I. Frequently Asked Questions.

 

 

1. What does PDF stand for? Portable Document Format.

 

2. What is PDF?  According to Adobe, PDF “is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world, with a ten-year track record. PDF is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it.”

 

3. Do I really need to know anything about the underlying technology? No. Here’s what does matter, again from Adobe, “Adobe® PDF files are compact and complete, and can be shared, viewed, and printed by anyone with free Adobe Reader® software.”

 

4. What’s the difference between the Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat? In simplest terms, Adobe Acrobat lets you create and read PDF files, while Adobe Reader only lets you read PDF files. In addition, the Adobe Reader is free and Adobe Acrobat costs several hundred dollars.

 

5. How common is the PDF format? Over 500 million copies of the Adobe Reader have been distributed.

 

6. If I have the Adobe Reader, can I create PDF files with it? Nope.

 

7. What documents can I turn into PDF files? Any document you want.

 

8. Why does PDF matter to lawyers? PDF is the standard format for electronic filing in the federal court system and is or will be the standard format for electronic filing in state courts.

 

9. If I’m not a litigator, why would I be interested in PDF? Where do I begin? Anyone with Adobe Reader can open and use your document, even if they do not have the program used to create the original document. You can prevent revisions and adopt other security settings for documents. PDF preserves the original document formatting, allows for comments and highlighting, and provides a number of other useful features. In many cases, PDF files are smaller than other files. PDF gives you a good way to move toward a paperless office. You can scan documents directly into PDF or use PDF to create an electronic archive. You can even set up audit trails and enable digital signatures.

 

10. All I need to do all of this is to download the free Adobe Reader, right? No, no, no. The Adobe Reader only allows you to read PDF files. Adobe Acrobat is required to create PDF files. I want to be clear on this point.

 

11. Doesn’t Adobe Acrobat cost a zillion dollars?  A quick check of Amazon.com shows that Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Standard is $280 and Adobe Acrobat Professional is $420. If you own certain prior versions, the Standard upgrade version is $87 and the Professional upgrade version is $128. Adobe’s own prices are slightly higher, but Adobe is currently offering a discount on a comprehensive training package. For the lowest prices, check Shopper.com (http://www.shopper.com) or Froogle (http://www.froogle.com).

 

12. How about volume discounts? Surprisingly, volume discounts may be available for as few as five users (see http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/openoptions/main.html).

 

13. OK, do I want the Standard version or the Professional version? In most cases, lawyers will be happy with the Standard version. Consider the professional version if you want to create electronic forms or do electronic publishing. Adobe’s website has some useful comparison charts (http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/openoptions/main.html). Adobe also offers an animated tour of Acrobat Professional at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html that will help you see the features.

 

14. Aren’t there other (cheaper) ways to create PDF documents? YES! A number of software packages allow you to create PDF files as a program feature. WordPerfect (newer versions) is a good example. The free OpenOffice Suite is another. Microsoft Office does not have this feature. There are also many stand-alone PDF creation programs available at little cost. See the list at http://www.pdfzone.com/bguide/product/SearchResults.asp.

 

15. Why shouldn’t I use one of the free or cheaper alternatives? It depends on your needs. If all you want to do is create PDF files, using one of the alternatives may make good sense. However, Acrobat’s benefits include a large of security, navigation and other features, which may not be present in alternative programs. If you already own WordPerfect, for example, using its PDF creation features would be a good choice to start with, unless you had specific needs that only Adobe Acrobat could provide.

 

16. Would you use alternative PDF tools for electronic filing? I’m not a litigator, but, given the small cost of Adobe Acrobat in comparison to a malpractice claim, I’d choose Adobe Acrobat to avoid any possibility whatsoever of any incompatibility or other problem that might prevent a court from accepting or reading my electronic filing. However, I’m pretty cautious. If you miss a deadline, for example, and you use a free PDF tool that the court couldn’t process, you’ll look pretty bad.

 

17. I have an older version of Adobe Acrobat than version 6.0. Must I upgrade? It depends on your needs and the requirements of those who you share PDF files with. I’m known to favor the newest versions of programs. If you have a multi-user office, I’d suggest getting one copy of 6.0 for one user and letting your other users stay on the older versions until any difficulties arose. At worst, you could recreate a PDF file original done in an older version with 6.0 if a problem showed. Acrobat 6.0 has been on the market for a while now – that also argues for going with 6.0. Unfortunately, my quick check shows that there is little price difference between version 5.0, if you can find it, and 6.0.

