 Product Review: Adobe's
Acrobat X Suite
Over the years, I have been a long-time user and reviewer of
Adobe's family of Suites. Most recently, I reviewed several
programs within the the Adobe Master Collection CS5. When I became
aware of the Adobe Acrobat X Suite, I jumped at the opportunity to
review this new addition to Adobe's family of suites.
Adobe Acrobat X Suite includes the following software:
- Adobe Acrobat X Pro
- Adobe Photoshop CS5
- Adobe Captivate 5
- Adobe Presenter 7
- Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2
- Adobe Media Encoder CS5
Of the five programs within this suite, Photoshop and Acrobat
are two of Adobe's best-known, most-used, and most-recognizable
products. These workhorse programs are the ones that everyone uses
on a daily basis. As a publicist, novelist, artist, and web
designer, I have also put Captivate on my must-have software list.
I've also recently been working with video and have found Adobe's
Media Encoder indispensable.
The Adobe Acrobat X Suite is the perfect bundle for artists,
authors, musicians, educators, students, and business professionals
(for both large corporations and family-owned businesses). Anyone
involved in promotion, product presentations and/or innovative
professional speakers will reap benefits from the Adobe Acrobat X
Suite. It is also a must-have suite for web designers interested in
broadening their website interactive features.
In their continuous journey to "keep ahead of the times," Adobe
is constantly reinventing its various products. Interactivity is
the new "buzz word" within the world of software. Within the
Acrobat X Suite, Adobe once more succeeds in anticipating the
public's wants-and-needs, and delivering the software to fulfill
them.
Adobe Acrobat X Pro
The heart of Adobe Acrobat X Suite, is Acrobat X [pronounced
ten, not X]. So, what makes this version of Acrobat superior to
former versions? The most notable difference is the new and
improved User Interface. The UI not only provides a cleaner
workspace, but also integrates similar functions, such as
panels/panes, which have become a vital part of the majority of
Adobe's products. Familiarity equals user-friendliness, which
equals productivity, which, in turn, removes frustration from the
learning curve.
Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro's User Interface verses Adobe's Acrobat X
Pro
Functions that were previously featured in Acrobat 9 Pro are
still available in Acrobat X Pro. However, many have been enhanced,
redesigned, and most have been relocated into easily accessible
panes.
Adobe Acrobat X Pro Panes
The familiar Navigation and Command vertical Pane is still
situated in its usual location and provides twelve navigations
and/or commands. The following four are displayed by default: Page
Thumbnail, Bookmarks, Attachments, and Signatures. The additional
eight can be added or removed by first right-clicking on the
Navigation Pane, and then selecting your favorite options.
Adobe Acrobat X Pro Task Panes
On the opposite side of the Document Pane is the new
fully-customized Task Panes. Within the three Task Panes (Tools,
Comment, Share), there are multiple options. The ability to
organize your tasks in easy to access panes is another timesaving
new addition to Adobe Acrobat X Pro.
The toolbar has gone back to basics with a sleek and simplified
appearance. With the addition of the Customize Quick Tools button
(the new little gear-like icon), you can readily access over
100-plus tools. Within the Customize Quick Tools window, you can
add or remove your most-used tools by merely clicking the arrow
buttons.
In today's fast moving and ever changing world, the ability to
create and fill-out forms, create interactive websites, as well as
online communicating and collaborating are high priority demands
for all aspects of life. Interactivity is also high on Adobe's list
of improvements for all of its future products. Adobe Acrobat X Pro
is no exception. It allows users to work with and/or create
complex, interactive PDF documents with easy to use tools,
navigations, and commands.
Adobe does an admirable job in its attempt to achieve perfection
when it comes to meeting their customer's wishes…and, for the
most part, they are highly successful. However, there is one
improved function within Adobe Acrobat X Pro that could use
additional development. Although the PDF Maker has been improved,
integrating Acrobat with Microsoft Office has yet to meet high
marks for perfection.
Exporting PDF documents from Acrobat X Pro into MS Word
works well, as long as the document does not contain complicated
formatting. When I tried to convert a PDF file, that was originally
created in Adobe InDesign, into a word document, I was disappointed
with the final results.
Although I tried to save the PDF file in a variety of formats,
none of the results produced a finished document that did not need
extensive tweaking (some more than others).
I was more successful creating PDF files from MS Word,
MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint files. Not only was the process easy
[Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all included an Acrobat button], there
were also many additional options available to convert and create
the perfect PDF file.
Overall, the new sleek design with its "clean" extended
workspace, along with the new customized Task Panes, makes Adobe
Acrobat X Pro the perfect addition to your software library.
Adobe Photoshop CS5
As to full disclosure…since I first opened Adobe Photoshop
3.0, I have been hopelessly in-love with the program. Without
question, Photoshop is the gateway creative-drug to all things
Adobe. Once you get your first taste of Adobe Photoshop, you become
addicted for life.
