Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

by Adobe

Product Features

• Deliver the richest, most engaging PDF communications anytime, anywhere
• Unify the widest range of content--including documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, images, video, 3D, and maps--in a single compressed and organized PDF Portfolio
• Collaborate through shared document reviews, help protect and control sensitive information--quickly gain the input you need to efficiently develop and complete work
• Simplify the creation and completion of forms to efficiently analyze and use data
• Includes Adobe Presenter for rich-media presentations, video-to-Flash conversion, advanced geospatial collaboration with PDF maps

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0018R0AY0
• Item model number: 62000237
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 30, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,602 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #37 in Software > Business & Office > Document Management > Document Creation

Product Description

Amazon.com

Create and share professional work with virtually anyone, anywhere. Unify the widest range of content--including documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, images, video, 3D, and maps--in a single compressed and organized PDF Portfolio. Collaborate through shared document reviews. Create interactive forms and collect data easily. Help protect and control sensitive information. Extend Acrobat functionality to users of Adobe Reader software. And take advantage of the complete PDF feature set.

Communicate and collaborate more easily and securely with Adobe PDF. For a more in-depth comparison, download a feature comparison (PDF format).

Share dynamic work in a dynamic way
Use Adobe Presenter, included with Acrobat 9 Pro Extended software, to liven up your Microsoft PowerPoint slides. Add video, voice-over, demos, and interactive quizzes to keep your audience engaged and improve knowledge retention. Save your presentation as a PDF file so people can view it wherever they are, whenever it's convenient.

Unify the Widest Range of Content
Assemble documents, drawings, e-mail, spreadsheets, and rich media--including video, audio, 3D, and maps--in a single compressed PDF Portfolio. Choose one of many professional templates to quickly integrate content, define navigation, incorporate branding, and add polish to your PDF Portfolio.

Choose one of many professional templates--or create your own--to quickly integrate content, define navigation, and add polish to your PDF Portfolios.

Acrobat lets you combine files from multiple applications into a single Adobe PDF document.

With a scanner and Acrobat's Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, you can turn stacks of paper documents into easily searchable electronic PDF archives.

Digitally sign and certify documents to validate they came from a trusted source.

Easily share video in PDF files
Native support for Flash technology can enable reliable, cross-platform sharing of video, animations, and applications in Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Convert a variety of video formats to FLV for playback in PDF files without needing a special media player.

Create and Manage Electronic Forms
Convert Microsoft Word and Excel documents or scanned paper to PDF forms with automatic recognition of fillable fields. Use Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES software, a professional form design tool included with Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, to create, customize, and automate dynamic XML forms. Use the Form Tracker to see when forms have been completed and who has completed them. Easily export data to a spreadsheet for analysis and reporting or into a database.

Help Protect Sensitive Information
Control access to and use of PDF documents, assign digital rights, and maintain document integrity. Set document permissions to define whether a file can be printed or changed. Apply passwords to help restrict document access. Use redaction tools to permanently remove sensitive information. Digitally sign and certify documents to validate they came from a trusted source. Create and reuse document security policies that can be easily applied to new PDF files.

Top reasons to buy Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

Explore new dimensions
Use new Adobe 3D Reviewer to combine CAD formats in one assembly; compare a revised design to an earlier version; measure and section on precise geometry; and create exploded views, animations, and ballons.  Export your work to 2D vector or raster files, or save as a PDF file and share using Adobe Presenter software.

Include Adobe Reader users
Enable users of free Adobe Reader software to digitally sign documents, participate in shared document reviews, and save forms locally. By extending Acrobat functionality to Reader users, virtually anyone can participate in the workflows you initiate.

Help protect your documents
Use passwords to help control access to PDF documents. Use permissions to restrict printing, copying, or altering. Save passwords and permissions as security policies that can be easily applied to new PDF files.

Permanently remove sensitive information
Use redaction tools to black out any text, illustrations, or confidential data--permanently deleting the content from your PDF document.  You can also inspect files for metadata, hidden layers, and concealed information.

Manage and track document reviews
Gain the input you need through interactive document reviews that enable participants to see and build on each other's comments, which can be sorted by author, date, or page. Use the Form Tracker to monitor progress and participation.

Save time with PDF forms
Send out electronic forms with complete confidence.  Anyone with free Adobe Reader software (version 8 or later) can fill out, save, digitally sign, and return your PDF forms.  It's fast, easy, and always legible.

Synchronize document views
Ensure colleagues, clients, and partners are on the same page at the same time with the ability to co-navigate documents. To provide clarity and enhance discussion, e-mail a document and walk recipients through it in real time by controlling the exact page view they see.

