Share files

See also

BEFORE YOU BEGIN! See if the screen shown below matches your product interface. If yes, you’re using our classic interface. See how to Share & review files using our Classic experience. If no, continue reading.

The Sharing and reviewing tools of Acrobat allows you to:

• Share files for view-only or for review to add comments and markups.

• Share files with custom access.

• Share files as a link.

• Send a copy of a file to others.

• Save a copy of the shared file to modify it.

• Access Share user interface and features that are uniform across the desktop, web, and mobile devices.

• Have files synchronized across all connected devices.

• Create, participate in, and manage reviews.

Compress a file before sending

With a premium subscription, you can compress files to reduce their size. A file that has already been compressed cannot be compressed again.

To compress a PDF file:

1. Tap > Compress PDF.

2. In the compress dialog that opens, select a compression level and tap Compress.

3. After compression, tap Open to access your file.

The compressed file, named ‘filename_compressed.pdf,’ is saved in Adobe cloud storage.

Password-protect PDFs

Adobe Acrobat Premium and Pro DC subscribers can password-protect PDFs to secure confidential information. Setting a password creates a protected copy without changing the original file.

To set password:

1. Tap the > Set password.

2. In the dialog that opens, enter a password and then confirm it.

3. Tap Set password.

   A confirmation appears, and a copy named “<filename>_protected.pdf” is saved to Adobe cloud storage.

4. To open the file, tap Open from the confirmation message or select the password-protected file from the list, enter the password, and tap OK.

Password-protected PDFs limitations:

• Password-protected PDFs cannot be edited, filled, signed, compressed, or exported.

• Use Acrobat on desktop to remove the password if you know it.

• No separate password is required for editing—if you can open the file, you can edit it.

Export PDFs

Adobe Acrobat Premium or Pro subscribers can export unshared PDFs to:

• Document formats: DOCX, DOC, RTF, XLSX, PPTX

• Image formats: JPEG, PNG

When exporting to document formats, Acrobat uses OCR to convert scanned text to editable text. OCR doesn’t apply when exporting to image formats.

To export PDFs:

1. From the bottom menu, tap > Export PDF.

2. In the Export PDF page that opens, select Document or Image as the export option, as required.

3. To export the PDF to a document format:

   1. Select Document.

   2. From the list of document formats, select a desired file format.

   3. To change the language, tap the selected language and select a different language. By default, the export language is the same as your installed app.

   4. Tap Export.

   5. After export, tap Open to view the file or X to dismiss the message.

4. To export the PDF to an image format:

   1. Select Image.

   2. From the page that opens, select one of the two image formats: JPEG or PNG.

   3. Tap the pages that you want to export as images. Or, tap Select all to select all the pages.

   4. To share the exported pages, select Share images from the bottom and complete the workflow.

   5. To save the exported pages to the device, select Save to photos.

   6. From the permission dialog, select an appropriate option to continue.

Share via email

1. Open a PDF and tap

2. In the Share document link dialog that opens, tap the email app icon that you want to use.

3. On the email page that opens, enter one or more email addresses, and enter a message for the receiver if required.

4. Tap

Share via direct invite

1. Open a PDF and tap

2. In the dialog that opens, tap Invite people.

3. Select recipients from the list of contact and then in the dialog that opens, enter name or email of the recipients.

   

4. Optionally, tap the subject line and message text box to edit them.

5. To set custom access, tap the Link settings option at the bottom.

6. On the Link settings page that opens, select a desired access level.

7. To share the file for viewing only, tap the Allow comments toggle to turn it off.

   If the Allow comments toggle is turned off by default, the PDF might not be eligible for review sharing.

8. If you change any settings, tap Apply to save them. If no settings are changed, tap < to return to the Invite people dialog.

9. Tap Send.

The file automatically uploads to Adobe cloud storage. Document recipients can access the file from the web as well as from their desktop or mobile. All shared files in a list of files are marked with a icon.

