Viewing, navigating, and searching

Getting Started window

At a glance, see the main features of Adobe® Acrobat® 8 Professional and click links to start tasks or learn more about features. See Start in the Getting Started window.

Maximized work area

View PDFs in a new visual design for the work area, navigation pane, and toolbars. User interface elements have been removed to maximize space. See View the work area.

Customizable toolbars

Easily hide or show individual tools by right-clicking/Control-clicking a toolbar, or use the More Tools dialog box to customize toolbars. See Display and arrange toolbars.

Search enhancements

Find words or use advanced search tools, all from the same integrated toolbar. View search results in a floating, resizable panel. Search documents in a PDF package. See Search features overview.

Embedded PDF search index

Embed a search index for a specific file directly within the PDF to speed up searching. See Create and manage an index in a PDF.

PDF creation, assembly, and editing

PDF from a blank page

Create a blank PDF page and type text onto the page. Format text using formatting controls. Lock the document so that it can’t be edited. See Create a PDF from a blank page.

PDF packages

Assemble PDF files (including PDF forms) and non-PDF files into a single package. Files aren’t modified when packaged, so signatures and security options stay intact. Documents within a package are viewed in the same window. Easily add, delete, or extract documents from the package. Search and print the current or selected document, or all documents within the package. See About PDF packages.

Combined files user interface

Combine files into a single PDF with concatenated pages, or assemble files into a PDF package. Choose simple options to control the size of the resulting PDF. See Combining different types of files.

Mail merge to PDF within Microsoft® Word

Convert Word mail merge documents to PDF and send them out by email. See Create PDFs from Word mail merges.

Microsoft Excel worksheet enhancements

(Windows) Select and order worksheets for conversion. Convert all links and bookmarks. Create PDF/A-compliant files. See Application-specific PDFMaker settings.

Microsoft PowerPoint presentation enhancements

(Windows) Convert overlapping shapes and images, action buttons, action settings, and speaker notes. Convert backgrounds to a separate, nonprinting layer. Create PDF/A-compliant files. See Application-specific PDFMaker settings.

Email conversion enhancements

Convert an email message or a complete mail folder to PDF from Lotus Notes. Create PDF packages of email from both Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes. In Outlook on Windows, convert email archives to PDF packages and automatically archive email on a schedule. See Convert email messages to PDFs (Windows), Migrate old Outlook PDF archives to PDF packages (Windows), and Set up automatic email archiving (Windows).

Scanning enhancements

Scan to PDF or PDF/A from a broader range of scanners. Add metadata while scanning. Optimize a scanned PDF. See Scan a paper document to PDF.

PDF/A-compliant files

Create PDF/A-compliant files when scanning paper documents and when creating PDFs from Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat Distiller, and the Acrobat Preflight tool.

Bates numbering

Apply identifying labels to a batch of related documents—typically legal documents associated with a court case. Bates numbering appears as a header or footer on each page of each PDF in the batch. See Add a Bates numbering header or footer.

Document examination

Inspect PDFs for metadata, annotations, attachments, hidden data, form fields, hidden layers, or bookmarks. Remove some or all of the information. See Examine a PDF for hidden content.

Headers, footers, watermarks, and backgrounds

Save header, footer, watermark, and background options as named settings for reuse. Remove or update existing headers, footers, watermarks, and backgrounds. Shrink content to accommodate headers and footers. Preview changes in real time. Set underline text. See Add and edit headers and footers.

Review and commenting

Acrobat Connect meetings

Access the real-time, web-based collaboration capabilities of Acrobat Connect (sold separately). Click the Start Meeting button to escalate from a document review to real-time communication with others over the Internet. Acrobat Connect uses Adobe Flash® CS3 Professional and a personal meeting room for screen sharing, audio and video conferencing, whiteboarding, and more. When you first click the Start Meeting button, you can create a free trial account. Each subsequent time, you go directly to your Acrobat Connect personal meeting room. (Acrobat Connect is not available in all languages.) See Meetings.

Shared reviews

Initiate a review where comments are stored on a central server, allowing all participants to see comments in real time. No extra server software is needed. Shared reviews work with a folder on a network server, a Windows SharePoint workspace, or a web folder on a web server. Comments are automatically retrieved, even if Reader isn’t running and could be added even when you are disconnected from the network. Notifications alert users that there are new comments. Comments from reviewers outside the firewall can be merged into the shared review, and you can enable Reader users to participate in reviews. See Start a shared review.

Review Tracker

Provides details about all active reviews. For shared reviews, details include the number of comments from a reviewer, the review deadline, server status, unread reviews, and a summary of updated shared reviews. See Tracking PDF reviews.

Commenting and markup enhancements

View and accurately place callout and cloud markups as you apply them. The callout leader automatically moves as you position the callout. Selected comments are highlighted for easier visibility when zoomed out. Rotate stamps and select all tools from a single, integrated toolbar. See Commenting.

