1. Adobe® Acrobat® 9
Addendum: Reviewer’s Guide for Legal Professionals
Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows Vista™, Mac OS X (Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro only)
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) lets legal professionals capture and view information from any application
and share it with anyone around the world. Because Adobe PDF is an accurate and self-contained representation of
a document, it has been adopted as the de facto electronic filing format by the courts. For example, the United States
Federal Judiciary mandates the use of PDF in its Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. Over
320,000 attorneys have filed 31 million cases using this system.1
While Adobe Acrobat is still used often for purposes of electronic filing, legal professionals now leverage Acrobat for
many other functions including document review, form authoring and data collection, Optical Character Recognition
(OCR), case analysis, document security, closing binder preparation, etc.
Acrobat 9 offers many new and enhanced features which can increase the productivity of legal professionals.
The Adobe Acrobat 9 Family
The Acrobat 9 product family features three versions: Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat 9 Pro, and Acrobat 9 Pro Extended.
We’ve provided you with Acrobat 9 Pro Extended so you can experience the widest range of capabilities of the
products. In the main Acrobat 9 Reviewer’s Guide, we’ve included a table that describes which features are available in
each version of the product—and which features are new or enhanced in each version. We have also indicated which
features are new or enhanced throughout this document.
This Guide is an
Addendum
This addendum should
be used in adjunct to
the Acrobat 9 Reviewer’s
Guide, which provides a
comprehensive overview
of the key new and
enhanced features of
the product family. This
addendum contains
feature commentary of
specific interest to legal
professionals.
1
Source: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/cmecf/
2. 2
Table of Contents
Solving Client Communication Problems with PDF Portfolios 3
NEW: Using PDF Portfolios for Case Analysis 4
Embedding a Search Index 4
NEW: Use Case PDF Portfolios for Court Reporting 5
Enhanced Export to Microsoft Word 5
Enhanced: Save a PDF as a Word File 5
Enhanced: Can you do that to a lot of files? 6
Bates Numbering 7
Enhanced: Using the Bates Numbering Feature 7
New: Split Document 9
Typewriter Tool 10
Enhanced: Using the Typewriter Tool 10
New: Document Comparison 11
Enhanced: Metadata Removal 12
Other Noteworthy Enhanced Features 14
Enhanced: PDF Preflight Fix-up for Font Embedding 14
Enhanced: Simplified Document Scanning 14
Enhanced: Improved Text Touch-up Editing 14
Enhanced: New OCR Option: ClearScan 14
Enhanced: Easy Conformance with PDF Standards 16
3. 3
Solving Client Communication Problems with PDF Portfolios
Delivering professional, easy-to-understand sets of documents
to clients is a challenge for law firms. Have you ever received
an e-mail message with multiple attachments? What are the
attachments? Why are they there? In what order should I read
them?
When an e-mail attachment is open, context for the viewer
changes. Any instructions in the e-mail are not visible when
viewing an attachment in another application.
While e-mail is a great delivery mechanism, an e-mail message
isn’t an efficient way to organize and deliver documents.
PDF Portfolios created with Acrobat 9 offer an easy way to
deliver a final set of documents so that the client…
Comprehends the purpose of the documents•
Understands the relative value of each document•
Knows what do with the documents•
Doesn’t lose important documents•
More importantly, PDF Portfolios are engaging and add value
to the set of documents.
Do you ever get an e-mail with lots of attachments? It can often feel
confusing and overwhelming to recipients.
The Grid View of a PDF Portfolio includes thumbnails and icons. The sliding view is animated. The List View offers a spreadsheet-like view of a set of
documents. In this view, fields may be sorted to find the types
of documents needed.
4. 4
NEW: Using PDF Portfolios for Case Analysis
Case analysis is the process of looking at the
documents in a case and making decisions about them.
Quickly finding a key fact among hundreds or even
thousands of documents efficiently can help attorneys
save time and win cases.
Many solo and small firms do not own a dedicated
software program for case analysis. Using PDF
Portfolios, it is possible to collect, analyze, and search
across thousands of documents while keeping them
more securely organized and in one place.
PDF Portfolio header fields may be created to track
important facts associated with documents such as the
issues, people, document types, bates numbers, etc.
Header fields may then be sorted by issue, date and
so on.
An example of a PDF Portfolio used for case analysis.