Adobe Photoshop has come a long way from its initial photo
enhancing capabilities. It is now not only the number one software
for both professional and amateur photographers, but also a vital
program for all levels of computer graphic artists.
Adobe Photoshop CS5, with its over three dozen new functions,
enhancements, and shortcuts, has proven to be my favorite Photoshop
version to date. In the course of reviewing the Adobe Acrobat X
Suite, it would be impossible to mention all the new features in
Adobe Photoshop CS5. However, the following are ten of my
favorites.
Instant Straighten Tool
- The Straighten Tool instantly resets the horizon
- The redesigned Defined Edges feature, with its touch-up brush,
takes all the drudgery out of masking complex images.
- Content Aware-Fill magically replaces deleted items while
preserving background details.
- The new Mixer Brush Tool is outstanding for advanced painting
ability
- The ability to instantly change the font color (it's a little
thing, but a huge timesaver)
- The reinstated feature of being able to right-click on
an image to resize and duplicate
- The advanced HDR features, including the remove ghost
function.
- Puppet Warp lets you become the puppet master as you manipulate
objects and create animations.
- In Camera Raw the new Noise Reduction feature retains the image
details while removing unwanted grain.
- Mini Bridge allows access to Bridge directly in Photoshop
Adobe Captivate 5
Although Adobe Captivate is better known as an e-learning tool,
in previous versions of Adobe Captivate I've mainly used the
program to generate quizzes for websites. Then along came Adobe
Captivate 5…and it has turned my online world in a spin.
For example, I work with Adobe InDesign, however, not daily.
Yet, it is still a vital part of my software arsenal. This powerful
publishing program has a very steep learning curve, and I find
myself going back to detailed notes when I've not used Adobe
InDesign on a regular basis.
This is where Adobe Captivate 5 saves the day. Now, when I start
a new project in Adobe InDesign (or Photoshop), I also open Adobe
Captivate 5 and "record new project." I no longer have to stop what
I'm working on to take notes, because Adobe Captivate 5 is working
as my personal scribe, recording my every move.
Once I am finished with my project, I can then open Adobe
Captivate 5 and review "every" step of my creative process. Once
edited and saved, my "notes" are quickly available when needed.
This is not only a timesaver…it also allows for an uninterrupted
creative-flow.
Of course, you can still use Adobe Captivate 5 as an e-learning
tool. As well as the many save-as options (print, web, PDF, etc.),
Adobe Captivate 5 now includes the ability to easily publish to
mobile devices and YouTube.
Adobe Presenter 7
Even if you have never created a Flash presentation, Adobe
Presenter 7 (the MS PowerPoint add-in) gives you professional
results, including narration and advanced interactivity. Adobe
Presenter 7 allows you to take a PowerPoint presentation and
convert it to a professional interactive online format. Recording,
as well as editing, audio of the highest quality is another feature
of a polished presentation.
Adobe Presenter 7 also allows the user to incorporate a variety
of static and/or randomized quizzes and questionnaires, which, in
turn, creates a truly interactive experience. Publishing the final
presentation that preserves animation is yet another exciting
feature.
Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2
If you need to design an intricate form precisely, but also
quickly, LiveCycle Designer ES2 is the perfect solution. This
small, but powerful, program gives you the option to create complex
forms using "behaviors" without prior knowledge of script writing.
Your forms can then be integrated within a PDF file, printed, or
incorporated within a web page.
Why use Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2 to create forms when you
already have Adobe Acrobat X? Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES2 is more
detail orientated. It allows the form creator to not only create
very specific details in how the form is to be filled out and
submitted, but it also includes several "validation" features that
allows for accuracy. Accuracy is synonymous with productivity.
One of my favorite features in LiveCycle Designer ES2 is the
option to preview and test forms in a PDF format with just a toggle
of a button on the User Interface. LiveCycle Designer ES2 replaces
the guess work and the drudgery of creating forms, with the
confidence that your creations will be functional, as well as
unique to your purpose.
LiveCycle Designer ES2 gives the user the options to design
forms from a variety of "adaptable" templates, as well as creating
forms from scratch. If you can conceive it, you can create it with
LiveCycle Designer ES2.
Adobe Media Encoder CS5
With the recent gift of a new video camera, I've been diving
(ok, more like dog-paddling) into movie making. Immediately, I
found myself at an impasse, as my video camera only saves to .mov
format, and the .mov format does not open in all media players.
Thanks to Adobe Media Encoder CS5, with over twenty-five
different formats to choose from, I can now quickly convert my .mov
movies into videos that I can view on a variety of players.
Conclusion
Although Adobe Acrobat X Suite is not the most widely known of
Adobe's family of suites, it is still a powerful software bundle
for anyone in need of promoting themselves, their products, and/or
their ideas. The world has become a social media society, and the
Adobe Acrobat X Suite has the ability to fulfill the majority of
your mobile and Internet communication and media sharing needs.
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