6/5/2012
What’s important on the web?
Quick Links are on every
page in our domain:
mtu.edu/gradschool
Resources
All forms
An Introduction to Adobe Acrobat
Online seminars
June 6, 2012
© Debra Charlesworth
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Summer 2012
Graduate School Blog
What is PDF?
• Theses and dissertations section answers “how to”
questions based on common student questions
• PDF = Portable Document Format
• http://blogs.mtu.edu/gradschool
• Now is an open standard
• Developed by Adobe in 1993
ISO 32000-1:2008
• “enable users to exchange and view electronic
documents independent of the environment in which
they were created or the environment in which they
are viewed or printed”
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Why use pdf?
What software do I need?
• Anybody can open and read the files
• Adobe Acrobat Pro X (recommended)
• As an open standard, anybody can create a reader
at any time
Theoretically, someone could open the standard 100 years
from now and write the software to make a pdf reader, even
if Adobe no longer exists
• Can combine multiple file types into one file
University owned computers: a site license is available for
Acrobat Pro X – contact IT (it-help@mtu.edu, 7-1111)
Personal computers: contact Judy Foreman in the
bookstore – $62.95 (as of 6/5/12)
Download a trial copy – 30 days for free
• On the web – great for Mac users
http://createpdf.acrobat.com/
$10/month or $90/year
• Freeware – Google search “pdf creation”
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Acrobat has several “flavors”
Macintosh Users
• Standard, Pro, and Suite
• Have a built in pdf maker and viewer (Preview)
• Pro contains some helpful tools:
Redaction – permanently and easily delete sensitive data –
like a signature
Preflight tools allow you to check your document for
formatting.
Action Wizard to automate tasks
• Version X has a “portfolio” feature that allows users
to combine multiple file types into one pdf – this is
not allowed for a thesis/dissertation
These files are not generally sufficient for a thesis or
dissertation, and have little/no customization available
• Many of the Graduate School forms will not work
properly with Preview
“Right click” or “Control click” to save the file to your hard
drive; open with an Adobe product
If your computer opens the file automatically with Preview,
saving this file will make it inoperable in Acrobat or Reader
• The web service is a good option for PDF creation
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Export PDF files into different formats
• Some programs export
graphics in high
resolution to PDF –
images can be extracted
• File…Save As…
• Multiple formats
 Image (JPEG, TIFF, etc.)
 Word
Word to PDF
 Spreadsheet
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© Debra Charlesworth
Summer 2012
Creating your document
PDF Conversion Settings
• Use styles consistently to create document structure
Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 – chapters and sections
• Use the Acrobat tab to access and select your
conversion options
Heading 6 – for items with different formatting than chapter
titles, but need to be included in TOC
• Check that your settings are creating links and
bookmarks and edit as needed
Heading 7 – for items with different formatting than chapter
titles but are not included in the TOC (like TOC heading)
• Check that images are at least 300ppi, and that all
fonts are embedded
• Use Word tools to insert TOC, List of Figures/Tables
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Creating PDF
• From the Acrobat tab, click “Create PDF”
Checking your document in
Adobe Acrobat
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© Debra Charlesworth
Summer 2012
Fonts, margins, and figures
• Check that your fonts are embedded
• Check the paper size
• Rotate landscape pages 90 degrees
counterclockwise to check margins
If pages are rotated, there is no need to list them on the
Degree completion form
• Turn on the grid and rulers to check page
number location and margins
Majority of revisions are because of margin issues
• Use the Preflight profile to check graphics
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Editing a PDF document
© Debra Charlesworth
Summer 2012
Bookmarks and hyperlinks
Editing Text and Objects
• Bookmarks can be…
• Two tools to edit text
Edited
Edit Document Text – can be used for small editing
Created
Edit Object – can move objects and text
Rearranged
• Redaction – obscures signatures
Required if permission letters have signatures
• Hyperlinks can be…
Edited
Created
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Editing Pages
Finessing your document & Acrobat
• Click on Pages icon
• Right click on any tool to add it to toolbar
Move pages
• Edit PDF properties so bookmarks open with file
Copy/paste pages
Drag pages from one file to another
Delete pages (blank pages!)
• Can insert pages from another document
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• Use commenting features on drafts
Document is “just as it appears” with electronic navigation
Improper editing/application of styles can cause you extra
editing later
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Take home messages
• A PDF file is not one-size-fits-all
• Learn a bit about your word processor – it can build
in electronic navigation with no extra effort for you
• Adobe Acrobat contains a number of tools to edit
your PDF file
• Presentations, slides, and resources available online
http://www.gradschool.mtu.edu/professional
http://blogs.mtu.edu/gradschool
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