Embedding a Search Index
PDF Portfolios may contain an embedded search index which offers fast keyword
search across all the documents contained in the PDF Portfolio. To add a full text
index to a PDF Portfolio, choose Advanced > Document Processing > Manage
Embedded Index
More Powerful than PDF Packages
Acrobat 8 added a PDF Package feature that many legal professionals found useful for case
analysis. See http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/acrobat_for_case_analysis/. Acrobat 9 offers many
improvements in this area:
• Instant entry into header fields
• A date field type to allow the notation and sorting of dates to establish a timeline
• Ability to find text in files other than PDF including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Ability to preview files other than PDF including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
5. 5
NEW: Use Case PDF Portfolios for Court Reporting
Court reporting agencies need to securely send groups of files to their legal service clients. For example, the agency may send
an ASCII deposition transcript, PDF version of the transcript, a large number of exhibits, and various instructions.
Court reporting agencies also increasingly offer video deposition services. Ensuring that video can play on all of the operating
systems in use by clients is a challenge.
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended allows court reporting agencies to convert many different formats of video to Adobe Flash® video
which can be embedded natively—along with other deposition documents—into a PDF Portfolio. Now, with the free
Adobe Reader® 9, court reporters have a platform- and player-agnostic method to distribute video depositions.
Enhanced Export to Microsoft Word
Acrobat 9 offers enhanced—and more editable—export to Microsoft Word.
Legal professionals often receive documents in PDF which need to be revised. For example, a firm may need to respond to
interrogatories sent as a PDF.
Enhanced: Save a PDF as a Word File
To save a PDF as a Microsoft Word file:
Choose File > Export > Word Document.
Flow or Layout
Acrobat 9 allows you to choose
how a file is exported to
Microsoft Word or RTF formats.
A new option—which is also
the default choice—is Retain
Flowing Text. This option
favors easy editing over exact
positioning on the page.
6. 6
Enhanced: Can you do that to a lot of files?
Performing OCR on one document is easy. What if you need to make 20, 50, or 1,000 documents searchable? Or, add a
watermark on 100 documents?
Acrobat 9 now makes it easy to perform operations across multiple files:
OCR• —(Document > OCR > Recognize Text in Multiple Files using OCR . . .)
Headers and Footers• —(Document > Header and Footer > Add. . . )
Background• —(Document > Background > Add/Replace. . . )
Watermark• —(Document > Watermark > Add . . .)
Reduce File Size• —(Document > Reduce File Size . . .)
Split Document• —(Document > Split Document . . .)
Export to Word and other formats• —(File > Export > Export Multiple Files . . . )
Create PDF• —(File > Create PDF > Batch Create Multiple Files . . .)
Acrobat 9 makes it easy to perform operations on multiple files.
Above: Adding a watermark to multiple files. An“Apply to Multiple”button is available.
A simple interface allows the user to add a number of files to be processed.
7. 7
Bates Numbering
Acrobat 9 improves upon previous versions by offering the following new Bates Numbering features:
Simplified selection window to add either files or folders to a Bates run. In addition, sort files for improved ordering.•
Rename files to the Bates Number range. For example, a 15-page document with a starting Bates number of 004567 would•
be automatically renamed 004567-004582.
Bates number files in a PDF Portfolio.•
Convert files other than PDF to PDF and Bates number.•
Create log file of Bates operation.•
Enhanced: Using the Bates Numbering Feature
1. Choose Advanced > Document Processing >
Bates Numbering > Add.
2. Click the Add Files button at the top of the
Bates Numbering window.
About Bates Numbering
Law firms and the courts have
unique numbering needs
for sharing documents in
discovery. Counsel, opposing
counsel, and the courts need
a common numbering system
when referring to documents.
The Bates Company— around
the year 1865—invented an
automatic stamping machine
that numbered progressively.
Each time the machine was
pressed down onto a sheet
of paper, a rotating wheel
incremented by one. Pages
were generally numbered
using a six-digit sequence.
For example, page 921 in
a document set would be
000921. Courts and law firms
quickly adopted this system
which is commonly referred
to as Bates Numbering.
Today, it is fast and affordable
to convert all case documents
to PDF and then Bates stamp.
