Acrobat Agility

The PDF file type is incredibly versatile. PDF files may be created in many ways, including via the Print dialog in Windows and macOS and the Save dialog in many applications. PDF files may also be be edited using a variety of applications, one of the most powerful being the full Acrobat application (not Reader), which is available to DET staff through Creative Cloud. Some people only see PDF as a way of presenting documents that can be easily shared but so much more can be done, such as:

• Annotate and mark up a document

• Combine PDF files and remove individual pages

• Create an electronic form that can be filled out online, saved and sent

• Digitally sign a document in a secure way that prevents unauthorised changed to the document

• Secure a document to prevent copying or printing, and password protecting a document

If there are any other features of the PDF file type that you feel should be added to this list, please let me know via the Suggestion Box.

HANDY HINT: It may be possible to extract the text from a secured PDF which has been copy-prohibited by taking a screen shot of the text then using text recognition OCR. Thanks to Ian Munn for this great hint!