Pro vs Standard

[DenThomp54]

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

[MichaelKazlow]

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.

[DenThomp54]

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_Johnson · Accepted solution]

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?

[DenThomp54]

George,

Thanks for responding. I'm probably not real sure about what I am doing.

I'm running the 30 day trial now and trying to figure out how things work.

I've looked at the comparison of the Standard and the Pro and the only

difference for me is the inclusion of Designer. As far as what I know, the

other differences wouldn't matter. There is a big difference in price if I

don't need Designer.

I do have Microsoft Publisher and have created a couple of pdf's out of

those files and brought them into Acrobat and used the Forms section for the

interaction. In your opinion, would Publisher be able to accomplish pretty

much the same as Designer?

I also have a couple of existing pdf's that I've downloaded that I need to

customize. They are some wedding photo contracts, release forms, etc for my

photography work. It seems to be easier to do that in Designer, but there's

a big chance I'm going about it the wrong way in Acrobat. I did use Acrobat

to convert one to a Word doc and then use MS Word to edit and then imported

it back to Acrobat for a pdf.

In your opinion, would the easiest way to customize those existing pdf's be

to save them as a Word doc, edit, and then import back into Acrobat to use

the Form fields?

Thanks for helping me out.

Dennis

[Dave Merchant]

PDF is an end-point format, meaning that it is NOT intended as something which can be edited like a Word document. You need to think of PDF as a virtual printout, and perform all your editing in the original document. Acrobat can make minor touch-ups, for example to correct a typo or build interactivity into a page, but it cannot (and will not) act like a word processor. Using Acrobat (or LCD) in that way is rather like printing out a Word document, then cutting up the paper and glueing it back together.

If the PDF file is all you have, then Acrobat can make reasonable conversions back to Word or text files, though it can never guarantee to reassemble the original file, given a lot of the internal structure has been thrown away during the conversion to PDF. Saving out to Word or RTF is the only realistic way to perform major edits on a document if you don't have the original, and is the reason Acrobat includes these export functions.

I should of course point out that if you're downloading documents from the Web and editing them, you must have the copyright owner's permission. Many "sample" documents are posted online by their owners specifically as PDF files to prevent people from modifying them as their own, and if you are contacting an owner to seek permission, it's sensible to ask if they have an editable version they can send you too.

[DenThomp54]

Dave - thanks for the explanation of what a pdf really is and its use.  I believe the Standard edition will fit my needs now since I can create in either MS Publisher or MS Word and let Acrobat add the interactive form fields and allow Reader to save.

The samples were freely shared on a photography forum.  I never thought of asking the originator for another file because of my thinking what a pdf was.

Thanks again,

Dennis

[Bill12]

You should check the comparison chart on the Adobe store site. Folks used to get the standard version (particularly after AA5) and wondered where things went. They were in the pro version. In some sense, the standard version used to be similar to an economy version -- works, but misses some neat features. More of these features have been added to the Standard over the years and they is why you need to check the comparison chart as to what you feel you need.

Depending on your need. the forms produced in Acrobat directly may be fine and Designer not needed. There are pros and cons on the two methods of doing forms and some also depends on what you are used to using. Designer does allow some dynamic form features that are not in Acrobat forms. However, Designer seems to be much more controlling of what you do with forms. Playing with both is a good idea to see what meets your needs. Generally, for the slight extra cost I would generally recommend Pro.

[DenThomp54]

Bill - I've gone over the comparison sheets several times.  The only thing I have a question on is whether Lifecycle would be worth the extra cost.  I don't really think the other differences would matter to me.  Then again, you don't know what you don't know sometimes.

My needs should be fairly simple.  I now know, (thanks to Dave) that I can and should create in MS Word & Publisher and then convert in Acrobat to add some interactivity and have them in a format a client could open if they don't have Word.  I'm getting ready to retire from my day job in a couple of months and intend on getting my photography going more.  I'm trying to create order forms, contracts, statements, etc. for it.  I need things to look a little more professional now.

I've still got 20 days left on my trial of Pro, so hopefully I'll have it figured out then.  I don't know if I could demo the Standard or not after to make sure?  The price difference is $128 after I apply my NAPP discount of 15%, so its $382 vs $254.  I was considering trying to find Acrobat Pro 9 at a discount, but that's not working out.  It'd be really nice if Adobe would give a bigger discount since I've spent so much over the years on Photoshop .

I appreciate your help.

Dennis

[George_Johnson]

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.