Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a new version of the original PDF software (see article below), a multifunction inkjet printer, an ediscovery suite, an iPad stylus, and an iPhone PDF app. Don't miss the next issue.
PDF COMES FULL CIRCLE
The PDF format has proven itself a durable technology. It predates the Internet but survived it. It's living in harmony with native files in the evolving ediscovery world. It has become the most popular format for scanned records, and competes with word processing formats for document exchange. At this point, the PDF format will probably survive the Sun's red giant phase five billion years from now (we won't, at least not in this solar system). One reason for its durability is that the company that gave birth to the format continually gives it new capabilities.
Acrobat XI Pro … in One Sentence
Launched earlier this week, Adobe's Acrobat XI Pro is PDF software.
The Killer Feature
Adobe originally created the PDF format so that you could send people a mirror image of a document even if they didn't have the software used to create the original. In the early days, clients and colleagues "collaborated" by printing PDF files and marking them up with a pen. Then Adobe added annotation tools to Acrobat as well as the ability to make small edits (e.g., fixing a typo).
In the new version, Adobe has significantly beefed up Acrobat's editing capabilities. For example, you can search and replace text, and add, move, and remove large amounts of text with automatic paragraph reflow. These editing tools now appear instantly when you click anywhere in an editable document. If clients and colleagues edit PDF files, you can see their changes using Acrobat's document comparison.
Realizing that these tools may engender more collaboration in PDF format, Acrobat enables you to update the original Word document with the changes made to the PDF file. You can choose which changes to accept or reject during this process. As always, you can secure PDF files such as records that you don't want anyone to alter.
Other Notable Features
Adobe has enhanced a number of other tools that legal professionals use. For example, you can complete more tasks from the Ribbon in Microsoft Word such as sending a PDF file for review or invoking an Action.
Before merging documents, you can preview the pages in the different documents and re-arrange them. It's also easier to create PDF Portfolios, which enable recipients to extract the original component documents if they want. In both cases, you need not convert documents to PDF format first.
Not surprisingly, Acrobat has gained some cloud smarts. It can work with documents in Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint. It also integrates with a number of Adobe online services such as EchoSign (digital signatures) and Adobe Send it Now (securely send large documents).
What Else Should You Know?
Acrobat XI Pro works on both Macs and Windows PCs. The Windows version features a "Touch Mode" that you can toggle on when using it natively on a Windows 8 tablet or virtually on an iPad via Citrix Receiver. Acrobat XI Pro costs $449 unless you already have version 8, 9, or X in which case you can upgrade for $199. Learn more about Acrobat XI Pro.
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