Inexpensive scanners such
as the Fujitsu ScanSnap
(approximately US $400) scan
18 double-sided pages per
minute directly to PDF format. 3. Click the Output Options button.
a. Number documents in place or number and place in a new folder
as a copy.
b. Adjust filenames with a prefix/suffix or rename to the Bates range:
e.g. 105340-105347.pdf.
c. Create a log file for the Bates process.
4. Click OK to exit Output Options.
5. Click OK again.
8. 8
Bates Appearance Options
If you have documents which extend edge-to-edge, Acrobat 9
can shrink them as needed so that the Bates Number won’t
appear on top of page elements.
If your documents vary in page size, you may elect to keep the
position of headers and footers consistent.
6. The Bates Numbering window appears.
a. Settings may be saved and reapplied.
b. Set the Font, Size and Color of text.
c. Set Appearance Options (see sidebar).
d. The Add Header and Footer window allows
you to control the style and placement of the
Bates number on the document.
Bates Numbers and Metadata
The position and location of Bates numbers
are stored in document metadata. If the
Examine Document feature is used to
remove document metadata, the Remove
Bates Numbers menu item will no longer
be available.
Bates Logging
A log file is written which contains the
original document name, starting Bates
Number and ending Bates Number.
Insert Bates Number
Bates Numbers may have
both a prefix and a suffix.
Make sure to leave spaces or
dashes before/after either a
prefix or a suffix to keep the
Bates Number easy to read.
9. 9
New: Split Document
Clients sometimes have limits on the size of files which may be accepted through their email gateways. Sending a client a 7MB
file may not be possible.
Courts which offer electronic filing publish rules which specify how PDF documents are filed. Some courts offer a limitation
on the total file size—typically two to five megabytes. Other courts limit the number of pages to 200, 300, or 500 pages per file
segment.
The new Split Document feature in Acrobat 9 allows legal professionals to split documents three different ways:
By file size•
By number of pages•
At top-level bookmarks•
To split a document:
1. Open a PDF.
2. Choose Document > Split Document.
3. Select the way you wish to split the document:
Why would I split by
Top-level Bookmarks?
Setting bookmarks to
delineate major sections
for electronic filing allows
legal professionals to have
more control over where
a document will be split.
Using Top-level Bookmarks,
an attorney can make sure
that an exhibit is not split
into multiple parts. To
ensure that each segment
is split correctly, place a
top-level bookmark for
the first page of the file.
Bookmarks should be
placed in logical page
order for best results.
4. Click Output Options to set labeling and location:
5. Click OK to exit the Output Options window.
6. Click OK to split the document.
10. 10
Typewriter Tool
The Typewriter tool, first introduced in Acrobat 7.05, offered a simplified way to add text on top of a document. Like a
typewriter, it was limited to black, Courier text.
The updated tool in Acrobat 9 offers the following improvements:
Typeface•
Typeface Color•
Typeface Size•
Enhanced: Using the Typewriter Tool
1. Choose View > Toolbars > Typewriter.
2. Click the Typewriter icon on the toolbar to type anywhere on top of a document.
3. Select the text you typed and use the Typewriter toolbar to make other changes.
Typewriter Entries are
Annotations
Each entry made with the
Typewriter tool is an Acrobat
annotation and will appear
in the Comments panel.
Adobe Reader Users Can
use the Typewriter!
Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat 9 Pro
Extended users may enable
documents so that users of
the free Adobe Reader can
type on top of a document.
Choose Tools > TypeWriter
> Enable Typewriter Tool in
Adobe Reader…
11. 11
New: Document Comparison
Legal professionals need to protect work product when sharing documents with clients or opposing counsel. Since PDF
documents are not easily editable, the format has become a standard for document exchange in the legal market.
With both sides exchanging documents in PDF, firms need a robust tool to compare PDF documents to detect textual changes.
Acrobat 9 includes a Document Comparison feature which helps legal professionals quickly spot changes in documents.
What new Document Comparison features are in Acrobat 9?
Acrobat 9 includes a completely new document comparison engine which may be controlled via an easy-to-access panel. Detected changes are
stored as document annotations which may be sorted, analyzed, and even summarized to create a new document. The new comparison engine
can be“tuned”to focus or ignore document components such as headers and footers, backgrounds, and images. This feature allows attorneys to
quickly detect key textual changes where they are most likely to be encountered in the body of the document.
