*** From the Archives ***
This article is from June 22, 2008, and is no longer current.
Acrobat 9 for InDesigners: PDF Portfolios
Acrobat 9 was announced on June 2, as David pointed out in a posting earlier this month. Since Acrobat 9 is due to be out “by July 2008,” according to the Adobe press release, I wanted to do some postings about some Acrobat 9 features that will be of particular interest to InDesign users. The one which I think is the most impressive is the incorporation of Flash into the PDF file format, and the new PDF Portfolio feature in Acrobat 9 and the free Reader 9. (I presented a free eSeminar on Acrobat 9 features this week on Adobe.com. I can’t tell you exactly when, but it should be posted to this link for Adobe’s On Demand eSeminars before too long.)
Here’s the problem that PDF Portfolios solve: You have a group of files you’d like to share with another person, or distribute to a number of people (a press kit, or a presentation, or whatever). The files are of various kinds?PDF files, a PowerPoint presentation, a video, a Word file, and the source files they were created from. How do you pass these files on to others in a way that gives them context? How do you get them to work on both Mac and Windows platforms? If you created a Zip archive, you couldn’t control the way they’d be viewed. Creating a website could be done, but it requires a lot of expertise. PDF Portfolios make the process easy.
Those of you who have used the PDF Package feature in Acrobat 8 know how handy this feature is to create a collection of PDF files and the other formats that Acrobat can read. The files retain their integrity within a single PDF file and can be imported and exported from the Package. A PDF Portfolio takes that to a much higher level! It can store PDF files along with any other kind of file within a single PDF file. But it provides a finished Flash interface of your choosing for viewing and manipulating the enclosed files. You can optionally add a welcome screen and/or a header to introduce the PDF Portfolio. You can choose a layout appropriate for your audience. You can add comments to each file to explain it in context. Below is an example of a welcome screen for a collection of files I created in a short amount of time.
By default, the files are shown in a Basic Grid layout shown below. I included some PDF files, two FLV movies, a PowerPoint presentation, two JPEG files, and a folder of source files I describe below:
But you can choose from other layouts, like this Revolve layout, depending on your target audience. (Notice the similarity to Apple’s CoverFlow view from iTunes and the iPhone.)
The PDF Portolio can be viewed in either Acrobat 9 or the free Reader 9. You can control your view of the PDF Portfolio and manage the files using the toolbar across the top of the display (shown below). The icons (from left to right) take you to the Home view, Details view, Preview the current file, take you to the Welcome page, Save an individual file or the entire portfolio, Print the PDF files, Upload the Portfolio for emailing or sending to the hosted Acrobat.com service we’ll write about in another posting), and show a menu for editing the portfolio.
As I mentioned above, Acrobat 9 and Reader 9 can create PDF files which handle Flash video (FLV) and SWF files natively. This means you no longer have all the hassles of getting movie formats to play reliably, and the annoying authentication popups! I included a couple FLV files in my PDF Portfolio, including an episode from Michael Murphy’s The InDesigner video podcast. (I’ll describe how I did this in the next posting.) When you double-click on the FLV (converted to a PDF file so I could include a movie poster), it plays immediately. It shows a Flash control bar automatically.
I added a comment below each file to explain what it was. When you switch to Details view, you can see an OS-type view of the file details which can be sorted on each category. This includes a preview, filename, comments, and file information.
A PDF Portfolio can store any kind of file within it?even formats it doesn’t read. For example, I created a simple one-page InDesign file and made a PDF from it. Imagine that you’d like to distribute the InDesign file and all its linked files and fonts. I packaged the InDesign file, creating the usual structure of INDD file, Fonts folder, Links folder, and Instructions.txt. You can place an existing folder into a PDF Portfolio and it retains the structure, which you can see below.
The fonts, linked graphics, and InDesign files retain their integrity and can be saved out from the PDF Portfolio as needed.
In the next posting, I’ll explain more about how you can customize a PDF Portfolio and how you can handle video formats.
