Adobe Acrobat 5 PDF Bible (Paperback)

~ Ted Padova (Author) "If, after perusing your local bookstore, you decided to lay down your money at the counter, carry away this ten-pound volume, and take it to..." (more)
Key Phrases: Acrobat Distiller, Job Options, Adobe Acrobat (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With 100% of what you need to know about Adobe Acrobat and PDF, this critically acclaimed, authoritative reference has now been completely updated and enhanced to cover the powerful new release of Adobe Acrobat.

From the Back Cover

If Acrobat 5 can do it, you can do it too...Whether you're a graphic artist or prepress specialist looking for the most efficient way to deliver files to clients and printers, a Webmaster repurposing information for your Web site, or a manager aiming to cut software licensing costs and streamline information distribution, you need this book. Packed with insider tips and innovative ideas, Acrobat 5 PDF Bible delivers all the information you need to create files that anyone can view, annotate, edit, print, and publish — regardless of platform, software, or media. Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Acrobat and PDF files

• Cut review cycles by having people annotate PDFs online
• Use Adobe Acrobat 5 to edit PDF documents and prepare them for print, Web, and screen viewing
• Convert Web pages into PDF files automatically using Web Capture
• Use PDF instead of HTML when viewing, downloading, or posting information on the Web
• Discover how to work with multimedia, thumbnails, and hyperlinks in PDF
• Create and upload a PDF e-book
• Use JavaScript when creating interactive dynamic PDF forms
• Import and export PDF files from and to other Adobe programs
• Rectify output to different imaging devices using the Distiller's Job Options
• Extend Acrobat 5's functionality with third-party plug-ins

Over 60 Acrobat 5 plug-ins, utilities, and software demos

• Crackerjack evaluation version
• PDF Toolbox and Arts tools demo versions
• A searchable PDF version of the book plus example files

Shareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, register with their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like—free—but they have no technical support.

System Requirements: PC with Windows 9x or higher; Mac OS 8.1 or higher; 64MB RAM

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Product Details

• Paperback: 792 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764535773
• ISBN-13: 978-0764535772
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #495,473 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Less padding, more accurate detail please, October 9, 2001

By	diana notter "diananotter" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

I'm also an Acrobat ACE, and was looking forward to reading what was billed as 'the definitive book on the subject'.

In fact I was more than a little disappointed: the book has a definite feel of being 'padded out' with unnecessary information and repetition, and despite its size I felt that some areas were skimmed over.

I note that the author's range of expertise is quite wide, which might explain why I got the impression that the author knew more about the theory of the product than the practicals. In particular, he makes the serious mistake of assuming that in Acrobat 5 the job settings for distilling are shared between the Distiller app itself and the Distiller Printer driver.

In fact, they are entirely separate; this was a (major) change from Acrobat 4, and the fact that he has not picked up on this major feature made me begin to question some of his other pronouncements.

Rather than quibble about a number of other small errors I noticed, I would make the general comment that Mr Padova is not great at explaining concepts. While reading his rather turgid prose, I was thinking to myself that if I - as a certified Acrobat person - was having to re-read paragraphs, a new user dipping into the text was going to have problems.

Bit of a curate's egg - too dense for the new or average user, and falls short of being the Bible that an advanced user requires.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best reference manual for Adobe Acrobat to date..., September 9, 2001

By	Patrick Koster (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

I am an Adobe Certified Expert / Adobe Certified Training Provider and have been training individuals and corporate groups nationwide on Adobe Acrobat since version 3.0. The evolution of Adobe Acrobat throughout the years has been truly amazing and the need for comprehensive reference manuals to explain features and workflows are a necessity as this product continues to evolve.

Ted Padova's Adobe Acrobat 5 PDF Bible meets the needs of users at all levels. It has an indepth section covering the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader (for the majority of people in the world) as well detailed sections covering all the major components of the full version - Distiller, Acrobat (and its multitude of plugins), and Catalog. I believe the book is well-organized and has many great workflow ideas as well as tips and techniques to give even the most savvy user new ideas.

To counter those who give this reference manual a low score I suggest that they become better acquainted with the product by first using Adobe Acrobat 5.0 Classroom in a Book (CIB). After you have completed the self-paced lessons in the CIB, PDF Bible will seem less overwhelming.

My only complaint with this manual is that there are a few errors in terms of labeling the application window for Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and since this book was written during the beta phase for Adobe Acrobat 5.0, it misses out on some of the new developments from Adobe - new plugins, Adobe Acrobat Approval, Adobe Acrobat Distiller Server, Adobe Acrobat Messenger, and Adobe Document Server. For those who wish to learn more about these products, just visit Adobe's website and click on the Products link.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ample reference, October 20, 2001

By	Jennifer L. Berger "malleron" (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although I enjoy reading reference books (yes, I need a life) I found this one to be rather dry. Acrobat is a powerful application and version 5 is actually quite fun to use, but I didn't find this book particularly insightful about things I didn't already know about Acrobat. Still, I refer to this book occasionally when I become forgetful, and for that I will keep this on my desk, at the ready. If you've tinkered with Acrobat and you're ready to become more of a power user, this book will get you up to speed with little pain.