This tutorial shows how to create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat.
[Typewriter Sounds]
Hello, my name is Erin.
I’m a technical writer and editor who shares step-by-step software tutorials and writing tips for the real world
on this channel and on my blog at erinwrightwriting.com.
This tutorial shows how to create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat.
Then, we will customize the portfolio.
Lastly, we will rename and save the portfolio.
Before we begin, you may be wondering, what is a PDF Portfolio?
When you use Adobe Acrobat's Combine Files tools,
other file types, such as Microsoft Word or Excel files, will be converted to the PDF format.
However, a PDF Portfolio lets you combine and save multiple files as one PDF without converting the other files to PDFs.
I’ll be using Adobe Acrobat DC.
These steps will also work in Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Adobe Acrobat 2017.
In addition, the steps are almost identical between a PC and Mac.
You can’t create a portfolio with Adobe Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Reader.
However, you can view portfolios with both.
To begin creating your PDF Portfolio, select the File tab.
And then select Create from the drop-down menu.
Followed by PDF Portfolio from the submenu.
Next, select Add Files in the Create PDF Portfolio dialog box.
Now, select the type of file you want to add to your portfolio.
Add Files adds nearly any file stored on your computer or connected storage.
Add Folders adds all the files in a folder, but not the folder itself.
Add PDF from Scanner lets you select your scanner and then add the resulting scan.
Add Webpage lets you enter the URL for an individual webpage that is then converted to a PDF,
which often looks different than the original.
Instead of using this option, I recommend using another option called Add Web Content,
which we will walkthrough in the next section.
That option lets you create a preview of the webpage along with a link to open the webpage in a browser.
Lastly, Add from Clipboard adds the current contents of your clipboard.
I have added several files to my portfolio in order save time.
After adding the files, drag them to the order you want them to appear in the portfolio.
If you change your mind and need to delete a file, hover over it, and then select the Delete button.
Finally, select the Create button.
A PDF named "Portfolio1" will appear.
We will change this name later on in the tutorial.
All the files in the portfolio should now appear in the navigation pane.
Select the navigation arrows to view the files sequentially.
Or, view specific files by selecting them in the navigation pane.
To view a preview of non-PDF content, PC users can select the Preview button.
To open a file in its native application, for example, to open an Excel spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel,
select the Open Document.
You may see a dialog box asking if you are sure you want to open the file.
If you are sure, select the OK button.
The file should then open in its native application.
Once you have created your PDF Portfolio, you can select the Add Files button
to add additional files, folder contents, or web content.
As mentioned earlier, the Add Web Content option creates a preview to the URL,
rather than converting the web content to a PDF.
To use this option, enter a file name, optional description, and the URL or embedded tag into the Add Web Content dialog box.
And then select the OK button.
Your readers can then open the URL in a web browser by selecting Open Document.
To further organize your portfolio, select the New Folder button to add an empty folder in the navigation pane.
Then, name the folder,
select the OK button,
and drag files into it as necessary.
If you want to save one of the files to a different location, select it,
and then select the Extract button to save it elsewhere using your normal saving process.
Note that extracted files aren’t removed from the portfolio.
You can also select a file and then select the Delete button to remove it from the portfolio.
For further organization, you can select and drag the files up and down within the navigation pane.
The PDF name "Portfolio1" is quite generic, so you’ll probably want to change it to something more specific
when you save your portfolio.
To begin, select the File tab.
Then, select PDF Portfolio from the drop-down menu.
Choose a location to save your portfolio in the Save as PDF dialog box.
After you make your selection, the dialog box will close automatically.
Next, rename and save the file as you normally would in the second Save as PDF dialog.
I have created many other videos about Adobe Acrobat, including “How to Create In-Text Links to Attached PDFs with Adobe Acrobat”
and “How to Combine Files into One PDF in Adobe Acrobat.”
Please see the complete list in the playlist titled “How to Use Adobe Acrobat,”
which is linked in the description box below.
The companion blog post for this video showing all the steps we just performed
appears on erinwrightwriting.com, which is also linked below.
Feel free to leave me a comment if there’s a specific topic related to Adobe Acrobat
or Microsoft Word that you would like me to talk about in the future.
And please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future tutorials.
And give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!
[Typewriter sounds]