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All good. But it’s also all talk. Now give us a sample file, so we can SEE this for ourselves when the free Reader 9 is released. Pretty please?
I was planning on posting the file in the screen shots, if David and Anne-Marie let me, but it’ll have to wait until you can view it! Unless you’re a beta tester for Acrobat or Reader 9, it won’t look like this.
If you open a PDF Portfolio in Acrobat or Reader 8, it will look just like a PDF Package! If you open it in Acrobat or Reader 7, it will just show file attachments.
I assume we can expect a crippled Mac version of the PC Acrobat, as usual.
The features that weren’t available on the Mac because Microsoft crippled the Mac versions of Office products (no hooks for export of styles, hyperlinks. etc) are the same.
One bit of good news: Instead of focusing changes in forms creation on the Windows-only Lifecycle Designer, all the new forms features are using Acro forms, which are totally Mac and Windows compatible.
In general, almost all the new features are both Mac and Windows equivalent.
OK, Steve, thanks. I’m looking forward to both your sample file and Reader 9!
But have they made it a bit more responsive? Acrobat is getting pretty slow to use and I find myself opening PDFs more and more using Apple’s Preview unless I need to edit the PDF.
I haven’t done any timing tests, but it definitely launches faster for me. (Adobe claims 2-3 times faster launches.)
I’m still on the fence whether or not to get the upgrade to CS3.3. It’s a steep price when Acrobat 8 does the trick and you don’t need Fireworks (I’ve given up on making websites).
Let’s not forget that the majority of people won’t upgrade their Adobe Reader just because we tell them to to open our ‘cool new PDFs’, especially if they *can* open the files with their current software.
And what do those fancy-shmancy portfolio PDFs look like in alternative PDF viewers? Do you then get a warning they’re using old or incorrect software to get the most out of the PDF?
While I like the idea of the portfolio, I get this really strong urge to run in the opposite direction, just like I have from Flash and Flash-websites.
Roland, I believe the portfolios appear in earlier versions of Reader (at least v7 and v8) as a main file with attachments.
There are lots of neat features in Acro 9 … especially forms and preflighting … that merit a close look.
Roland, as I mentioned in comment #2, if you open the Portfolio in Acrobat 8 or Reader 8, you’ll get a dialog suggesting upgrading to Reader 9. It will be viewed like a PDF Package. If you open it in Acrobat 7 or Reader 7, the files will be attachments (with a similar warning).
I’ll try to cover some other useful features in future postings here.
This is actually a very cool way to package and share files with clients or co-workers to assure that everyone is on the same page on a project.
Think about packing up a few InCopy packages along with Word and Excel files and PDF back up.
Put it all on Acrobat.com and everyone’s in synch no matter where they are.
Once folks see and hear the benefits of Reader 9 and the fact that it’s FREE, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get them to upgrade.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Acrobat 9 has some swell functions for groovy tech folks, but I’m a natural skeptic and simply don’t see it working in the real world. At least not in my world, the kind of world where people only upgrade software when the old stops working, their IT people (one in every 10-15 companies I work for have IT people) force them to upgrade, or the new version comes with a new computer.
Acrobat 9 has been officially released.
> Steve: Do you know there’s a way to create “splashing” images in your old PDFs ( Klaus: alive?
(previous message has been troncated…)
> Steve: Do you know there’s a way to create “splashing” images in your old PDFs?
I’m automating this fonctionality for InDesign (script in progress!).
See a sample here:
https://marcautret.free.fr/geek/indd/splashinpdf/SplashInPDF.zip
> Klaus: alive?
I don’t know what you mean by splashing images. No access to a computer. Only my iPhone.I’m on vacation this week.
> I?m on vacation this week.
Lucky guy ;-)
By “splashing”, I mean “(splash) screen images” activated by buttons (showing, closing, navigating).
In French we say “fenetres ou images surgissantes”, does anybody have the good translation?
