Adobe Acrobat 7.0: A Feature-Packed Acrobat Upgrade Version 7.0 Quibbles and Concerns Gerry Blackwell
Version 7.0 Quibbles and Concerns
One of our quibbles with the install process is that it can be intrusive when adding those toolbars to programs. When we installed the program on our test system, it unlocked the locked toolbars in Internet Explorer to add the Acrobat buttons and in the process changed the display settings on existing toolbars. This was an annoyance, however, rather than a significant flaw.
When creating PDFs from multiple files using the main Acrobat program (rather than from within another program), the software now lets you preview PDF files before combining them. This is a confusing point. You can create new PDFs from multiple files – Word documents, for example – but you cannot preview those Word files before combining and converting them. It's only when you're creating a new PDF by combining existing PDFs that Acrobat lets you preview the files.
This Is a Test
The program seriously hogs processing power. On our test system, a 1.6GHz Pentium III with 1GB of RAM, working on other programs while Acrobat was in the process of converting files was almost impossible. This was a general problem. It was more pronounced when creating larger PDFs within Acrobat itself.
In our tests, creating a multiple-file PDF was slow and sometimes plagued with problems. If a Word file is already open, for example, Acrobat will not be able to include it in the PDF and will generate a confusing error message suggesting you may not have read privileges for the file. To include a file, Acrobat needs to open the originating programs. If Word is already open, it attempts to open a new instance, and then generates an error message because the Normal.dot settings file is already in use by the first instance. These are, again, minor flaws.
In a PDF created from multiple files, Acrobat now automatically creates bookmarks (links usually to headings or subheadings) that take you to the beginning of each file. The bookmarks, displayed in a panel in Acrobat Reader, make it easier for viewers to find specific content. The new version also lets you extract files combined in a PDF and save them back to their original format — useful if you've lost the original document.
The new version adds a bunch of features and functions related to working with engineering documents. Adobe added Microsoft Visio to the list of programs that let you create PDFs from within the program. A measuring toolbar within Acrobat lets you measure drawn objects in a PDF file. And, in a PDF from a converted Visio document, you can now view data about drawn objects — dimensions, specifications, etc.
Advanced features let you create fields calculated by scripts (to automatically insert the correct date, for example) using either FormCalc or Javascript. You can also include interactive fields that automatically encode your input into barcodes. You can also export the data they've filled in to use in other programs. Form data collected in XML, XDP, or TXT formats can be exported directly to a spreadsheet.
Functions related to viewing and commenting provide all the tools necessary for either browser- or e-mail-based review processes. You can add comments using Acrobat Reader — if the document specifies such usage rights. A comment bar with a set of clickable tools appears in Reader (or Acrobat), allowing the viewer to add bubble comments, highlight text, apply stamps (i.e., Void, Confidential, Final etc.), and attach text or even audio files as comments.
Pricing
Acrobat 7.0 Professional sells for $450. If you're new to the program and have fairly simple needs or don't expect to use the program very often, look for an earlier, lower-priced version that's still in stores or online. If you use Acrobat frequently, consider holding off on the upgrade until you're ready to purchase new licenses. Depending on your needs, you may also want to upgrade existing licenses.
The upgrade includes a very long list of new features. Not many Adobe customers, and certainly not the occasional users, will find all or even many of the new features and capabilities particularly useful, but this is a product designed for a wide range of customers, including publishing professionals.
Bottom Line: Highly recommended for heavy and advanced users, overkill for most newbies and light users
Based in London, Canada, Gerry Blackwell has been writing about information technology and telecommunications for a variety of print and online publications since the 1980s. Just for fun, he also authors features and columns on digital photography for Here's How, a spiffy new Canadian consumer technology magazine.
