Learn To Use Adobe Acrobat Pro Like A Professional
JavaScript Learning for Acrobat Pro
They say it takes more than 10,000 hours of experience to become an expert in any field. I have been living and breathing Adobe Acrobat Professional® since 2004 (The name changed to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC® and recently back to Acrobat Pro®. All will hereafter be referred to as "Acrobat®" or "Acrobat Pro"). I have exceeded 10,000 hours many years ago. Despite having no prior programming knowledge or formal computer training I became an expert at Acrobat and the programming language used to make it hum. I'm self-taught through hours and hours of research and trial and error. The trial and error was sometimes very frustrating but that frustration was quickly forgotten each time a complex task or function worked out as planned.
I've thought about sharing my knowledge a lot over the years through a course like this and my idea always came down to the following question.
“How can I develop this course in a way that will get beginners up to speed as quickly as possible while they retain their knowledge and learn how to find answers quickly on their own?”
In other words, if I could have taken a course at the beginning of my Acrobat journey that would've save me hundreds of hours of frustration by cutting through the fog and pointing me like a laser at how to learn, what would that course look like? That was my goal and I believe I've achieved it. Advanced courses that continue the learning are already in the works.
One method in achieving my goal is to continuously test the knowledge acquired with short quizzes, and require a passing grade before proceeding to the next section. Those with more experience or significant expertise may find some of these lessons boring or redundant but they can skip right to the quizzes and use the results as test of whether they want to skip that section entirely or actually work through the material.
Another method is learning by doing, so many of the lessons and quizzes will have practical steps where the answers will be obtained by performing tasks within Acrobat. Some of the early lessons contain advanced methods or functions that might seem like "jumping way ahead" but that's because they are either crucial to learn first in order to make things easier later, or they are part of the workspace setup. Many things might seem out-of-order but there is a lot to cover, so I have selected the order to best achieve my stated goal.
The material is a combination of text, screenshot images, practical tasks, videos, and short quizzes. All files for the lessons will be contained in a downloadable zip folder and they should be extracted and saved prior to use. While previous versions of Acrobat Professional can probably be used to complete this course, the commands, menu items, tools, and User Interface (UI) are different than the latest version of Acrobat Pro. Since I will not be demonstrating previous versions it will be up to the student to find these tools and commands. This can be frustrating so it is highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Pro to get through this course smoothly. Everything demonstrated can be performed with both Windows and Mac operating systems but I use a lot of Windows keystroke shortcuts to make things easier. I do not show the Mac equivalent keystrokes. If you are using a Mac it is up to you to find the equivalent keystrokes. You should also be familiar with navigation of the Mac file system.
Adobe Acrobat PRO is a PDF reader, writer, and fillable form creator loaded with functionality for creating PDFs and automating PDF-related workflows. It has a very robust JavaScript engine which, when properly utilized, can achieve remarkable results, including but not limited to:
- Workspace customization including custom menu items and custom toolbar buttons.
- Workflow automation.
- Math calculations from simple to complex.
- Conditional statement calculations.
- Date and time stamps and calculations.
- Popup dialog windows for capturing user inputs, with field types that include text boxes, list boxes, dropdowns, check boxes, buttons, and radio buttons.
- Formatting and appearance of fillable forms.
- Popup alert messages for testing user inputs and providing information.
- Dynamic stamps that capture user inputs, user identity, and system information.
Almost everything that can be done through the UI in Acrobat PRO can also be done by executing JavaScript (NOTE: Instead of the term JavaScript, we will often use the words script, scripts, code, or JS for short in its place). JavaScript is NOT Java, which is a separate programming language. The two should not be confused with each other. As we work through the functionality of the UI we will usually outline the script required to accomplish the same result.
Work At Your Own Pace
Students can work at their own pace and will have access to the course materials for one full year. If you select the course outline tab above you will see all the lessons, along with an estimated for each lesson. NOTE: The estimated times are probably much longer than it would take to read through the materials and perform the tasks or exercises. They are estimates only, and have been inflated to take into account the fact that many people will need to slow down their reading and also re-read certain sections in order to fully comprehend and absorb the material.
Bonus Access
Students also receive one full year of Premium Membership access, which includes full access to all areas of the website, including several automation tools that can be downloaded, installed, and used. Existing Premium Members can extend their automation tool access for one year from the date they enroll in this course.
Course Cost
The cost of the course is $395 USD. Click here to purchase the course.