Get Smart — A Student Guide on How to Use PDFs.

Whether you're a high school or university student, or completing vocational training, there's a lot to learn. Along with coursework, you often need to learn how to use various apps and systems to complete your assignments. Knowing what you can do and how to do it when it comes to using PDF editor tools will save you time to concentrate on your studies.

PDF files are a common format used in the education system, and beyond. Read on to learn how to be smart in using Adobe Acrobat PDF tools and features and choose from Adobe’s apps for students.

What you’ll learn

• Using PDF files for coursework and assignments
• PDF tips for students
• Adobe Acrobat apps for students

Use PDF files for coursework and assignments.

PDFs will likely be at the top of your school, college, or university’s list of preferred file formats for submitting electronic assignments and coursework. Why? Because your assignment will be received looking exactly as you intended. The file size will be manageable to transfer electronically. And your tutor will be able to open it, read it, mark it, and add comments and feedback, if applicable.

Portable document format files (PDFs) have been popular for a couple of decades. Adobe invented this file format in the early 1990s to send electronic files safely and securely between different systems without losing any formatting. We offer PDF tools for students on a budget.

PDF tips for students.

Know how to get the best out of student PDF editor tools. Follow the tips and tricks below for managing, editing, and collaborating on your PDF documents to help with your success as a student.

• Be structured and organized.
  Create a folder structure to organize your PDFs by subject, course, or topic. Use clear and consistent file naming conventions to easily identify the content of each PDF.

• Annotate and highlight.
  Use PDF annotation tools to highlight important text, underline key points, and add notes directly to the document. Annotations help you engage with the material and make it easier to review later.

• Use headers and footers.
  Use headers and footers in PDFs to make sure your classwork is clearly identified. Your headers and footers might include information such as your name, student ID, assignment topic, subject, and page numbering.

• Make your PDFs searchable.
  PDFs have searchable text. Use the search function to quickly locate specific keywords or phrases within the document. If you are scanning paper copies of documents to PDF, be sure to use the optical character recognition (OCR) option so the text is readable. Searchable PDFs are especially useful when you’re reviewing notes or studying for exams.

• Use bookmarks in PDFs.
  If you have a long PDF, use the bookmarking feature to create a table of contents or mark important sections. This will make navigation quicker and easier.

• Consider accessibility.
  When creating PDFs, ensure they are accessible. Use formatting and fonts that are easy to read, alt text for images, and a logical document structure.

• Merge and split PDF files.
  Combine multiple PDFs into a single file when studying materials from various sources. Split large PDFs into smaller sections if needed for easier reading.

• Use the read-out-loud feature.
  Listen to your PDF files with the read-out-loud option in Acrobat. This text-to-speech feature can be useful in a few ways. Listening to course materials is easier if you’re an auditory learner. You can also listen to coursework while you’re commuting or on the go. Hearing your own written work spoken aloud is also an effective way to check for errors before submitting assignments or listening to a presentation you plan to give.

• Create digital notes.
  If you prefer to take notes digitally, you can use tools like Adobe Acrobat, to write directly into PDF files. Or use the free Acrobat Mobile Scan app to convert your handwritten notes directly into searchable PDF files.

• Summarize and extract.
  Use note-taking and highlighting tools to mark passages that you might use later to create summaries. You can then extract pages from PDFs to have only the pages you have marked to summarize.

• Back up and sync your files.
  Keep that hard work you put into drafts and final submissions of assignments safe. Use cloud storage services to sync and back up your PDFs and access them from different devices.

• Reduce file sizes.
  PDF files are usually smaller than other file formats, but large PDF files can still take up precious space. If you need to share or store a lot of files, consider compressing PDFs to reduce file size while maintaining quality.

• Secure your PDFs.
  Password-protect your PDFs to prevent unauthorized access if you're sharing sensitive information. Password protection can also be used to set permissions on who can edit content in your PDFs.

• Stay updated.
  Keep your PDF apps and software up to date to access the latest features, security enhancements, and bug fixes.

Choose Adobe Acrobat apps.

Adobe has a few Acrobat solutions for students. And yes, there are ways to get Adobe Acrobat free for students and discounted student rates on verification of student status. Your school or educational institution may also offer access to Adobe apps and products.

• Acrobat Pro
  Adobe Acrobat Pro for students has the power to do everything you want to with a PDF. Create your documents, collaborate with others on group assignments, and make your PDFs pop with dynamic and interactive features.

• Acrobat Online
  Acrobat Online has both free and paid services to work on PDF files. Simply drag and drop files to convert, edit, compress, fill and sign, rearrange pages and share files with others in the cloud.

• Free Adobe Scan Mobile App
  The free Adobe Scan Mobile App helps students take copies of anything while they’re on the go. Scan notes and diagrams from whiteboards, written notes, pages from books and more into searchable PDFs or JPEG files to refer to again later.

• Free Acrobat Reader Mobile App and Free Acrobat Reader for computers
  With the free Acrobat Reader apps for students (and everyone else!), you can view PDF files, comment, annotate, sign and share files with anyone. There are versions of the free Acrobat Reader for mobile phones and computers.

• Creative Cloud
  With Adobe Creative Cloud for students, you get full access to Acrobat Pro, and more than 20 other apps. Get creative with digital content, photos, and videos with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier Pro and more.

• Adobe Acrobat extension for Google Chrome
  Adding the Acrobat extension for Google Chrome allows you to open and edit PDF files and complete PDF forms directly from the browser.

Related content.

Other articles to help you work PDF files as a student include —

• Cloud PDF storage and file sharing — access documents anywhere, anytime.
• PDF Portfolios – group your different file types easily.
• The power of PDFs for homeschooling and distance learning.