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Creating PDF files with Adobe Acrobat


 

  1. Creating the .pdf File using Microsoft Word
    The first step in your ETD submission will be to create a .pdf file using Adobe Acrobat. It is recommended that you use Acrobat 4.0 or later to do this. Most departments on Campus have Acrobat installed on their computers. If you are interested in purchasing the Acrobat software for yourself it is relatively inexpensive. The process of creating the .pdf file is really quite simple. In our example we are using Microsoft Word. I have opened my dissertation in Word and have gone to File, Create Adobe PDF and Print via PDFWriter as in the illustration (Note: in order for this option to be available in Word you must have the full Acrobat package installed, not just the free Acrobat Reader).
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  1. A dialogue window will open as in the illustration below
    Give the .pdf file a name. For submission to the Graduate School the name of the .pdf file should be according to the naming convention. Choose where to save the output file, be attentive to where it is saved so you can find it easily when it is completed! Click OK.

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  1. The next dialogue box may appear as in the illustration below.
    Please fill out the Title, Subject, Author and Keywords fields carefully and completely. When you have done this click OK and Acrobat will create the .pdf file.

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  1. Creating a .pdf file from other Windows or Macintosh programs (using Acrobat Distiller or Acrobat PDFWriter)
    If you are using a word processor other than MS Word (WordPerfect, ClarisWorks, StarOffice etc.) you may have to use the Acrobat Distiller or Acrobat PDFWriter as an electronic printer to create your document.

    In the illustration, I have opened the printer dialogue and chosen the Acrobat Distiller as my printer (or you may choose the Acrobat PDFWriter). I then click OK.

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  1. The Save PDF File As dialogue box then opens.
    Give your file a name (according to the ETD naming convention is best. For instance: smith_john_200412_ms.pdf). Pay attention to where you save the file so you can find it easily when you are done. Click Save.

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  1. In order to ensure that your document will appear correctly on computers other than the ones you used to create your document, you must embed the fonts you have used
    This is particularly critical when you have used any non-Latin characters or mathematical or scientific symbols. The illustration below shows the "embed fonts" dialogue in Acrobat Distiller. (Settings, Job Options). The Graduate School requires you to use the embed fonts option. This will create a file that is slightly larger but will ensure that your font-dependent features are properly implemented. For more details, please see the online tutorial Embedding Fonts.

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  1. If you did your word processing in several different documents (for instance: abstract, front matter, chapters, references) you can use Acrobat to easily combine them into one pdf document
    The easiest way to combine Acrobat files, such as the front-matter template and the body of your thesis or dissertation, is the Create PDF From Multiple Files function in Acrobat 6, 7, and 8. To do this go to File, Create PDF, From Multiple Files in the top menu bar in Acrobat. As you can see in the picture below, click the Browse button to locate your files and add them to the window on the right side. The files will import in alphabetrical order so you may need to use the Move Up and Move Down buttons on the left under Arrange Files in order to have them combined in the correct order. When you have the files arranged in the desired order, click the OK button and all your files will be combined into one document. Please be sure you remember to save your newly combined document.

    Another way to combine PDF files is to use the method described below. This method is also useful if you wish to insert pages into a specific place in a PDF document. Open the pdf file of the first part of the final document, the abstract for example. In Acrobat 4 or 5 go to Document, Insert Pages and choose the next part, in our example front matter, the dialogue box to the right will appear. In Acrobat 6 go to Document, Pages, Insert. In Acrobat 7 go to Document, Insert Pages and choose the next part. Next, choose Location: After and Page: Last Page as shown in the illustration. Continue this process until you have the entire document put together. Finally do Save As using the naming convention: (lastname_firstname_middlename_yearmonth_degree) and you will have a complete document ready for submission.
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Creating Working Web Links in a PDF File

  1. Open your converted file in Acrobat.
  2. In Acrobat 6,7, or 8 go to Advanced, Link, Create from URLs in Document.
    You will be prompted with a dialogue box to generate web links, select All and click OK. Save your document to preserve the newly created web links.
  3. In Acrobat 5 go to Tools, Locate Web Addresses, Create web links from URLs in text.
    You will be prompted with a dialogue box to generate web links, select All and click OK. Save your document to preserve the newly created web links.
  4. In Acrobat 4 go to Tools, Web Links, Create.
    You be prompted with a dialogue box to generate web links, select All and click OK. Save your document to preserve the newly created web links.
  5. To view the links, click the "Hand Tool."

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Important Notes About Creating Web Links in PDF Files

  1. In your Word documents, be sure to include http:// before all links. This will ensure the links function in the PDF file.
  2. Be sure to have consistency of the hyperlink properties in your Word document. Make sure all hyperlinks are either turned ON or OFF so that after the conversion, there will be a consistent look for the PDF web links.
  3. Also in Word documents do not include a period immediately after the links, doing so can prevent them from converting in PDF.

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How Do I Decrease My File Size?

If you have pages that you scanned and inserted into your PDF file, the file may be very large. The typical file size for a text only 250 page paper is between 500K and 1 Megabyte. A needlessly large file will cause difficulties for you uploading and for those who may access it from the library. Acrobat has a utility to reduce file sizes built in. With your document open in Acrobat 6 go the File menu item and choose Reduce File Size (choose "Compatible with Acrobat 5.0 or later"). This operation will normally substantially reduce the file size without any loss of image resolution. One student handed in a thesis with 10 scanned pages included which was 125 megabytes. The scanned pages accounted for 124 megabytes of the file size! We performed the Reduce File Size operation on the document and reduced it down to 6 megabytes without any loss of image resolution.

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