What Is a PDF Portfolio?

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By Benjamin Williams
eHow Contributing Writer

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PDF stands for Portable Document File, accessible by Adobe Reader, a text-viewing application that allows for the easy sharing of electronic documents. A portfolio is a collection of PDF files in one document. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Professional installed; the option to make a portfolio may not be available for the free Adobe Viewer and Acrobat Reader available on the Internet.

Making a Portfolio

To make a portfolio in PDF you must run Adobe Acrobat. After opening the application, click on the "create PDF" tab, which should be visible in the menu bar. If the "create PDF" tab is not visible, click on the "view" menu, hover over "task buttons" until the drop-down menu appears, and click "create PDF."

Create PDF

The choices listed under "Create PDF" are "From file ... ," "From multiple files ... ," "From web page ... " and "From scanner ... ." The ellipses following the choices indicate that another window will open when selected. Typically you will choose "From multiple files... ," as this allows you to integrate other PDFs into a single portfolio. However, you may also convert Word documents, JPGs, inDesign Illustrator and other file formats into a PDF, and then convert these into a single PDF.

Select your files to merge

When you click on "From multiple files..." a window opens allowing you to "add files." Click on "add files" and browse your hard drive. Selecting files will place them in the window. Pay attention to the order of the files, the order they are listed will be the order in which they print or are displayed when viewed.

Changing the Order of Files

You can alter the order of the files you are combining into a single PDF file (the portfolio) as they are displayed in the window by using the "Move up" and "Move down" buttons. Simply highlight the file you wish to move and click the "Move up" or "Move down" buttons to shift the order you are saving.

Click OK and Name the New File

When you have placed all the files you are seeking to combine, click "OK". Adobe Acrobat Professional will then merge the files into a single PDF, after you choose a name for it. Typically "Binder 1" pops up by default, but you can customize the name to represent the file you have made.

Easy Sharing and Viewing

The file is now suited for email with a single attachment. For graphic designers and many others, this is a useful function of Adobe Acrobat. Files that need to be rendered from differing software can be united in a single finished binder, or portfolio, and sent to the client as one.