Law Practice Today

While reviewing Acrobat 8 (A8) (“New Acrobatics,” The Lawyer’s PC, January 15, 2007), I said: “A number of new features in Acrobat 8 definitely will appeal to legal professionals.” What was true then is even more so now in Adobe Acrobat 9. I again had an opportunity to beta-test the newest version of Acrobat with Microsoft’s Virtual PC running Vista Service Pack 1 and a beta of WordPerfect X4 (WP14).

When beta testers log on to the Adobe prerelease Web site, we can see a list of the new features found in Acrobat 9 (A9). It is a very full list—a hard copy of the M8 Beta Build now prints on 11 pages! Main headings include PDF Creation, PDF Portfolios (formerly known as PDF Package), Document Processing, Creative Pro, Scanning and OCR, Forms, Collaboration, Compare, Multimedia Authoring, Digital Signatures, and Security.

The Document Processing section will be of particular interest to lawyers. It includes two of my favorite A8 features: redaction and Bates numbering. This section also includes examining and comparing of documents, which works very well. (See the screen capture of compare documents, and especially note the pop-up explanation of what has changed.) My third favorite A8 feature, forms, has its own section.

Checking Out New Features

Acrobat 9 installed without a problem and Acrobat 8 was completely removed—I earlier had deactivated and uninstalled it. The only thing extra I had to do was reset my Firefox browser preference (Tools/Options/Applications) so PDF Web files will open automatically. If I had a wish with this uninstall/install, then it would be that Acrobat 8's history of opened PDF files could be used by Acrobat 9. I often use the history to easily return to PDF documents I was working on or referencing.

My first A9 look was at a beta version while this review will be based on the released version of Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended.

Here is an overview of enhanced and new features from Adobe’s Rick Borstein, a Business Development Manager specializing in the Acrobat legal market. His list includes: document comparison (enhanced+), PDF Portfolios (new), redaction (enhanced), Bates numbering (enhanced), file splitting (new), forms (enhanced+), OCR (enhanced), save-to-Word (enhanced), send and collaborate live (new), Web capture (enhanced), e-mail archiving (enhanced), Typewriter tool (enhanced), and Scan to PDF (enhanced).

As mentioned, some of my favorites in Acrobat 8 included forms, redaction, and Bates numbering each of which has enhanced functionality in Acrobat 9. For example, Rick tells us Acrobat 9 Standard can now create and Reader-enable forms; form fields can be automatically found on scanned documents; there is easier form authoring, which allows users to “stamp” form fields on documents; and form data can be collected on Acrobat.com, SharePoint, or a network folder. He also tells us the redaction feature can now redact using patterns to find Social Security numbers (Social Insurance numbers in Canada), emails, and so on. Word lists can be redacted as well as entire pages and in batches, and it’s possible to automatically rename files with a suffix such as “_redacted” to preserve the original file. Finally, users can select entire folders for Bates numbering, set an output folder so originals stay untouched, rename files on output with a prefix or suffix, and rename files to a Bates range such as 000001-000039.pdf .

In the accompanying Redaction screen capture, which shows a test of “Multiple words and phrases”, users should be careful when “Whole words only” is selected because some instances may not be included. For example, my search of “Adobe 8 9” in the current document excluded “A9”, “M8”, and “8 1 ” but when “Whole words only” was not selected, these instances were included for redaction.

My law practice doesn’t lend itself to PDF Portfolios and online collaboration, so I refer you to chapters 4 and 11 of Donna Baker’s latest book, Adobe Acrobat 9 HOW-TOs 125 Essential Techniques. This is an excellent resource which I highly recommend!

Although there are many other features to discuss, I’ll leave this review with a few words on security. Acrobat 9 users can now use 256-bit encryption, which is apparently what banks use for online customer security. Yes, PDF security seems complete, given that digital signatures can be added and metadata can be removed; however, it is important to consider the needs of clients/endusers as well as your firm’s security policies. For example, as an Acrobat 9 beta tester I wanted to print the release notes rather than read them on my computer’s monitor but, unfortunately, the author locked the document, which excluded printing. While I appreciate Adobe was concerned about pre-release security, I was given the document/information under embargo, and controlling printing would not make the information any more or less secure. Fortunately, Adobe staff agreed, and soon afterward, a printable document landed in my inbox.

What Others Think

While preparing this article I looked at ten reviews from other publications. Overall the reviewers gave an average grade of slightly better of 4 of 5 stars (82%), which cnet equates to a grade of “excellent”.

PC Magazine says, “Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extender ... brings the biggest and best enhancement that Acrobat has seen in a long time.” PC Pro echoes this view, saying, “In fact version 9 is the most exciting Acrobat release since the launch of the all-important free Reader application.”

However, not everyone is quite that enthusiastic; for example, one reviewer writing for Eclipse Magazine says, “Acrobat 9 will not set the world on fire, but it does what it is designed to do extremely well.” Another reviewer, reportedly a seasoned Acrobat user writing in TechArena, concludes that Acrobat 9 falls short of groundbreaking with many “new” features little more than existing features in a new wrapper.