 

18. You said that Microsoft Office will not let you create PDF files, but I know people who do that. Aren’t you just plain wrong? Microsoft Office alone will not create PDF files. However, if you install Acrobat (not Reader), you can install a “convert to PDF” tool and menu into Word and the other Office programs. The people you see creating PDF files in Word have installed Adobe Acrobat.

 

19. Let’s assume that you convinced me to buy one of the versions of Adobe Acrobat 6.0. What do you recommend as my first step? I’d buy a copy of Doug Sahlin’s How to Do Everything with Adobe® Acrobat® 6.0 and get a good overview of the program and what I can do with it.

 

20. I noticed that there are several ways to create PDF files if you install Adobe Acrobat. Do you have a preferred method? Yes, I do. I like the simplest approach. When you install Acrobat, you will notice that one of your printer choices is now the “Acrobat Distiller.” This printer option appears when you print from any program you use. Printing to the Acrobat Distiller really means “save as a PDF file.” If you select the Acrobat Distiller as your printer and click on the Properties button, you will see a tab that says “Adobe PDF Settings.” Click on this tab and you will be able to fine tune your PDF creation. When you click on the OK button, you will be prompted to name your file and place it in an appropriate folder. Once you do that, the document loads in Adobe Acrobat and you can work with it further.

 

21. Are you saying that you don’t use the menu choice built into Word or create out of the Acrobat program itself? Yup. The printer option is so easy that I use it all the time.

 

22. What about putting in navigation, security and other features? If you have good Word skills, you can use styles and other tools to create navigation that Adobe will implement in your PDF file. Doing so can make your job a little easier. Otherwise, I use the tools in Acrobat to build in features that I want into the PDF document.

 

23. What features am I really likely to use? All I really want to do is create a PDF file, right? It depends on your needs. Adding navigation, bookmarks, a linked table of contents or “hot” hyperlinks to websites all can be useful features in lengthy documents. I like to “insert pages” into a PDF document and combine multiple documents into a single PDF file. You can crop or rotate pages. You can make the document open to show facing pages and set other display options.

 

24. You haven’t convinced me yet. What features will dazzle me? Here are a few. How about being able to set user controls so that a reader of the document can’t revise, save, print or even copy text out of your PDF file? You can add password protection, compare two documents, add digital signatures, add comments, highlight text, create presentations and create forms. There’s even a PDF Consultant feature that will help you optimize files and reduce file size.

 

25. Anything else that you think is cool? A couple of things. How often do you save a file as a PDF and then notice a little typo? There’s a Touchup Text tool that allows you to make those small fixes directly in the PDF file. The Web Capture tool allows you to save individual web pages and entire websites.

 

26. How does Acrobat work with my scanner? Under the Acrobat file menu, there’s a choice called Import. Under the Import menu, you have a “Scan” option. Select your scanner and you scan directly to PDF. You can also take your scanned images in other graphic formats and open them in Acrobat and save them as PDF files.

 

27. How hard is Acrobat to learn? I’d characterize Acrobat as an intermediate program in terms of difficulty-to-learn. In part, that’s due to the multitude of useful features, and the different ways you can accomplish the same thing. It’s definitely worth buying a book, getting a training video or taking a community college or other class. 

 

28. People tell me that Adobe Acrobat (or another PDF tool) is an essential software tool for lawyers. Let’s be honest. Do you really agree with that assessment? It’s a program that I actually bought for myself rather than simply get a review copy. That’s a big endorsement from me. However, I have a strong interest in electronic publishing. I believe that Acrobat is an essential tool for every law office and definitely for every law office that does any litigation. On the other hand, I’m not quite convinced that it is an essential tool for every lawyer’s computer in any given law office, if you understand that distinction. For some lawyers, a secretary or paralegal will be the best user of Acrobat and it might sit unused on a lawyer’s computer. I’d save the money on additional licenses for lawyers who won’t use the program and let their secretaries handling PDF creation.

