Skip to main content
Known Participant
January 22, 2011
Answered

Pro vs Standard

  • January 22, 2011
  • 2 replies
  • 23131 views

I'm using the trial of Acrobat Pro X and trying to decide if I need it or can get by with the Standard version.  When I look at the product comparison, the main difference for me is the inclusion of the Livecycle Designer with Pro.  I don't think the other differences really matter to me.  However, it seems that the Livecycle Designer makes editing existing pdf files much easier.  It seems to be a pain to try to edit text in Acrobat, especially if you add a few words and try to keep the formatting.  The Designer seems to be much easier.  I also exported a pdf to Word and edited there, but again it seemed to lose some of the formatting (lost bold text for one thing) but seemed to keep the spacing better when adding text.

I guess my question is am I missing something somewhere to edit an existing pdf or would Livecycle Designer be worth the extra money.  Unfortunately, I don't qualify for educational, nor does my older version (5) qualify for upgrade pricing.

Appreciate any help and opinions.

Thanks,

Dennis

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer George_Johnson

    Are you saying that you use Designer just to edit the text of an existing PDF, and not to create forms? If so, I have to say that's a very unusual use of Designer and not at all what it's intended for. When you convert to an XFA-based PDF, it's no longer a normal PDF.

    If you need to makes changes, why can't you edit the source document and create a new PDF?

    2 replies

    Inspiring
    January 22, 2011

    The purpose for LiveCycle Designer is to create XFA forms, that's it.

    Both Acrobat Pro and Standard allow you to create acroforms, which are entirely different.

    MichaelKazlow
    Legend
    January 22, 2011

    Designer doesn't edit pdf files, just designer/xml based pdf files. There are many reasons for using Pro vs Std. being able to add Flash files to pdf files is a must for me.

    Known Participant
    January 22, 2011

    Here's what I've been doing.

    Start Lifecycle Designer and at the welcome screen I choose Open Form.  I select the pdf and ok.  Then on the Import Options I choose Create Interactive Form with Flowable Layout.  I can then draw a box (or ctrl-click) several of the text fields and then choose to merge them.  If I start adding words then the existing text keeps moving down and keeps the formating.

    When I try to do the same in Acrobat, it's a pain to keep the formating straight as it will just keep adding text without moving existing to the next line.  I hope I making myself clear.  What is the best way to edit text in Acrobat?

    Thanks,

    Dennis

    George_JohnsonCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    January 22, 2011

    Are you saying that you use Designer just to edit the text of an existing PDF, and not to create forms? If so, I have to say that's a very unusual use of Designer and not at all what it's intended for. When you convert to an XFA-based PDF, it's no longer a normal PDF.

    If you need to makes changes, why can't you edit the source document and create a new PDF?