Unlike other document comparison tools, Acrobat does not force users to view two documents in a side-by-side view (although a synchronized
side-by-side view is available). The “one-up”view allows legal professionals to focus on key changes and avoid mistakes.
Summarize the Differences!
A useful and visual method to spot differences is to summarize the comments made by the
document comparison engine.
After running a comparison, choose Comments > Summarize Comments.
Summarize Comments Window. Try the
second option.
A Summarized Document showing all the changes
from the original is an easy way to spot changes.
Show changes at the character level.
How do I compare two
scanned documents?
1. OCR each document.
2. Choose Document >
Compare Documents . . .
3. Choose the left most
option (Reports, etc.).
12. 12
Enhanced: Metadata Removal
In recent years, legal professionals have become increasingly aware of the risk of accidental disclosures of confidential
information in document metadata. While PDF is relatively benign compared to Microsoft Office documents, legal
professionals require the equivalent of digital bleach—the ability to easily find and remove document metadata.
The enhanced Examine Document feature in Acrobat 9 ensures that documents are clean and safe to send. Acrobat 9 can
remove metadata, hidden text, bookmarks, comments, and other potentially dangerous information from documents.
To examine a document for metadata:
1. Choose Document > Examine Document.
2. The new Examine Document panel opens.
What is hidden text?
Hidden text is any text
which is not visually
apparent in the document.
Some examples are:
1. Black text on a black
background.
2. White text on a white
background.
3. Colored text on an
identical or similarly
colored background.
4. Text that is obscured by
another object.
5. Text that is three points
or smaller. Small text
may appear visually
as dirt at certain view
percentages.
The Hidden text category is expanded.
3. Click a + sign to expand a metadata category.
Improvements in
Examine Document
1. Examine and remove
hidden text, layers, and
objects on a per item
basis.
2. Preview any type of
metadata.
3. Examine metadata from
a convenient panel.
4. Examine Document is
now available via Batch
Processing.
13. 13
4. Click the Show preview text to preview the metadata.
Preview of Hidden Text in document.
5. Click OK to exit the metadata preview.
6. To remove metadata from
the document, check the
appropriate categories and
click the Remove button at
the bottom of the panel.
Why give the other side
the benefit of your OCR?
Examine Document can
remove the hidden text for a
PDF which has been scanned
and OCR’d. Acrobat 9 Pro and
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended users
can run Examine Document
via a Batch Sequence to
remove text from hundreds
of documents at a time.
Check it out:
Advanced > Document
Processing > Batch
Processing.
14. 14
Other Noteworthy Enhanced Features
Enhanced: PDF Preflight Fix-up for Font Embedding
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and other regulatory agencies require that all documents uploaded to
the agency have fonts embedded. Firms sometimes receive documents from experts or co-counsel which may not contain all
the fonts necessary to pass the USPTO’s requirements. To see this feature, choose Advanced > Preflight.
Enhanced: Simplified Document Scanning
Acrobat 9 offers a simplified document scanning interface which allows novice users to quickly take advantage of a digital
workflow. Presets are available for the most common scanning tasks such as black-and-white, grayscale, and color. Acrobat
scanning features may now be launched from the front panel buttons on most scanners. To see this feature, choose File > Create
PDF > From Scanner and choose one of the options. A TWAIN or ISIS compatible scanner is required to use this feature.
Enhanced: Improved Text Touch-up Editing
An enhanced Text Touch-up tool makes it possible in most cases to do simple inline edits which will reflow paragraphs. First,
choose Edit > Preferences and choose the Touchup Text category. Enable reflow and close Preferences. Next choose Tools >
Advanced Editing > Touchup Text.
Enhanced: New OCR Option: ClearScan
ClearScan is a new OCR option designed to improve the appearance of scanned paper documents:
Searchable Image OCR at 400% ClearScan OCR at 400%
15. 15
4. Click the Edit button.
5. Choose ClearScan from the PDF Output Style menu.
To try ClearScan OCR:
1. Open an existing image-only PDF.
2. Choose Document > OCR Text Recognition…
3. The Recognize Text window appears:
6. Click OK twice.
Why use the ClearScan
OCR option?
ClearScan produces
documents that are easier
to read on most monitors.
Since ClearScan documents
contain vector renditions
of characters, print speed
may improve.
