There are numerous self-learning options for those looking to enhance their Acrobat- and PDF-related skills, including books, DVDs, online seminars and so on. And then there are periodic special events -- such as two upcoming conferences -- where users can get totally immersed in an intensive educational experience, attending expert-led sessions and networking with fellow users from around the country and world.
Two such opportunities are on the horizon -- the Acrobat & PDF Central Conference in Minneapolis (Sept. 22-24) and Adobe MAX 2009 in Los Angeles (Oct. 4-7). Both promise a range of topical sessions for all levels of user experience, and feature top-notch speakers with differing areas of expertise. Here's a preview of the two events.
Acrobat & PDF Central Conference
First up is the fourth annual Acrobat & PDF Central Conference, sponsored by St. Paul-based Easel Solutions, a computer training and consulting company that offers numerous product-oriented courses, including Acrobat. Several of its staff members -- Angie Okamoto, Dustin Tauer and Mark Lehr -- are leading some of the 30 topical sessions at the conference. Other expert speakers are Ali Hanyaloglu, Paul Gilbertson, Ted Padova, Thom Parker, Lisa Croft, Laurie Weaver, Bob Connolly, Keith Gilbert and Duff Johnson.
Price reduction & AUC member discount
In recognition of the current economic downturn, the sponsors have actually lowered the cost from previous years, making it an even better value this year.
"In an effort to make the conference more accessible, we have decided to significantly reduce the price," says Jill Binau of Easel Solutions. "With the special $100 discount to AcrobatUsers.com members, they can now attend this amazing two-day conference for only $295."
"We may have lowered the price substantially," she says, "but we have expanded the course offerings and the number of experts attending the conference. This year, in addition to the Form Design, Creative & Print, and Technical Tracks, we have added a Communication Track. With the additional track we are offering more than 30 course sessions designed to enhance communication, increase productivity, extend creativity, and save time and money."
"We want individual users to walk away from the conference with countless useful ideas for how to better use Acrobat and PDF technologies in their day-to-day working environment," says Binau.
Rave reviews from returning speakers
Thom Parker of Windjack Solutions is one of the returning expert speakers who has nothing but raves for the event. "The PDF Central conference is my favorite conference," he says, "because it's specialized for exactly the kind of work we do. It's attended by all the experts, vendors, and Adobe representatives that are concerned with Acrobat and PDF and how they connect to and operate with the outside world. Since the conference is specialized, everyone is accessible and focused on the material."
Another speaker who's back for another conference is Duff Johnson of Appligent Document Solutions. "I go to these conferences mostly to listen," he says, "but also to provoke people, because it makes for better listening. You learn a lot about real needs when you challenge basic assumptions."
"The PDF Central Conference is worth attending for a wide range of professionals, ranging from CIOs to IT managers to records administrators and web content managers," says Johnson. "PDF is a growing part of almost every office and enterprise. Those who get the most out of PDF technology can realize bankable savings in their existing processes, and gain new opportunities as well."
Latest in Acrobat & Flash developments
Among the most popular new features in Acrobat 9 is the rich-media possibilities enabled by the integration of Adobe Flash, something that Bob Connolly of PDFPictures.com has been evangelizing for years. Connolly is back again to showcase the latest developments.
"With the release of Adobe Reader 9, high-quality Flash video playback inside of PDF is now available on the Mac and the PC," says Connolly. "Prior to this, the world of digital video in PDF was one riddled with incompatibilities depending on the format of the video, the computer platform and the version of Reader you had installed. I will be demonstrating how to incorporate Flash Video for Reader 9 and how to program a fallback using JavaScript so that users with previous versions of Adobe Reader can still experience digital video via QuickTime and Windows Media."
Live keynote webcasts & Twitter feeds
Ali Hanyaloglu of Adobe Systems will be attending and speaking again, and helping to coordinate the live broadcasting via Acrobat Connect of the daily keynotes on Wednesday and Thursday, first introduced successfully last year as a way to reach out to a virtual audience. In addition, a special Twitter hashtag [#pdfcon] has been set up to allow attendees, speakers and others to post tweets throughout the conference. The topical tweets will be compiled in near-real time on a special AcrobatUsers.com conference webpage.
Each day features its own keynote on a special theme. On Wednesday, the conference is trying a different approach for the opening keynote, with a group-presentation on the topic of "Going Green with Acrobat & PDF: Profitability and Sustainability in the Enterprise." According to Ted Padova, who is organizing the session, "the tone of the conference will be set by the keynote. Using Acrobat for sustainability is the underlying theme, and many speakers, I suspect, will follow along with the importance of using Acrobat and PDF -- not just a broad description of how-tos, but the why consideration for using Acrobat."
According to Padova, author of the Adobe Acrobat PDF Bible series of books, "Going green initiatives began in 1987, and since that time, billions of dollars have been spent on programs to help sustain the environment. Yet one of the easiest and least costly approaches to green efforts -- that has been at the fingertips of computer users since 1993 -- has not been fully utilized," a reference to the release of Acrobat 1.0.
Describing the keynote's intent, Padova says that "rather than talk about multi-million-dollar, alternative-energy programs, this panel will offer methods for individual users to help advance sustainability using Acrobat tools and features and PDF that can be employed today. Panel members will share ideas and solutions for individuals in any office, and discuss the impact on a global community of how we conduct business at home."