Forms

Simple forms creation

(Windows) Use a wizard to create PDF forms from templates, existing electronic documents, paper forms, or spreadsheet data. Customize forms with contact information and logos. Edit in Adobe LiveCycle® Designer. See Creating and editing forms.

PDF background artwork

Import a PDF as background artwork on a form in LiveCycle Designer. Add form fields on top of the background. See LiveCycle Designer Help.

Forms Tracker

Track the forms you initiate or fill out. See About Forms Tracker.

Export and compile form data

Aggregate returned forms into a PDF package. Export the form data to a spreadsheet. See Submitting forms and Export records from a PDF data set.

Form field recognition

Automatically recognize form fields on noninteractive PDF documents and convert them to interactive fields that can be filled electronically. See Creating new forms.

Reader-enabled rights

Enable Reader 7 and 8 users to fill in, digitally sign, and locally save forms and other PDFs. See Enable Reader users to save form data.

Digital signatures

Roaming IDs

Enroll in a signing service where the server holds your private key. Authenticate to the server from Acrobat and allow the document to be signed with your credentials stored on the server. See Set up a roaming ID account.

Signature preview mode and conformance checker

Before signing, view the document content as it will appear after eliminating transparency, scripts, fonts, and other dynamic content that can alter a document’s appearance. Acrobat automatically runs the Document Integrity Checker, which now includes checking for Qualified Signatures conformance before entering signature preview mode. See Sign in Preview Document mode.

Certificate enhancements

Predetermine the signing certificate. Configure the chain model for certificate validation. See Sharing and managing certificates.

Seed values

Specify which choices a user can make when signing a document. See Customizing signature properties using seed values.

Signatures in Reader

Allow Reader users to draw a signature field. See Before you certify a PDF.

Architecture, engineering, and construction

Batch conversion/direct conversion

From Autodesk AutoCAD, convert multiple AutoCAD files to multiple PDFs. Convert AutoCAD files to PDF with improved speed. See Convert AutoCAD files to PDF (Windows).

DWG/DWF support

2D Measurement tool enhancements

Measurement is recalculated if start or end points move. Measurements snap to lines, intersections, or corners. See Measure the height, width, or area of objects.

Legal

Redaction tools

Mark text, images, and sensitive areas for redaction. Permanently apply redaction. Modify the appearance of redaction marks, including color and codes. See Redact sensitive content.

Search and redact

From within the Search feature, mark some or all search results for redaction. See Search and redact words.

Bates numbering

Apply identifying labels to a batch of related documents—typically legal documents associated with a court case. Bates numbering appears as a header or footer on each page of each PDF in the batch. See Add a Bates numbering header or footer.

Creative professional

Color management improvements

In Adobe Creative Suite, synchronize settings for on-screen color across the applications with a single click. See Synchronize color settings across Adobe applications.

Shared transparency flattener presets

Define flattener presets in one Adobe application, such as Acrobat, and then easily share those swatches with other applications, such as Adobe Illustrator® and Adobe InDesign®. See Create a flattener preset.

Preflight

Locate, modify, or remove PDF elements using customizable fixup profiles. Create an inventory of PDF content, including Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) metadata. Perform advanced inspections on Cos objects and fonts. Convert to and validate PDF/X-4 and PDF/A files. Edit droplet settings for automated preflight inspections. See Correcting problem areas and Advanced inspections.

Booklet printing

Print pages as a simple booklet, such as 2-up, saddle-stitched. See Print a booklet.

Metadata in documents and objects

Maintain and access document and object-level metadata. See Document properties and metadata.

TouchUp Object tool enhancement

See and change the color space of a selected object. Scale, rotate, or clip an object. See Move or edit an object.

Additional new features

FIPS mode

Version 8.1 of Acrobat provides a FIPS mode to restrict data protection to Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 approved algorithms using the RSABSAFE Crypto-C 2.1 encryption module. See Securing PDFs in FIPS mode (Windows).

Microsoft Windows Vista™ support

Version 8.1 of Acrobat supports Windows Vista.

Installing Acrobat on 64-bit versions of Windows

Version 8.1 of Acrobat supports the 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Version Cue 2.0

Manage files and versions as a single user or in a small workgroup. Integrate with Adobe Bridge to manage files for your Creative Suite projects. See Adobe Version Cue.

Digital Editions

Read and organize eBooks and other publications with Adobe® Digital Editions (a separate product). When you first click the Digital Editions menu item, you can download and install the Adobe Digital Editions software. After installation, choose Digital Editions to go directly to your Adobe Digital Editions bookshelf. See Adobe Digital Editions.

Printing over the Internet

Print documents to a FedEx Kinkos office in the United States. See Print over the Internet.

2D Measurement tool enhancements

Measurement is recalculated if start or end points move. Measurements snap to lines, intersections, or corners. See Measure the height, width, or area of objects.