Find lost files fast
Keep your documents organized easily.  Simply convert and archive all your e-mails and attachments into searchable PDF files--directly from Microsoft Outlook and Lotus notes.  The next time you need to find something, it's only a keyword away.

Compare PDF documents
Automatically highlight the differences between two versions of a PDF document, including text and images, so you can quickly and easily identify what has changed.

View and interact with PDF maps
Search, measure, and mark up geospatially enabled PDF maps. Discover the longitude and latitude by placing your cursor over a location.

Product Description

Take advantage of the complete feature set in Adobe Acrobat 9 software - plus Adobe Presenter and Adobe LiveCycle Designer - to deliver the richest, most engaging PDF communications. Unify the widest range of content - including documents, spreadsheets,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly complex, but highly capable, October 20, 2009

By 

Comdet - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended (DVD-ROM)

(What's this?)

Adobe Acrobat 9 comes in three versions: Standard, Pro and Pro Extended. I've been using the Standard version for about a year and have been very pleased with it (I reviewed the Standard version a while back). The Pro Extended does everything the Standard and Pro versions do, but adds in several new features, most notably the ability to "wrap" a variety of formats, including video, into a PDF.

So why would you want to do this? Basically it makes distributing multimedia files much easier. As an example, I had a bunch of real estate info including photos, documents, and a movie file that I wanted to distribute. Rather than send all the info in different formats and hope that the person who wanted to see them had all the right plug-ins, I used Pro Extended to convert all the files into PDF format, then created a PDF portfolio that encompassed all the parts. Now, all the end-user needs to view all the content is the Acrobat Reader version 9. Simple to use and the PDF portfolio looks fantastic! There are a variety of templates you can select that make the final product look very professional.

You can do the same type of packaging with PowerPoint files to add video and audio, and distribute it as a package that the end-user can view with just the Reader. Pretty straightforward to do, but you have to use PowerPoint 2007 - does not seem to work with older versions. It also has the ability to work with maps, geospacial data, and CAD files (I don't use those so I didn't try it out).

I spend a lot of time working with Acrobat forms to collect research data. The Standard version handles the basics - you can create a static form (also called an AcroForm), put in logic, scripts, etc. The Pro and Pro Extended versions allow you to use LiveCycle Designer to offer flexible forms that are far more interactive. Rather steep learning curve, but I'm getting the hang of it. Really powerful capabilities that allow you to bind data to fields and create a form that adapts to the users' needs.

As with many Adobe products, this is complex to use. I've been using Acrobat since version 5, so the basics of creating and manipulating PDFs was not a problem - there are more choices, but the workflow is basically the same. Using some of the new features, such as converting a MOV file to a PDF, was pretty straightforward. It also allows you to clip just the portions of the video you want to use very easily - I just followed the prompts. But, to get the most out of the package I'll be buying either a book or perhaps signing up for a class. Adobe offers a lot of education that is excellent, but also pretty pricy. My complaint with this, as with all other Adobe products, is that I think the company should offer some type of manual or book when you purchase the product. There are webinars offered at no charge, but a manual would be nice given the product price.

This version of Acrobat is highly specialized and not for everyone. If you just want to create a PDF from a Word or Excel document, or mark up/edit a PDF, you can get by very well with a third party PDF creator. This is intended for more intensive (mainly business) needs. For example, those in legal offices will appreciate the ability in the Pro versions to permanently redact info from a PDF.

Also, keep in mind that the Standard version of Acrobat 9 is pretty capable - it will handle all the basics (including form creation) at about one-third of the price of the Pro Extended version. There is a matrix at the Adobe site that compares the three version. Be sure to check that out before you purchase anything to see if the features you want to use are available in the cheaper versions.

No compatibility or install issues. I'm running this under XP with SP3, 2GB RAM, Core2 Duo at 3GHz. Good performance for everything other than video work, which bogged me down a bit. If I find myself doing more video now that I can package it into a PDF, I'll probably get a faster machine.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very specialized version for very specialized needs, October 28, 2009

By 

Grieger (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended (DVD-ROM)

(What's this?)

If you've got to do anything other than reading a PDF or don't mind weird conversion issues with other third-party tools, you've pretty much got to stick with Adobe's Acrobat to do anything of note with a PDF.

Don't get me wrong. Despite the monopoly on their technology (after all, they created it so...), Adobe's done a decent job (of late) trying to push the tools to better arm you with what you need to go nuts with PDF docs. You can output PDFs more readily and without as many hiccups from Word docs and Powerpoint presentations as you used to.

