Acrobat 3.0 Backgrounder

Windows,

Macintosh,

and UNIX

The Fastest and Easiest Solution for Sharing
Documents On-Line

3.0

Adobe

Acrobat

version

For business customers, creating Web-ready documents with Acrobat software is as simple as printing. Custom-
ers can take the documents they create on a daily basis using standard business authoring tools such as word
processors, presentation packages, spreadsheets, and page-layout applications, and use Acrobat software to
create Portable Document Format (PDF) files that can be distributed immediately over the Internet. They
don’t have to learn new authoring tools, and they don’t have to go through the expensive and time-consum-
ing process of reauthoring existing documents into a different format.

Acrobat provides a single, industry-standard, PDF, which can be used to distribute practically any document
across platforms using any media, including the Web, CD-ROM, e-mail, and corporate networks. As a result,
businesses can implement Acrobat software throughout the enterprise without worrying about integration
headaches or having to make big investments in new technology.

Corporate developers and third-party integrators can count on Acrobat software to meet a broad range of
business needs. Acrobat can support almost any document type, from basic memos to high-quality, profession-
ally designed content, as well as legacy paper documents. In addition, Acrobat provides a robust application
programming interface (API) for customization and integration with other environments and applications,
such as the World Wide Web, document management systems, or other systems needing custom development.

Acrobat is also the best solution for getting paper documents on-line. Using Acrobat Capture™ and Acrobat 3.0,
businesses can scan and OCR paper documents, create PDFs from them, and distribute them to practically any
user through any media, including the Web. Acrobat software scales from high-end imaging systems to personal
scanners, meaning that users throughout a corporation can use a common document imaging standard that
seamlessly integrates with all other documents in PDF.

Lastly, Acrobat enables businesses to develop print-on-demand applications that can save time and money,
as well as help to better serve their customers. For example, customers visiting a Web site may want to down-
load multi-page documents, such as research reports, white papers, and documentation, and print them to
review at a later time. PDF files will print to the best possible quality of practically any printer, from low-end
inkjets to high-end image setters, while completely retaining the formatting of the document.

Integration with the Web

Businesses want to make sure that information on the Web is easy to access and is compact enough to travel
quickly through the bandwidth constraints of the Internet. Adobe Acrobat 3.0 software provides key features
that optimize PDF files for the Web. As a result, customers will be able to quickly access and view PDF files
directly within popular Web browsers such as Netscape™ Navigator™ and Microsoft® Internet Explorer.™

Support for Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer

Adobe Acrobat 3.0 supports the Netscape Plug-in API and ActiveX™ controls so that customers using either
the Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer browser will be able to view PDF files directly inside
the browser window. All customers need is the free Acrobat Reader 3.0 software, which is available for down-
loading from Adobe’s Web site.

Full-Text Searching

Acrobat 3.0 provides an out-of-the-box solution for full-text indexing and searching of PDF files on corpo-
rate local area networks, CD-ROM, and local storage media. In addition, Adobe is working with a variety of
third-party partners to support full-text searching of PDF files on the World Wide Web. Some third-party
solutions available now include products from Verity, OpenText, Fulcrum, and Personal Library Software.
Companies that have announced support for full-text searching of PDF files on the Web include Excalibur
Technologies. Adobe also provides a tool kit that enables corporate developers and third-party vendors to
easily incorporate PDF support with their full-text searching applications.

Easily view Acrobat documents within leading Web
browsers, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Internet Explorer.

CD-ROM

Archive server

Windows, MAC

UNIX, OS/2

Printer

E-mail

WWW

Anyone

Authoring tool/

application

Paper document

PDF

Optimization for On-Line Performance

Acrobat 3.0 provides a variety of features that optimize PDF files for fast performance on the Internet, ensur-
ing that customers can quickly download PDF files from the Web.

Page-at-a-time downloading

Acrobat 3.0 software enables PDF files to be accessed one page at a time over the Web. Customers can view
any individual page immediately, eliminating the need to first download the whole document. Page-at-a-time
downloading takes advantage of byteserving, an extension to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a
standard for transferring files over the Internet. Byteserving is supported by many commercially available
Web servers, and many other vendors have announced their intention to support it. In addition, customers
can use standard CGI scripts to enable byteserving on their Web servers. A list of Web servers that support
byteserving and sample CGI scripts are available from Adobe’s Web site at

http://www.adobe.com

Progressive rendering

When Acrobat displays a page inside a Web browser, it progressively renders the page on-screen. Text is ren-
dered first, and then links, while larger objects, such as images and embedded fonts, are rendered last. As a
result, the user can begin reading a page immediately without having to wait for the entire contents of a page
to download.

