Customer Reviews

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Please note: this is a review of the Adobe Presenter software, which is not readily available outside of the Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended.

Adobe Presenter claimed to take your Power Point presentations and enable you to add audio to it to create a flash video presentation. What is not widely known, is that the audio only works successfully if you have a seperate audio file for EACH individual slide.

We wanted to take an audio and add a Power Point presentation to illustrate what is being spoken. In Adobe Presenter, the audio cuts out 1-2 seconds for each slide transition.

After 2 1/2 hours on the phone with Adobe support, and the Adobe technician taking our files and creating the video- it still cut out 1-2 seconds of the audio for each slide transition. According to the Adobe support technician this is a known problem.

If you are considering buying this for the Adobe Presenter software- do NOT waste your time and money. We are hoping to get enough use out of the other features of the Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended to make it worth the $600 spent.

Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is a remarkable piece of software which integrates beautifully into my existing Microsoft Office 2007 suite, including Visio 2007.

The features for forms, reviewing, security, conversion and collaboration make this outstanding tool stand second to none. The new PDF portfolio allows different types of related documents to be combined into a single, convenient PDF collection, while the ability to include Flash media into your documents makes this version of Acrobat most versatile.

The useful web conversion features work fine through Internet Explorer's right click menu, however it seems that an Acrobat interface is lacking in Google Chrome as far as I can tell.

I absolutely love this software, as it changes the entire computing experience from a productivity perspective. The clean interface is very intuitive and is simple to use. The flexible options are well-grouped and easy to utilize. The functionality goes a long way toward making document conversion truly convenient and virtually effortless.

I regularly receive e-mails with PDF attachments that I need to use for work. Finally I can save these files in Microsoft Excel, Word or numerous other formats easily. For PDFs that are been scanned the OCR is by far the best I've ever seen. Creating PDFs can be as simple as a 3 click operation. You can also convert is p multiple files into a single PDF. This program has many more options on it that I have not discovered or utilized. Unfortunately this program is not as intuitive as Microsoft office 2007 nor could fined good documentation on how to best use and utilize this program.

I have typically been pretty skeptical of Acrobat. My main complaint was always that the program simply took too long to load. But we were all tied to it in some way, shape or form, weren't we? Every form available over the internet is .pdf. Every document a client sends you is .pdf. I never gave Adobe much credit since they were the 800-pound gorilla; they make the program everyone has to use, so why worry about its performance? Maybe some competition finally opened up with freeware .pdf-writing programs. This version of Acrobat simply flies. I love it.

I have also spent significantly more time building forms with this version. I am working to standardize some of my own processes with form templates. The best comparison I can make is that the LiveCycle Designer is almost like looking at form design in Microsoft Access. If you are familiar with that, the concept is basically the same. There are some tricks to finding where the code goes behind the scenes, which I was disappointed with, but otherwise it is a helpful tool if you need to build forms.

This is a hefty investment. One that is probably tough to swallow unless you know you can derive benefit from each offering that comes included. For personal use, this is probably too expensive. But there are a lot of ways this can help businesses of all sizes. So think about how much money you can save by not printing invoices (and convert them to .pdf and e-mail them instead) and how much time you can save by standardizing forms in your office.

If you have used PDFs before, you know how nice they can be to read and pass around. If you dig a little deeper and are a developer or someone that creates PDFs, you understand even more the importance of this technology and how portable it is. If you dig even that much deeper, you know how essential PDFs are in some parts of the world --- business, legal, etc.

Simply stated, while expensive Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended 9 is a whiz band software tool that takes the automatic car and replaces it with a manual Porsche. It's hard to review this without getting into too many specifics, but when you create PDFs you need to have the ability to do lots of things and go as far as the technology will allow. This piece of software is one of the finest things Adobe creates and if you are in any type of position where you need to make PDFs you need this software today.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

It's very important to become familiar with Adobe's entire Acrobat product line if you're thinking of buying Acrobat 9 Pro Extended. It comes with a very high price tag, it's loaded with features, and it uses a lot of system resources. This version is not for the casual user; it's a highly sophisticated document preparation package that is very powerful and requires a fairly steep learning curve.

That being said, in my opinion the most important new feature of this package is the ability to create a PDF portfolio combining different kinds of files, including video and audio. For example, you can create a full media kit combining documents and multimedia files into a single PDF document.

Also, just isolating the multimedia aspect of it, you can now convert multimedia files and embed them as Flash files that play within PDF documents exported from this Pro Extended edition. Eight multimedia formats are supported.

I also like the Compare PDF function, which allows you to see highlighted differences between two versions of the same document--very helpful, and I'm sure it will help ward off some embarrassing or damaging customer complaints.

There's a lot more. As is customary with Adobe products, you can download a free 30-day trial version from their website to see if this meets your needs.

I am always amazed at how well thought out and functional Adobe makes things and Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is no exception. This works well as a stand-alone program as well as an add-in for others (such as MS Word, Outlook, Excel, etc.).

Acrobat Pro 9 Extended does most all of the traditional PDF-type stuff with the added functionality of LifeCycle which enables you to make creative and highly interactive forms which can be used in a myriad of applications.

Net sum: This is an outstanding program.