And, the latest version brings all those tools to bear. But, the key point is which edition do you need? The simple break down is as follows:

Standard - PDF Conversion and document security

Pro - Above plus Form layout control and collaboration.

Pro Extended - 3D model and geospatial support, video conversion, very specialized stuff.

So, which one really depends on your needs. Do you need to create interactive forms that allow the user to sign a document electronically? Pro's for you. Just need to be able to author a document in Word and convert it to PDF so you can share it without worrying about people modifying and sending out some edited version? Standard will work just fine. Doing 3D modeling/CAD work and want to put the model in a spec doc to allow someone to review some engineering project you're on? Pro Extended.

For the average user, though, the Pro Extended is overkill (and twice as expensive as Pro). For people who need that extra support, then you've finally got it.

I tried testing the 3D and map features out with some models I downloaded and shapefiles I found on the Web (most government agencies that deal with zoning tend to offer up shapefiles to the public). Most major CAD and 3D programs are supported (or rather commercial ones--couldn't import a Blender model) and it's actually pretty easy to import and place in your doc. Once there, you can adjust some settings (like background and such) but the Reader app takes care of the rest. For readers that don't support the feature (for example, if you open a PDF in Gmail and pass it through Google's doc reader), you'll get the default view of the model as a static image. But, for any recent version of Reader (I tried Reader 8 on a Mac), you get full controls to rotate, zoom, re-light, and switch the model between different versions (like wireframe, simple shaded, etc.).

On the flip side, trying to import shapefiles resulted in failure for me. I tried a couple of different shape files (with the proper supporting files on hand, so it wasn't that) that would've worked just fine in an app like ArcGIS but here I just got an error saying Acrobat couldn't import it, try another file. Helpful.

While we're on the downside of the review, it should be noted I ran into a highly consistent bug. If I was browsing for a file to add (video, 3d, shapefile, whatever) and I happened upon a folder with videos in it (like My Documents/My Videos), after a few seconds, the entire app crashes. Bam, gone. The view was set to thumbnail view (not my choice) and if I'm able to quickly switch to detail view it seems to work. Just an odd bug to not clear out of there (and despite having downloaded an update right after installation) when video is a big part of the feature set.

To bring it back to the upside, the Adobe Presenter PowerPoint add-on is a really nice addition. It lets you essentially take a PowerPoint presentation and automate its delivery so you can publish a presentation on the Web. You can record audio and video and create quizzes which allows someone to offer a mini-class that establishes whether or not someone understood the concepts from the previous section of slides. If a slide has video or audio attached to it (from the Presenter tool) the slide will stay up as long as that audio or video is playing. If it doesn't have either, you can configure how long people sit on a slide before it automatically continues. It's definitely a very interesting tool and while you can get it on its own (from Adobe directly or resellers...Amazon doesn't offer it) it's going to set you back almost as much as the Pro Extended edition.

All in all, despite that glaring bug, the rest of the ride was pretty smooth. This package is definitely made for people who need those 3D and mapping features. If you aren't one of those, stick with the Standard or Pro versions.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do you need this? If so, it is amazing!, October 28, 2009

By 

Just a guy (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended (DVD-ROM)

(What's this?)

95% of people do not need this. If you are reading this you probably will be using this professionally and you already know all about the advertised features of this software. You want to know how it runs, does it freeze and how much of a memory hog is it. In short, this does everything you want it to . . . and more.

For me, the key feature of this is that it allows you to embed video into pdf documents. That is really very cool. It means anyone with a pdf reader can view your video - for international applications, that is huge. You can add photos and much more.

The software comes on two DVDs, although the second DVD is only the 3D capture utility. I will admit that I really couldn't tap the full power of this extra add-on. I just don't have the expertise to know what that is useful for.

I am an attorney and really appreciated the enhanced redaction features. Those worked really well and I am told that they are more secure than the lesser versions of adobe acrobat.

There is no printed documentation. Everything is on-screen and the few times I have used the help features I was able to figure out what I needed to do. Help is well written although it seems to assume a fairly high degree of knowledge - which makes sense given the typical user of this program is likely using this as part of their profession.

The installation went very smoothly on my Vista 64bit system. I have office 2007 installed and it integrated itself with powerpoint. It also installed a toolbar in internet explorer.

I have not noticed any conflicts and it doesn't seem to leave any extra bits running when it is not in use.

Overall, I think this is a very good program, and uber-professionals will appreciate its many features.

If I went into each feature in this review, the review would be pages and pages long. If you have a specific question, put it in the comments and I will do my best to answer.