Introduction to Adobe Acrobat

for Web publishing.

Computing & Information Services seminar

July 23, 1997, 2-4 p.m., Hewitt 2.

instructor: Jim Cerny

http://unhinfo.unh.edu/NIS/Courses/Acrobat/index.html

1. Overview:

Published description:

"Adobe Acrobat is an increasingly common way to publish files on the Web. This

lecture/demo looks at how to display such files with a Web browser and how to create

them from existing files (MS Word, PageMaker, etc). Prerequisites: General word

processing and Web browsing skills."

Support statement:

Computing & Information Services offers consulting support on general Internet usage and on the Netscape browser. Adobe Acrobat is not a supported product at this time.

Goals:

To understand the advantages and disadvantages of publishing in Acrobat format.

To understand how to read Acrobat files on the Web.

To understand how to create simple Acrobat files for the Web.

To consider Acrobat as part of an integrated Web publication strategy.

2. Quick road test - reading Acrobat files.

Acrobat Reader as Netscape plug-in.

look at several sample files on the Web.

Acrobat Reader toolbar and screen layout:

viewing pages: maginification and page layout.

navigation within a document.

printing a document.

3. Reading and using simple Acrobat files.

Acrobat components:

Reader

Exchange

Distiller

plug-ins - Adobe supplied and third-party sources.

the operational outline:

general: creator application -> Acrobat Exchange/Distiller -> PDF file

model 1: PDF file -> standalone Acrobat reader application

model 2: Web server -> Web browser -> Acrobat plug-in

model 3: e-mail send: uuencode, attach -> e-mail receive: decode, save

MIME type: application/pdf pdf

memory requirements

Macintosh: OS=8.8MB + Netscape 3.02=9MB (7MB min) + Acrobat=5.2MB

Windows NT: OS=??MB + Netscape 3.02=12.7MB + Acrobat=6MB

version issues between 2.x and 3.0

flagging Acrobat files

4. Creating and using Acrobat files.

the operational outline to create PDF files:

model 1: creator app -> PDF Writer -> PDF file

model 2: creator app -> PS -> Acrobat Distiller -> PDF file

model 3: PDF file -> Acrobat Exchange -> edited PDF file

generate from common desktop apps such as Word, Excel, PageMaker:

print to PostScript file and process with Acrobat Distiller

print directly to PDF with PDF Writer and process with Acrobat Exchange

nature of the PDF file format

relationship to PostScript

content issues and options

active hyperlinks

byteserving to reduce download + render time

compression of graphics

indexing and searching

inclusion in HTML

<a href="filename.pdf">linkname</a>

<img src="filename.pdf" alt="PDF file">

5. Integrated and alternative publishing strategies.

choosing a basic strategy:

design for print, design for online, design for intermediate meta format.

related electronic docment technologies

Common Ground "Digital Paper" from Hummingbird Communications Ltd at:

http://www.hummingbird.com/cg/

Envoy "Portable Document Technology" owned by Novell, from Tumbleweed Software at:

http://www.envoy.com/products.htm

Replica was "retired" as a product by Farallon Communications, Inc.

mark-up languages.

relationship of HTML, SGML and XML.

availability of special page and site editors (SiteMill, Fusion, MS FrontPage97)

use of a desktop application (e.g., Word, PageMaker)

output PS, RTF and use filters to generate HTML and other formats.

use of a database to generate Web pages.

Philip Greenspun, Database Backed Web Sites, ZDPress, ISBN:1-56276-530-2.

6. References.

Adobe's Acrobat pages.

Acrobat main page.

http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/

Acrobat sites on the Web - the PDF Directory.

http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdfweb.html

Acrobat access for visual disabilities.

http://access.adobe.com/

Acrobat PDF format details.

http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/devrelations/PDFS/TN/PDFSPEC.TXT

Other Acrobat-related pages.

Ambia Corporation's plug-ins for Acrobat Exchange.

http://www.ambia.com/

BrowserWatch's plug-in plaza.

http://browserwatch.internet.com/plug-in.html

DigiDox's DigiDozen plug-ins for Acrobat Exchange.

http://www.digidox.com/html/products/digidozn.htm

Emerge's PDF Zone.

http://www.emrg.com/zone/zone.html

Project Cool's Acrobat Developer Zone.

http://www.projectcool.com/developer/acrobat/

Yahoo's Acrobat Links.

http://www.yahoo.com/

(use "adobe acrobat" to search - the URL is too complex to list here)

Publications.

Adobe Acrobat Version 3.0 (Classroom in a Book).

paper: [1997], MacMillan, 303 pp., $40.00, incl CD, ISBN:1-56830365-3.

Acrobat by Example, by Dawn Erdos & Ann Aubrey.

paper: [1996], MIS:Press, 384 pp., $24.95 ISBN:1-55828468-0.

Internet Publishing with Adobe Acrobat, by Gordon Kent.

paper: [1996], Hayden Books, 380 pp., $40.00 ISBN:1-56830300-9.

online pdf: http://www.novagraphix.com/Internet_Publishing_with_Acrobat/

Web Publishing with Adobe Acrobat and PDF, by Bruce Page & Diana Holm.

paper: [1996], Wiley, 363 pp., $39.95, incl CD, ISBN:0-47114948-9.

jim .cerny@unh.edu stop me before i click again!

rev. 23-JUL-1997