Viewing PDF Files

Viewing a PDF file in Acrobat starts with opening a PDF file. To open a PDF file, you can choose File, Open; double-click on a PDF file; or drag the PDF file icon to the Acrobat program icon. Additionally, Acrobat has a new organizer feature, which you can access by choosing File, Organizer, Open Organizer. The Organizer lets you easily find files, create collections of files, and preview the contents of PDF files (see Figure 10.1). Similar in concept to what Bridge offers the other Suite applications, Organizer is specifically created for working with PDF files. When you have a file open, you have some viewing options. In Full Screen mode, you see only the documentno menus, toolbars, or windows.

Figure 10.1. Acrobat's Organizer helps you quickly find the PDF files you need.

Did you Know?

To view a PDF file in Full Screen mode, choose Full Screen View from the Window menu, or press Command+L (Ctrl+L). Pressing the key command a second time toggles between Full Screen mode and default mode. You can also press the Esc key in Full Screen mode to return to default mode.

Another option is to view a single page or continuous pages of a PDF file. One nice advantage to viewing continuous pages is that you can set it up to view facing pages to read your documents as you would a book. This is a perfect setting for reading e-books with Acrobat.

Did you Know?

To view a PDF in continuous facing pages, choose ContinuousFacing from the Page Layout submenu of the View menu. To go back to Single Page view, you can choose from the Page Layout submenu or click on the Single Page button in the status bar (see Figure 10.2).

Figure 10.2. The Single Page button in the status bar.

Navigating Pages

Now that you have opened a PDF and set how you want to look at it, navigating the document is the next step. Getting around the page quickly and efficiently is easy using the status bar, the navigation bar, and the various tools.

Zoom Tools

Acrobat offers various tools to zoom in, zoom out, and move around your PDF file. The Zoom toolbar houses the Zoom In tool, the Zoom Out tool, the Dynamic Zoom tool, the Loupe tool, and the Pan and Zoom Window commands; Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons; preset zoom levels; and an area to enter the level of the zoom.

The Dynamic Zoom tool gives you a new control over zooming (see Figure 10.3). With the Dynamic Zoom tool, you click and hold down the mouse button while dragging outward to zoom out, or inward to zoom in.

Figure 10.3. Choosing the Dynamic Zoom tool.

Loupe Tool

The Loupe tool enables you to create a viewing area on your PDF that magnifies the selected area in a separate window. Within the Loupe window (see Figure 10.4), you can change the magnification to see even more detail.

Figure 10.4. The Loupe tool and window.

Status and Navigation Bars

One of the main areas of navigation is the status bar. Use the status bar, found at the bottom of the document window, to go back and forth between pages, jump to the beginning or end, or go to a specific page.

Did you Know?

To go to a specific page, enter a number in the Page Number field and press the Return or Enter keys. You will automatically go to the page you requested.

The other navigation buttons on the status bar are, in order from left to right: First Page, Previous Page, Next Page, Last Page, Previous View, and Next View. The buttons you see on the far right side of the status bar are Single Page, Continuous, ContinuousFacing, and Facing. Use these buttons to quickly change your view of the PDF document.

The Navigation palette does the same as the status bar. You can access this floating palette by choosing View, Toolbars, Navigation. Use this when you want to put the capability to change pages in a place more accessible than the bottom of the window.

Hand Tool

The Hand tool acts as your hand does in real life with paper. Use the Hand tool to move your page around.

Layers

Layers capability in Acrobat? Well, if there were layers in the original Adobe application, there might be layers in Acrobat. Let's say you create this fantastic multilevel floor plan in Illustrator and you want to send it out for reviews. Save the Illustrator file as a PDF with layers and all, and you'll see those same layers in Acrobat. To see the layers in Acrobat, click on the Layers tab (see Figure 10.5).

Figure 10.5. Layers from the original application are visible in Acrobat.

By the Way

You can quickly tell whether a PDF file has layers in it when you see an icon of a slice of layer cake in the lower-left corner of the document window.

Pages

Managing your PDF document's pages is quick and easy in Acrobat Professional. Jump to a specific page by entering the page in the status bar. Go to the beginning or end of the document by clicking the arrow button in the status bar. You can also arrange how you view your pages in a multiple-page PDF file. Choose whether to view single pages at a time, continuous pages, continuous facing pages, or facing pages (like reading a book).

The Pages pane shows a thumbnail view of each page in the PDF document. Use the Pages pane to delete pages, rearrange pages, or jump to a certain page by double-clicking on it.

Multiple Windows

Work with multiple PDF documents by arranging the pages in various ways. Choose from tiling your multiple windows horizontally or vertically. To bring the active window (the one you are currently working on) to the front, choose Cascade from the Window menu. The active window is placed in front, and the window title is black. All other windows show a gray window title to let you know that they are not active.