On Thursday, Joe Burbach, head of Interactive and Public Relations for Gabriel deGrood Bendt in Minneapolis, will give a presentation titled "The 5 Golden Rules of Client Management and How Acrobat Can Help." Burbach will demonstrate "how to use Adobe Acrobat & PDF to unlock the secrets of successful client relationships and communications." And in the process, he will showcase how some of the new and powerful Acrobat tools such as Portfolio and Web Capture make it easier -- and even more fun -- to keep the clients happy.
Chance to chat with Ali
The Acrobat PDF Central Conference conference will close late Thursday afternoon with a special Q&A Panel with the Experts, offering a final chance for attendees to get their most-pressing, Acrobat-related questions addressed by the assembled experts.
Hanyaloglu says he views the event "as an opportunity to hear what others' experiences are with Acrobat, how they are using it, what they like, and what they would like to see in the future."
"The most rewarding thing about the Acrobat and PDF Central Conference for me" says Hanyaloglu, "is when attendees come up to me after the sessions saying something like 'I learned something new that I never knew Acrobat could do,' or 'Wow: I didn't realize Acrobat could even help me for this particular problem I had.'"
Adobe MAX 2009
At the considerably larger and broader Adobe MAX 2009 event in Los Angeles a few weeks later -- October 4-7 -- there's a session on the theme titled "I Didn't Know Acrobat Could Do That." Lori DeFurio and Ian Campbell will explore and explain what's possible with Acrobat 9, "from creating a PDF Portfolio and embedding multimedia in your documents to creating and distributing Acrobat forms (with calculations) to adding navigation aids (links, buttons, or bookmarks) to your content."
Hands-on with Acrobat 9
According to Joel Geraci of Adobe Systems, who has helped coordinate the Acrobat-related topics, the 90-minute, hands-on lab session is always one of the most popular. "Sign up early," he advises attendees who want in on the third-annual session.
This year, according to DeFurio, "We'll be covering new topics, including how to embed and work with multimedia in Acrobat, and how to work with the built-in workflows for data collection and content review."
Campbell says "the great thing about the Acrobat sessions is that you really learn a lot in a short time -- but in a fun way. So when you go back and launch Acrobat, you can make use of new techniques straight away."
"MAX is unlike any other conference I go to," he says. "It has a buzz all its own. I think that's because at heart it is all about the products themselves, and the great things that users and developers can do with them -- with none of that PR hype you sometimes get at similar events. Take the Sneak Peeks for example, where you get to see some potential future features. They're based on real technology that actually works rather than some phony simulation."
Campbell will also headline a session titled "PDF Files via the Web: Creating a Better Experience."
Expert speakers, hot topics
Other Acrobat sessions and speakers highlighted by Geraci, who will lead a session titled "ActionScript in Acrobat: Portable RIAs and PDF Portfolios Demystified," include:
- Donna Baker, prolific book author who will cover "Best-kept Secrets of Acrobat Revealed: Batches, Fixes, and Checks."
- Thom Parker of WindJack Solutions, who will share his Acrobat JavaScript wisdom in his "Scripting PDF: Inside the Acrobat JavaScript SDK" presentation.
- Harry Hemus, who Geraci says "will show how he uses PDF as the ultimate delivery vehicle for packaging audio, video and lyrics in non-linear, highly designed format in a session explaining how to "Wow Your Audience with Multimedia PDF Documents."
You can save $200 with the early-bird discount if you register for MAX by September 18.
Baker, a returning speaker, says Adobe MAX is "an incredible opportunity to connect and share information with hundreds of people that share the same interests I do. You don't find that experience very often! It's a chance to dig into the depths of the software I work with every day, and learn about it from the perspective of both those who create it, and others like me who are passionate users."
Multimedia makeover for 'humble old PDF'
On his much-anticipated session and personal philosophy, Hemus says "In many ways I am on a one-man mission -- it feels like that sometimes for me in the UK -- to revitalize the humble old PDF, as it does seem to have a bit of an image problem. I am convinced that it is perceived as a tool/format that is 'stuck' in a business/administration-centric world, and is something that 'you send to printers or convert from MS Word documents.'"
"I never thought that was the case anyway, even before the huge leap for mankind that was Acrobat/Reader 9," he says. "Yes, PDF is a highly sophisticated business tool, but for me, it's all about delivering such business collateral beautifully branded and designed. Why does a tax form need to be boring? Throw a bit of media at it and a few buttons for the user to play with."
Look up Lori
Despite the current economic woes, DeFurio believes that the cost of attending MAX is money well spent -- for a variety of reasons."I know that in this economy, everyone is thinking harder about how they spend their budgets," says DeFurio. "However, MAX is an excellent opportunity to learn new techniques and best practices, and to talk one-on-one with experts who can help solve business problems. In fact, this year in the Adobe booth there will be an "Ask the Expert" station staffed with Adobe's team of evangelists from all product lines."
"I hope our readers do attend, and look me up," DeFurio says. "I'll be either in the classroom or the Adobe booth."
Consider yourselves invited -- to expand your Acrobat skills at one or both of these highly regarded, information-rich events.