Create a DDX document that builds a PDF Portfolio

A PDF Portfolio extends the capability of PDF packages by adding a customizable user interface (navigator), folders, and welcome pages. The interface can enhance the user experience by taking advantage of localized text strings, custom color schemes, and graphic resources. The PDF Portfolio can also include folders for organizing the files in the portfolio.

Here are the steps for creating a DDX document that creates a simple PDF Portfolio. The steps use the default navigator or a navigator that you supply as a named document. The steps modify the navigator color scheme.

  1. Specify the resultant document by selecting New Result > PDF. In the PDF Result panel, leave the default values unchanged.

  2. Drag the Portfolio icon from the Document Components panel onto your canvas. Position the icon at a level that is subordinate to the PDF result icon.

    This icon specifies that the result is a PDF Portfolio.

  3. Drag the Navigator icon from the Document Components panel onto your canvas. Position the icon at a level that is subordinate to the Portfolio icon.

  4. Click the Navigator icon. In the simple editor for Navigator, change the XML to this expression and then click OK:

    <Navigator source="mysrc"/>
    If you omit the Navigator icon, Acrobat uses a default navigator when it displays the portfolio.
  5. To change a characteristic of the portfolio, select the Portfolio icon and use the Simple Editor to change the default value of the element. Here is an example of an XML expression that changes the default color scheme used in the portfolio:

    <Portfolio> 
        <ColorScheme scheme = "pinkScheme"/> 
        <Navigator source="mynav"/> 
    </Portfolio>
  6. Drag the Package Files icon from the Document Components panel onto your canvas. Position the icon to be subordinate to the PDF result icon. It can be below the Portfolio icon and its Navigator icon. Do not change the values in Simple Editor for Package Files.

  7. Drag two or more PDF source icons from the Sources panel onto your canvas. Position the icons to be subordinate to the Package Files icon.

    To achieve the subordination, drag the PDF source icon below and to the right of the Package Files until the ghost image of the PDF source icon appears indented from the Package Files icon.
  8. Save your work and then click Validate to validate the DDX file. (See Validating the DDX Document.)

  9. Click Preview to view an example of the resultant document. (See Previewing the Result from a DDX Document.)

    You can find several navigators in your Acrobat installation location (for example, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\Navigators).
  10. (Optional) Apply properties to the PDF result and PDF source icons. (See Set PDF result and source properties.)

Here is the appearance of the canvas that the previous set of steps create. The resulting DDX document produces a PDF Portfolio that contains two package files. The PDF Portfolio also contains a description of the PDF Portfolio Layout and contains a navigator (a self-contained user interface).

Here is the DDX source that these steps create.

<DDX xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/DDX/1.0/"> 
     <PDF result="Untitled 1"> 
       <Portfolio> 
         <Navigator source="mysrc"/> 
         <ColorScheme scheme="pinkScheme"/> 
       </Portfolio> 
       <PackageFiles> 
         <PDF source="sourcePDF1"/> 
         <PDF source="sourcePDF2"/> 
       </PackageFiles> 
     </PDF> 
     <?ddx-source-hint name="mysrc"?> 
     <?ddx-source-hint name="sourcePDF1"?> 
     <?ddx-source-hint name="sourcePDF2"?> 
</DDX>