File Size Optimization

Acrobat 3.0 provides enhanced file compression and optimization capabilities to enable customers to more
quickly access PDF files over the Internet. The enhancements may permit customers to significantly reduce
the overall size of PDF files, in some cases to as much as one third of the original size, while providing full
support for graphically rich elements such as fonts, line art, and images.

Many highly formatted documents use repeating graphic objects, such as background images that appear on
every slide of a presentation. In Acrobat 3.0, PDF files can be optimized to eliminate redundant objects. The
impact of file optimization on file size will vary greatly from file to file, depending on how graphics are used.
For example, in testing, a Microsoft PowerPoint® presentation file with a repeating graphic object on every
slide was reduced from 186K in the native file format to 30K in PDF using file optimization.

Font embedding enhancements

With Acrobat 3.0 software, Type 1 fonts embedded in the PDF file can be stored in a compressed format,
reducing the overall size of the font by as much as 25 to 30 percent when an entire font is embedded, or even
greater when a font subset is embedded.

Compression features

Acrobat 3.0 provides a complete set of tools to tune PDF files for performance and quality. This includes the
ability to compress text, fonts, graphics, and images using a variety of compression techniques. New options
include the choice of image downsampling, which averages pixel values for more accurate results, or image
subsampling, which is not as accurate but is much faster. Customers also have the option to have Acrobat
automatically determine which compression method to use for grayscale and color images—lossless or JPEG.
Lossless compression, using LZW or ZIP, is best suited for screen-capture images, while JPEG compression is
more appropriate for continuous-tone images. In general, using ZIP over other compression alternatives for
text, line art, and indexed color images can provide as much as an additional 25 percent compression of those
elements in a PDF file.

As Simple as Printing

With Acrobat 3.0, customers can create Web-ready electronic documents through a process that is as simple and
familiar as printing. Two options allow users to convert electronic documents to PDF files using Acrobat 3.0:

Ease-of-use for the Business Customer

The Acrobat PDF Writer is a driver that enables users to easily “print” a document to PDF directly from
almost any application. It is designed for customers on Windows and Macintosh computers using standard
business tools, such as word processors and office suites. For example, a customer using a word processor
would simply select PDF Writer as their printer and “print” the file. The document is automatically saved as
a PDF file and is ready for distribution on the World Wide Web.

Acrobat 3.0 offers enhancements to PDF Writer that make creating PDF files as simple as possible. These
enhancements includes macros for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 that add a “Create
Adobe PDF” option to the File menu of both applications. Choosing the Create Adobe PDF option automati-
cally switches to the PDF Writer driver, creates the PDF file, and then switches back to the previously selected
printer driver.

Power and Control for the Professional

Acrobat Distiller® 3.0 converts PostScript® language files into PDF. It is designed for customers using profes-
sional authoring tools, such as page-layout, illustration, and image-editing applications, that typically generate
PostScript files when printing. Acrobat Distiller should also be used for large documents or documents that
contain Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) artwork or images, complex blends, or gradient fills. Customers using
the UNIX® operating system, which doesn’t support standard system printer drivers, or customers using
proprietary authoring systems that can output PostScript files, such as those running on mainframe or mini-
computers, should also use Acrobat Distiller.

Acrobat Distiller 3.0 provides a high degree of control over file optimization and compression options avail-
able to make PDF files as efficient as possible. In addition, Acrobat Distiller 3.0 offers advanced functions for
customers needing control over professional prepress capabilities.

Creating Forms With Dynamic Capabilities in PDF

With Acrobat 3.0, PDF files can represent both high-fidelity versions of electronic documents in final form,
as well as interactive documents that change dynamically. Acrobat 3.0 includes support for forms, dynamic
controls for multimedia and interactive elements, and the ability to do touch-up editing of text in PDF files.

Forms

Using Acrobat 3.0, businesses can now take a wide variety of existing forms and convert them to PDF, to
create live, electronic forms that look just like the original. Customers can then fill out familiar-looking
documents on-line and submit the information right from their desktop. Unlike other on-line forms solu-
tions, Acrobat forms can represent the full range of content supported by PDF. A field in an Acrobat form
can change on-the-fly to show any combination of graphics, images, and text, enabling new kinds of dynamic
publishing applications.

Acrobat 3.0 software supports standard form field types, such as single- and multi-line text fields, combo-
and list-boxes, buttons, and check boxes and provides extensive control over appearance, tab order, and be-
havior. Users can define actions for when a mouse enters or exits, or clicks up or down on a PDF form field.
Actions can include posting forms data in HTML or the Acrobat Forms Data Format (FDF) to the Internet.
Forms data can also be received from a Web server host, making it possible to dynamically update a form and
its appearance without having to resend the entire form.

