Acrobat.com is an Adobe service and not really part of any application. The service was first introduced along with the release of Acrobat 9, which has a variety of menu commands to access services found on Acrobat.com. In addition, all the Creative Suite 4 applications have menu commands that enable you to get to Acrobat.com for Web conferencing.
Any user of any application can make use of the Acrobat.com services. You don't have to be a user of any particular Adobe software application to use Acrobat.com. You can use these free services to share files, distribute forms, host and participate in Web conferences, and use the Adobe Buzzword service for an online word processor.
Because you don't have to be an Adobe software user to access Acrobat.com, interacting with clients and refining concepts and ad campaigns is much easier for designers using Creative Suite applications.
In this chapter, we cover getting started using Acrobat.com and in Chapters 30, 35, 36, and 37, we talk about specific services you might use with forms, file sharing, review sessions, and Web conferencing. Consider this chapter your gateway to the Acrobat.com service center where you can explore the many options that this service affords.
Regardless of the type of activity you want to use on Acrobat.com, you need to create an Adobe ID. Creating an Adobe ID is merely registering your login name and password with Adobe. No personal information is obtained when you create an Adobe ID, and you can use your ID for a number of services at Adobe, such as purchasing products at the Adobe Store and registering for PDF Ads Powered by Yahoo!.
Note
For more information on PDF Ads Powered by Yahoo!, see Chapter 38.
If you don't have an Adobe ID, you can obtain one in several ways. When you log onto Acrobat.com (www.acrobat.com), the welcome screen provides you several choices for activities you can do there. Click any of the icons, and you are prompted to sign in with your Adobe ID, as shown in Figure 33.1.
Figure 33.1. Click any of the icons on the welcome page at www.acrobat.com, and you are prompted to sign in.
If you don't have an Adobe ID, click the Sign Up! text in the lower-left corner of the pop-up window. The Sign Up! pop-up window opens, and you are prompted to supply information for your Adobe ID account, as shown in Figure 33.2.
Fill in the text boxes for e-mail, password, and name; select your country from the pull-down menu; and check the box for agreeing to the terms of the service. When you click Begin, you'll be notified that an e-mail message is sent to your e-mail account. When the message arrives in your e-mail inbox, you'll find a URL link in the message. Click the link, and you've completed your Adobe ID registration.
The next time you log onto Acrobat.com, use your e-mail address for the Adobe ID and type your password, and you can enter your library on Acrobat.com.
You also may create an Adobe ID by choosing Share My Screen in any of the Creative Suite applications or from a number of different menu commands in the File
When you arrive at Acrobat.com, you find five icons on the welcome page. Clicking any of the icons shown in Figure 33.3 first prompts you for your Adobe ID login and then takes you to the respective service. The services include:
Figure 33.3. The welcome page of Acrobat.com displays five icons representing access to various services.
Adobe Buzzword: Adobe Buzzword is an Adobe Flash-based word processor. You can write documents online, and the files are stored in your
Acrobat.comlibrary. You don't need to be concerned about saving files on a flash drive and copying to a laptop when you're on the road. You can access your Buzzword documents wherever you have an Internet connection. Buzzword documents can be shared, reviewed, and co-authored with otherAcrobat.com/Buzzword users. The documents can be exported in a number of useful file formats including Word, RTF, and text files.Acrobat ConnectNow: This version of Acrobat Connect is a free service for Web conferencing where you can have up to three people in a meeting room complete with VOIP and screen sharing.
Note
For more information on Web conferencing, see Chapter 37.
Create PDF: This option enables you to convert up to five native files to PDF. The service is intended for Adobe Reader users who do not have PDF creation opportunities in the free Reader software.
Share: You use Share for sharing files with colleagues, coworkers, and clients.
Note
For more information on sharing files on
Acrobat.com, see Chapter 35.My Files: Click My Files, and you are taken to your
Acrobat.comonline library. Here you find all the files you've shared, forms you've distributed, Buzzword documents you created, and files others have shared with you, and you have access to all the other services provided byAcrobat.com.
You can always open your Web browser and navigate to www.acrobat.com to access your Acrobat.com library. If you happen to be working in Acrobat or Adobe Reader, you can choose File
Type your login e-mail address and password, and click Sign In. Your default Web browser launches and takes you to Acrobat.com. If you regularly visit Acrobat.com, you can set up your Acrobat preferences to remember your login information so you don't need to type your Adobe ID and password each time you log on.
To set your preferences in Acrobat for remembering your Adobe ID and password, open the Preferences dialog box by pressing Ctrl/
Figure 33.4. When you choose Go to Acrobat.com from within Acrobat, the Acrobat.com login dialog box opens.
Figure 33.5. Open the Acrobat preferences, and click Acrobat.com in the left pane to display options for Acrobat.com login in the right pane.
Type your login Adobe ID, and check the Remember Me box. When this box is checked, you can type your password in the Password text box. Click OK, and each time you log onto Acrobat.com, your Adobe ID and password are automatically handled by Acrobat.
From any other CS application, you can access Acrobat.com and Web conferencing by choosing File
Choosing Share My Screen takes you to a ConnectNow meeting room that is part of Acrobat.com. You won't see your library by choosing this menu command.
Logging onto Acrobat.com via your Web browser or by choosing Go to Acrobat.com from the File
After you're logged into Acrobat.com, you have options for browsing files, creating PDFs online, sharing files, analyzing data from collected forms that were distributed, uploading and downloading files, accessing Adobe Buzzword, accessing Acrobat ConnectNow, maintaining a contacts list, and sending e-mails to invite people to view your files.
Note
For information on analyzing form data, see Chapter 30. For information on sharing files, see Chapter 35. For information on conducting review sessions, see Chapter 36. For information on Web conferencing, see Chapter 37.
Acrobat.comis a separate service provided by Adobe systems and doesn't require purchase of any Adobe product. The services onAcrobat.comare free.Before you can log onto
Acrobat.com, you must first create an Adobe ID.Accessing
Acrobat.comcan be accomplished by typingwww.acrobat.comin your Web browser's Location bar or by choosing from a variety of menu commands in Acrobat or Adobe Reader.Accessing Acrobat ConnectNow for Web conferencing can be handled via the File
When you log onto
Acrobat.com, you arrive at your library where you can see files you've uploaded and files sent to you by other users.