 

29. Is the Adobe Reader an essential tool for lawyers? The Adobe Reader (remember: it only reads PDF files) is priced at the best price for lawyers – it’s free. In contrast to what I just said about Acrobat, I believe that Adobe Reader is an essential tool for all lawyers and anyone else who used the Internet.

 

30. Are there rules of etiquette for PDF files? There’s a general practice of including a hyperlink to the Adobe Reader download page if you have any concern that your recipient does not have the Adobe Reader installed. You’ll want to check the Adobe Reader license, but I believe that you can send the Reader installation file to anyone. You might consider that option if you plan to send PDF files to clients or would prefer that they use Adobe Reader 6.0. Also, some lawyers and clients get insulted and angry if you send them documents in PDF format since it implies that you do not trust them.

 

31. Do you have some useful PDF secret tips you will share? Many people do not realize that you can copy text out of PDF documents. Choose the Text Select Tool and highlight the text you want (including all of the text), copy the text (CTRL-C, right-click and copy, or choose copy from the Edit menu) and paste it in your word processor. You do not retain the formatting, but you capture the text. Another trick is that to save PDF files that prevent saving.  In these files, the “Save” and “Save as” options under the File menu are grayed out and inoperable. If you print to the Acrobat Distiller, you can save these files in PDF. If printing is disabled, you won’t have that option.

 

32. What’s your favorite PDF story? I was working on a contract where the other party sent us a PDF file. We asked them to send us the Word file so I could make the last set of revisions. They not only balked, but they said they didn’t want to go back and check all the changes we might make. After some back and forth, I finally said, “OK. It’s no big deal. I’ll just copy the text out of the PDF file.” They then sent us the Word document to use.

 

33. Are there other uses of PDF that we might not be familiar with? Lawyers are gradually becoming aware that Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents (and other documents as well – don’t get complacent if you don’t use Microsoft Office) contain metadata – information about the document, prior revisions, comments and the like – that you may not know exists, but is readable by someone who knows what they are doing. Creating a PDF version of that document is believed to take care of the Word metadata problem, but I cannot make a definitive pronouncement on that.  However, you can add your own data to PDF files that falls into the metadata category that you may not want someone to see.

 

34. Can PDF files be infected with viruses? Generally, PDF files have been considered immune to viruses. PDF files, however, can be a vector for virus infection. Some virus writers may send an attachment that appears to have a .pdf file extension, but is in fact a different type of file. The best practice with email attachments is to open only attachments that you are expecting to receive and if they are in a format that you expect, whether or not you know the sender or not. If you have any doubts or concerns, call the sender and confirm what they are sending you.

 

35. How do lawyers learn more about PDF techniques for lawyers? A great starting place is the PDF for Lawyers blog at http://ernieattorney.typepad.com/pdf_for_lawyers/. A recent post on how to use Adobe Acrobat for OCR when scanning was especially valuable. David Masters is finishing a book on Acrobat for lawyers for ABA Law Practice Management Publishing that will probably be out late this year or early next year. If I have any PDF questions, I personally go to David, who is as friendly and helpful as anyone might hope. See his website at http://www.masterslawfirm.com/.

 

36. Why hasn’t Microsoft bought Adobe? The answer probably can be found at the Department of Justice. The acquisition makes sense and many have suggested its possibility.

 

37. Where would you suggest finding Acrobat tips? I’d start at http://www.pdfzone.com/resources/tips_techniques/. PDFZone is a great website for PDF users. Their email newsletter is also a great resource (http://www.pdfzone.com/registration/reg01.asp?id=1&wid=PDFZone.com%20sms_topmenu.js)

 

38. Can people get too carried away about PDF? Well, there’s that great line about when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. PDF is an incredibly versatile tool. I have noticed, however, that David Masters does tend to see PDF answers to every question. Just kidding, David.

 

39. Can I convert PDF files to Word documents? There are a number of programs that will do precisely that. See http://www.scansoft.com/pdfconverter/ for one example.

 

40. I probably only need to create a few PDF files a year. What about a free online option? Create Adobe PDF Online is Adobe’s online PDF creation service. You can create five free PDF files or signup for an online subscription at http://createpdf.adobe.com.