Share a PDF using @mention tag

To instantly share a PDF with someone:

1. Open a PDF and then from the bottom toolbar, tap Comment.

2. Tap on the document where you want to add a comment.

3. In the note field that appears, type @ and then from the list of users that appear, select a user.

4. Type a message for the user and then tap

It shares the file with the mentioned users and displays a confirmation message.

Note

Recipients can use the @mention tag to invite non-collaborators to review a PDF, unless sharing restrictions are set by the organization or sender. In such cases, a message will appear if they attempt to add non-collaborators. When non-restricted documents are shared with people outside the organization, they receive a daily digest notification.

Share files with custom permissions

1. Open a PDF and tap

2. In the dialog that opens, tap Link settings option.

   

3. On the Link settings page that opens, select one of the following access levels as required:

   • Anyone on the internet with the link to create a public link. Public links can be shared with large audiences without requiring sign-in but not for sensitive information.

   • Anyone in <organization> with the link (For enterprise users only) to provide access to anyone within the organization.

     Note

     For enterprise users, the Anyone in <organization> with the link option is selected by default. Enterprise admins can manage user access via the Adobe Admin Console. These settings are unaffected by the access controls in Acrobat.

   • Invited people only (For subscription users only) to share access with the invited collaborators only. Recipients can request access to privately shared documents. The owner is notified of new requests and can grant or deny access via desktop or web, retaining full control over document accessibility.

   

4. Select Apply.

5. From the share dialog, select any of the available apps or tap Get link and then paste the link to share.

Sharing a link saves bandwidth and provides access to the files stored in the cloud.

Note

When opening a secured link, users are prompted to log in with their user ID. If access is denied, an error appears. Users can request access or sign in with a different email ID.

Send a file copy

You can also send a copy of the file. To do so:

1. Open a PDF and tap

2. Alternatively, from the list of files, tap > Share for the file that you want to share.

3. In the ‘Share with others’ dialog that opens, tap Send a copy.

4. In the dialog that opens, select the desired sharing option and follow through the workflow.

Sharing a file copy can be time saving and also provide you an alternate ways to deliver the file. For example, you can send a file as an email attachment.

When you send a copy of the file via email, the recipients also receive a link to the Acrobat Reader app. If they do not have the app installed on their device, the link directs them to the Play Store or Galaxy Store.

Add people to a shared file

Document owners can share an already shared file with more people using any of the following methods:

• Add people via Share

  1. Open the shared file and tap

  #. In the dialog that opens, select any of the sharing options and follow through the workflow. 3. To directly add people to the shared file, tap Invite People. #. In the Share with others dialog that appears, enter the name or email addresses of the people who you want to add. #. Tap Send.

  Note: You cannot modify the message that you sent with the original share.

• Send direct invite via @mention tag

  1. Sign in to your account if not already signed in.

  2. Open a shared PDF. You can send direct invite to other users only for PDFs that were shared by you.

  3. From the bottom toolbar, tap and then tap on the document where you want to add a comment.

  4. In the note field that appears, tap @ and then select a user from the list of contacts.

  5. Type a message for the user and then tap Post.

  

  Once the invitation is sent, you see a confirmation message, as shown below. The added people get an email notification and are included in the People list of the shared file.

Save a copy of shared files

You can save a copy of the shared files along with the review comments, if any. To do so:

1. Open a file from the Adobe cloud storage.

2. Tap > Save a copy.

3. Choose a destination from the given options and tap Save.

Modify shared files

You can modify a shared file using any of the following two ways:

• Unshare the file, edit it as required, and then share it again with the recipients.

• Create a copy of the shared file and then modify it.

To modify a shared file by creating a copy:

1. From the list of shared files, tap on a file to open it.

2. From the top menu, tap > Edit PDF. Alternatively, tap > Edit PDF.

3. In the dialog that opens, tap Create a copy. It creates a copy of the file and opens it in tools mode.

   

Note

Only file owners can create a copy to modify it. Shared file recipients cannot modify shared files.