section, click Redact a PDF.

  2. In the Redact a PDF pane, you will have options to redact text and images or pages. You can also Find Text and Redact it or Set Properties.

  3. Select the Redact Text & Images option and highlight the text you want redacted and hit Enter.

  4. Redaction Tool Properties Menu will appear and allow users to tell Adobe Acrobat what they want a redacted section to look like.

  5. To redact text, just highlight your text. You will see a border around it, but it is not redacted yet. Click Apply to make an official Redaction.

  6. If you are sure, you want your content redacted, click OK and save your file. Your files content has been redacted.

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