@+
Marc
Yes, Steve and Marc, Klaus is still alive. Thanks for inquiring. :-)
FYI: The free Adobe Reader 9 software will be available “by early July” according to Adobe’s announcement today.
I checked out the Portfolio thing, and I have to say it’s pretty useless unless you combine a bunch of Acrobat-readable files (Word docs, PSDs, etc. won’t show in Acrobat, TIFFs don’t get previews 90% of the time), and even then it apparently needs to open the ’embedded’ files (such as PDFs) in new windows, making a mess of things.
Maybe once Acrobat hits its 10th version it’ll be improved upon, but the way it works now it’s simply a gimmick.
Checking for PDF changes is cool though. That feature just saved me 20 minutes when a customer sent me a file and insisted it was new.
For what it’s used for, combining disparate files and putting them into a presentation, what’s the competition? How would you do it?
I didn’t have time to include this in the original write-up, but you can preview Word docs, PSD files if you have the right OS. You can see Office files and PSD files in Leopard because it uses the QuickLook technology. You can see Office files if you have Windows Vista, or if you have the latest version of Windows Office. If you have Mac OS X Tiger or Windows XP you’re out of luck.
This is a big advance over PDF Packages (in Acrobat 8).
Steve, most folks I know don’t use Mac, won’t invest in the latest MS Office (I’ve gotten several to switch to OpenOffice) and won’t touch Vista with a 10-foot stick. And while my experience doesn’t equal market research, it’s well known that both the Mac and Vista don’t have big enough market shares yet.
The way PDF Portfolios work now, I’d rather convert everything to PDF using InDesign and send one ‘plain’ PDF over to folks. At least that way everyone can open it all and get the information I want to get across without having to tell them where to get what software to get it to work.
Sure, as a means for packaging multiple file types it’s nice, but sending a regular ZIP file is easier. The interface (at least in Acrobat 9 Pro) isn’t user-friendly and dummy-proof enough with the three small buttons for the views and double-click to open in a new window (or separate program that you might don’t have).
The biggest mistakes people make are 1) over-estimating people’s intelligence and 2) expecting others to own the software they have. Adobe fell for both.
Anyone get Reader v9 (no, I don’t have Acrobat) to actually install and run on a Mac?
I’m running OS v10.4.11 on a PPC mac. I downloaded the proper version, but every time I try to launch it, it immediately crashes with an “internal error.” Same for any web browser that attempts to use the accompanying plug-in to view PDFs. Had to manually remove v9 and it’s plug-in to get v8’s plug-in to work again.
Tried downloading it a couple of times, rebuilding permissions, etc. No joy.
Strange, Scott. I can’t explain that. Does Acrobat/Reader 8 work on your system?
v8.1.2 works without a hitch. As does the Acrobat.com that v9 installs. Luckily the v9 installer doesn’t mess with the v8.1.2 installation, so it’s easy to go back.
Someone else with exactly the same problem:
https://gusmueller.com/blog/archives/2008/07/adobe_reader_9_is_out!.html
Weird.
Finally got it to run.
For anyone who may be running into this problem and searching for a solution: Reader v9 can have problems with the data stored in your Application Support folder and won’t launch. If you are getting the less than helpful “internal error” after installing and trying to run Reader v9 for the first time, you must delete this data. Delete the contents of Library (the one in your users folder)/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/ and you’ll be good to go.
Thank you very much Scott!!! Now Reader is finally running, but I also had to delete the Adobe folder from the (/Library/Application Support) directory
I have an Acrobat portfolio BUT when I sent it to people using a PC they cannot see the Acrobat portfolio format. They only see the files. WHY?
Am I supposed to format the portfolio in a different manner for PC viewing?
Please advise ?
THANK YOU
Jose, there’s nothing special you need to do for cross-platform stuff. Probably the PC users don’t have Reader 9 installed. (Only Reader/Acro v9 can see portfolios.) Reader 8 and Reader 7 show one PDF with attachments.
Is there any way to combine multiple PDF portfolios into a single PDF portfolio?
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