Working in PDF Portfolios with Acrobat X

Working in PDF Portfolios with Acrobat X

Donna Baker – October 16, 2010

In this video, you'll learn about working with the contents of a PDF portfolio.

You'll see how to search for content in your portfolio.

I'll show you how to modify the content in your files, and how to print PDF files from a portfolio.

It can be difficult to find what you need in a large PDF portfolio.

Fortunately, you can use Acrobat X search features to quickly locate, review, or open a particular file, whether it's a PDF document or not.

Let's check out an example.

In my sample project, I've added tags to the documents listing a couple of keywords in the file that can help users find information faster.

To add tags in the Layout view, click the I icon on a card to flip it, type the tags, then click X to flip the card over.

If you're working with a larger collection of files, it's much quicker to work in the Details view.

Make sure the Tags checkbox is selected to show the column on the Details view.

Now you can quickly add tags to your files, and can even copy and paste content from one file's information to another.

Once the tags are added, save the file, and then click Preview to check out the file.Suppose a user wants to find a file dealing with a non-disclosure agreement, but doesn't know the name of the file.

Rather than having to scroll through many cards looking for the file, type the term you want to find in the Search field.

I'll look for the word "non-disclosure", and click the icon to start the search.

Acrobat X searches the contents of the files, including the tags I've added, and shows the results.

Since the file containing the term is a Microsoft Word document, I can't view it within the PDF portfolio.

Instead, I can click Open to launch Word and show the file.

Let's try another search.

This time, I'll search for the term "venue".

Acrobat X lists two files in my PDF portfolio containing the search term.

You see a "File Details" tooltip when I mouse over the results.

If I open the Details view, you'll see the term occurs in the Summary and Description I added to the Conference Attendee Guide file.Here's a final example.

By the way - I can start the search from either the Layout or Files view.

This time I'll search for the word "sponsor".

As you see, Acrobat X found two files containing many instances of the word.

Click a file name to open the list of returns.

The returns display five at a time on the Search Results panel.

If I click the first result, the document opens, the Bookmarks panel displays, and the first bookmark is highlighted.

Clicking the second result highlights another bookmark.

When I click the third bookmark, I return to the PDF portfolio layout, and the next few returns show a "File Details" tooltip again.

Click the down arrow to view the next five returns.

The PDF document opens automatically when I click a term located on a page within the file.

When you're finished, click to close the Search Results panel.

You can edit many files directly from within your PDF portfolio.

Double-click the card to open its full preview.

Then, click Open File to open it in Acrobat X.

If you check back in the PDF portfolio, you'll see an "Open" banner across the file's card.

Once the changes are made, click Save, and then close the file again.

You can also open non-PDF files right from the PDF portfolio.

Double-click a file's card to open the preview, and then click Open File.

The first time you use the feature, you'll see a dialog box asking you how to handle files.

Since I'm using a Microsoft Word document, which is very common in a PDF portfolio, I'll choose Always allow opening files of this type and click OK.

From now on, Acrobat X automatically opens Word documents.

I can make any changes I need, and then save and close the Word document.After I save the PDF portfolio, you'll see the changes I've made shown on the Word document's preview page.

Speaking of pages, you're often going to need to print some or all of your PDF portfolio contents.

There are different ways to print.

If you only want to print a few documents, pick their cards on the layout, or click Details to open the file view.

Select the files you want to print, and choose File > Print, or click Print.

One of the files I chose is a Word document, which needs to be printed separately.

Click OK to close the information dialog box, and open the Print dialog box.

Notice that the Selected PDF Files option is already active.

Instead, I can click All PDF Files to print the additional PDF files, too.

Choose the other settings you need, and click OK.