The portable document file (PDF) is a universal file format similar to JPEG or MPEG. This format became popular several years ago as companies and organizations began to focus on reducing operating costs. Adobe promoted the PDF as a way to create a paperless work environment. Documents that were originally created to be printed and read where simply converted to PDF. This allowed organizations to easily share and store documents.
Originally, the Adobe Acrobat software was very expensive. Bob Connelly’s book Dynamic Media explained that Acrobat Reader (which is now free) originally cost $50. This meant that the technology to produce and view PDFs was available only to organizations willing to spend the money. It was only after Adobe began providing Acrobat Reader for free that the file format became widely accepted.
Unfortunately, those early years greatly influenced the way people thought about PDFs. Most early PDFs (and still the majority) were simply files converted from word processing software. Acrobat is viewed as a type of digital copy machine. It makes an exact copy of the original document. While this approach has it uses, it only takes advantage of a small amount of the capabilities of the PDF.
We will be pushing InDesign to its limits by using the interactive features found in CS3. We'll also learn how to use more advanced features found in Acrobat Pro.