A number of reviewers liked improved video and multimedia embedding with PDF files, PDF Portfolios, and the document-comparison feature. Other features which found favor include enhanced security, improved form management and redaction, Web page snapshots (aka, screen captures), online tools and remote collaboration. If there is a obvious downside to the new Acrobat 9, then it is the cost—a number of reviewers found it to be expensive.

Within some of the reviewers’ likes, some caveats were expressed. For example, the TechArena user/reviewer thought those with sensitive data would be unlikely to send it to Adobe’s servers for online hosting. However, it seems to me that someone sending files to Acrobat.com could simply consider appropriate security levels (for example, encryption with password protection) for the files being hosted for review; or, if users prefer, a network folder or other shared location (inside or outside a law firm’s firewall) could be used.

I see a number of “favorites” which will be of particular interest to lawyers and law firms: PDF Portfolios, document-comparison, enhanced security, improved form management and redaction, online tools and remote collaboration. Unfortunately some of these favorites are only available in the Pro and Pro Extended versions.

Final Thoughts

As well as the free Reader, Acrobat 9 is available in Standard, Professional, and a Pro Extended versions. A comparison of features can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yqrnv. A list of key features for legal professionals in the Pro Extended version can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5fygg5. At the Adobe store the Standard version sells for $299/$99 (full/upgrade), Pro is priced at $449/$159, while Pro Extended is available for $699/$229. A free trial is available for all priced versions, while the free Reader can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/6ip. Some discounts might be available from online software retailers although, in a quick look, the discounts seemed not to be significant.

Overall I like Adobe Acrobat 9... a lot. Many new and enhanced features will benefit lawyers and law firms. It may take some time to become familiar with some of the features; however, while exploring the program for this article it was easy to perform a task like document compare or redaction. Donna Baker’s new book, online Help and Adobe resources for legal professionals will make learning new or complex skills even easier.

I’ll leave the last word to the cnet reviewer. “The metadata removal, 256-bit encryption, and ease of redactions alone easily could justify the purchase for, say, a law firm.”

Article Notes:

1. .See also Carol L. Schlein’s article “It Oughta Be Legal,” The Lawyer’s PC, March 15, 2008.
2. .Virtual PC 2007 SP1 adds support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 as both host and guest operating systems as well as support for Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition as a guest operating system. VPC2007 SP1 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/68pxej. Microsoft Virtual PC was first reviewed in The Lawyer’s PC December 1, 2005. Reviewing beta software in a “virtual pc” provides a safe environment in case something goes wrong unless, of course, one has a dedicated test machine and/or a system image created with a program such as Acronis 11 True Image Home.
3. .Vista SP1 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ywb4al.
4. .Editor Dan Harmon outlined new features found in WordPerfect X4 in the May 15, 2008 issue of The Lawyer’s PC while Stephen Bird looked at WP X4 SP1 in the January 15, 2009 issue.
5. .Details found in Rick’s list can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5tl8jz.
6. .http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321552946. See, also, Adobe Acrobat 9 Classroom in a Book at http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321552970.
7. .The following sources will be referenced by publication or letter.
   1. a. Personal Computer World ( UK) http://tinyurl.com/3grdy5
   2. b. PCMagazine http://tinyurl.com/3wh7as and http://tinyurl.com/4v8btu
   3. c. cnet http://tinyurl.com/6s4oge
   4. d. TeckMagazine http://tinyurl.com/6gb3nr
   5. e. Planet PDF http://tinyurl.com/3ulayx
   6. f. ComputerShopper http://tinyurl.com/3wbvwn
   7. g. CreativePro http://tinyurl.com/4w2e58
   8. h. EclipseMagazine http://tinyurl.com/4npt5b
   9. I. TechArena http://tinyurl.com/48a8pa
   10. j. PC Pro (UK) http://tinyurl.com/4f84bn
8. .Ibid, endnote 6, references a, b, c, d, and g.
9. .Ibid, endnote 6, references b, c, e, g, h, and I.
10. .Ibid, endnote 6, references b, h, and j.
11. .Ibid, endnote 6, references c, f, and j.
12. .Ibid, endnote 6, references c, f, h, and j.
13. .Ibid, endnote 6, references c, f, g, and j.
14. .Ibid, endnote 6, references c, e, h, and I.
15. .Ibid, endnote 6, references a, c, e, g, h, and j.
16. .In response to my inquiry Donna Baker asked “Why wouldn’t you want to use the server? When you upload the file, you’re the only one with the file’s location. Further, if you decide to share the file for collaboration/discussion, etc. you can restrict the share to those you’re extending the invitation to.”
17. .For example, PDF Portfolio, redaction, Adobe Reader reviews, and PDF comparison are not available in the Standard version of Acrobat 9.
18. .See www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=136003.