Dynamic Controls

Dynamic controls add a new dimension of interactivity to Acrobat software and give content developers an
easy-to-use interface for controlling the behavior of PDF files. Using simple dialog boxes, customers can
create interactive electronic PDF documents that automatically play sounds or movies, execute Acrobat menu
items, show or hide graphic objects on a page, and more.

The Touch Up Plug-in

The Touch Up Plug-in allows customers to do touch-up editing of text in PDF files. Users can edit text,
change fonts, font color, font size, and font alignment on the page. As a result, customers can easily update or
modify PDF files and reuse the content for multiple purposes. The security features in Acrobat also allow
customers to limit or disallow any editing.

Scan to the Web

With Acrobat 3.0 and Acrobat Capture software , customers now have a Web-ready document-imaging solu-
tion that scales to meet the needs of every user in the enterprise. Acrobat Capture allows customers to scan
large volumes of paper-based information and convert that content into searchable, Web-ready PDF files that
look just like the originals. Acrobat 3.0 includes an Acrobat Capture plug-in, a personal version of the stand-
alone Acrobat Capture product.

The Acrobat Capture Plug-in

Acrobat 3.0 software and the Acrobat Capture Plug-in provide the perfect complement for the growing num-
ber of desktop computer users with personal or built-in scanners. Now these customers can convert their
paper documents into the same portable, WYSIWYG format as any other Acrobat file and share them elec-
tronically via e-mail, intranets, and other media. The Acrobat Capture Plug-in is designed for personal use by
customers needing to convert small amounts of paper documents into electronic form. For high volume,
networked-based imaging applications, customers should use the stand-alone Acrobat Capture product.

The Acrobat Capture plug-in converts color, grayscale, or black-and-white TIFF images into small, fully
searchable PDF files. Using character, font, and page recognition, this plug-in processes documents in
English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, or Spanish. Acrobat 3.0 also provides a full-featured
image viewer that can import and convert a wide range of file formats, including TIFF, GIF, PCX, and BMP
formats, into highly compressed, cross-platform PDF files. As a result, customers can use Acrobat software
as a universal solution to access and share practically any digital image.

Create and post Acrobat forms—complete
with pop-up boxes, buttons, and text
fields—that viewers can fill in on-line or
update dynamically.

Add dynamic controls—buttons that
trigger sounds and movies in any PDF file.

The Shortest Distance
From Your Documents to the Web

Adobe Acrobat 3.0 is the most direct route to get business documents on-line. With Acrobat software, cus-
tomers can use the Web, CD-ROM, and corporate networks to better share information without costly and
time-consuming detours such as reauthoring content into other formats, learning new tools, or changing the
way they work.

Using Acrobat to create Web-ready documents is as simple as printing: Anyone with basic computer skills can
do it. Because Acrobat is supported by all major authoring tools, computer platforms, printers, and Web
browser and server software, businesses can standardize on it without compatibility problems or the need to
invest in completely new systems.

Customers can use Acrobat software to share practically any document created by any authoring tool—
including legacy paper documents—in a single, Web-ready format. With Acrobat 3.0, PDF files can now be
seamlessy integrated with the Web, providing customers with performance, viewing, and searching enhance-
ments that bring the benefits of Acrobat software transparently to the Internet. In all, Acrobat software
provides a solution for electronic communication that is simpler, faster, and more cost-effective than almost
any other approach.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Acrobat Capture, Distiller, and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Netscape and Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications
Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. OS/2 is a registered trademark of International
Business Machines Corporation.

Adobe Systems Incorporated

345 Park Avenue
San Jose, CA 95110-2704 USA

Adobe Systems Europe Limited

Adobe House, Mid New Cultins
Edinburgh EH11 4DU
Scotland, United Kingdom

Adobe Systems Co., Ltd.

Yebisu Garden Place Tower
4-20-3 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150 Japan

World Wide Web

http://www.adobe.com

Macintosh

Power Mac

Win3.1

Win95

WinNT 3.5.1

WinNT 4.0

OS/2

SunOS

Solaris

HP-UX

AIX

IRIX (SGI)

LINUX

Reader

Exchange

PDF Writer

Distiller

Catalog

Scan

Capture plug-in

Import

Touch-up

* Scheduled for a future release.

Acrobat 3.0 registered users
will receive free updgade.

Adobe Acrobat 3.0

Product Family

Document Outline