Adobe Acrobat Guide

A brief guide and list of resources that can be used to learn the basics of Adobe Acrobat

Table of Contents:

 

How to Install & Open Adobe Acrobat

  • Install Adobe Acrobat here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/
  • Open Adobe Acrobat by clicking the app icon on your desktop, or in Adobe Creative Cloud's menu
    • Login with PLU epass via “Log in with Google” if necessary

How to Create a PDF Document/Blank Page

Steps to Create a New PDF Document
Click File in the upper left corner of your screen, then Create, and choose the type of file you need. File Create

OR, click the More Tools button at the top of the page (if you don’t already see “Create” listed), then click the “Create a PDF” button.

Create Via Tool 1

Create via tool step 2

To create a blank document, just press “Blank Page” at the bottom of the Create window.

 Blank page

To Edit a PDF Document

Choose from the list of tools on the far left side of the page. Click “View More” to see all available options.

Editing and Creating Text

To write text, click the A with a dotted box around it (see image to the right)

  • From this window, you can also create a number of symbols used for filling out forms, such as check marks and dots.
 Add Text

Then, simply left click on the page and start typing.

  • You can press the smaller A to lower the font size, or the larger A to raise the font size. 
  • Press the three dots to adjust character spacing, or change the type of text input if needed.
 Basic text tools

For more options when creating a document, press the Edit tab at the top left.

  • To format text before typing, including to choose a font, or to make it center-aligned, you may press the Text button under the “add content” section.
    • Then, choose from different formatting options as needed on the left side panel.
  • To select a text box, rather than creating a new text box from this window, make sure you have the Select tool selected, which looks like a typical mouse cursor icon to the right of the edit panel.
 Edit Menu Format Text

To Add and Edit a Photo

 To Print & Export

  • To add a photo, click the Image tool in the edit panel. Then, select the image from your computer, and click open. Then, click where you want the photo to be placed. 
  • Click the image after placement to show editing options, such as to crop or rotate, or choose from the Adjust Objects window in the edit panel at the top left.
  • To resize the image, simply click and drag one of the points at the corners and sides of the image until it meets your needs.
    • Click and drag the image to move it around on the page.
    • To center the image, arrange its position level (front/back), reflect, or turn it into a link, right click the image and choose from the following menu.

Photo Editing Interface

Exporting/Saving:

Printing:

When done with your document, you can export or save it as a PDF, or a different file type:

  1. Click File in the upper left corner of your screen
  2. Hover over "Export a PDF"
    • Choose your preferred file type and follow the prompts from there.
  3. OR Click Save As
    • Click the check box in the lower left corner of the window to convert it to the file type chosen in the dropdown menu, which is just to the right of this checkbox.
    • Choose a file location, and check any necessary boxes, such as "reduce file size" if your file contains too many images to share via email, or "restrict editing" to disallow people from editing the file further.

After saving your document, you can print it:

  1. Click File in the upper left corner of your screen
  2. Choose your printer settings as desired
  3. Click Print


Keywords:
Adobe, Acrobat, Adobe acrobat, Adobe reader, reader, pdf, edit pdf 
Doc ID:
143975
Owned by:
Janelle B. in Pacific Lutheran Univ
Created:
2024-10-22
Updated:
2024-10-22
Sites:
Pacific Lutheran University