Using Adobe Document Cloud PDF experience for Office 365 on SharePoint and OneDrive

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Adobe Document Cloud PDF experience for Office 365 on SharePoint and OneDrive is an integrated bundle of PDF services that allows you to do the following:

  • Open and view PDFs online with Adobe’s high-quality web-based PDF previewer.
  • Create Adobe PDFs that preserve fonts, formatting, and layouts.
  • Manipulate existing PDF documents by deleting, reordering, or rotating pages in a PDF.
  • Combine multiple Microsoft files and PDFs into a single PDF that you can use for archiving or distribution.
  • Convert PDFs into editable Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or RTF files from your mobile device or online while preserving fonts, formatting, and layouts.
  • Add comments to PDF files with sticky notes, highlights, and a freehand drawing tool to write notes for yourself as you view the PDF files.

Supported browsers

The Adobe Acrobat for SharePoint and OneDrive is supported on all modern browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Note:
  • If you're using Microsoft Edge, see Browser configuration for Edge.
  • The Document Cloud integration will not work if third-party cookies are blocked in the browser. Ensure that third-party cookies are unblocked for the browser you are using.

Open PDFs online

Open and view PDFs online with Adobe's high-quality web-based PDF previewer. To open a PDF, click the file.

Click PDF to open

The PDF is displayed in Adobe Document Cloud preview. From the top menu, you can add annotations, search for words, download PDF, and edit PDF to organize pages, combine files, export PDF to other formats.

Actions on PDF

A. Undo or redo changes B. Add annotations C. Erase drawing D. Find in document E. Download file, Print PDF, Sign In F. Edit to organize pages, combine files, export PDF, and Convert to PDF G. Open in Acrobat desktop application 

You can also use one of the following ways to open a PDF online in Adobe Document Cloud preview.

  1. From within your OneDrive or SharePoint file explorer, select a PDF. 
  2. From the top menu, choose Open > Open in Adobe Document Cloud.
Open PDF from menu bar

Right-click a PDF, and choose Open > Open in Adobe Document Cloud.

Open PDF in Adobe Document Cloud

In the preview page, choose Open > Open in Document Cloud.

Open from SharePoint or One Drive preview

Open PDFs in the desktop application

When viewing PDFs in web-based PDF previewer, you can choose to open them in your desktop application. The following desktop app versions are supported:

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro (v22.001.20142 and later)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader (v22.001.20142 and later)
  • Adobe Acrobat Standard (v22.001.20142 and later)
Note:

You must add your SharePoint/OneDrive account to Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to open the files in the desktop application. For more information, see Connect your online storage accounts to access files in Acrobat.

To open a PDF in the desktop application, do the following:

  1. In the Adobe Document Cloud preview window, select Open in Desktop app from the toolbar.

    Open in Desktop app

    Note:

    The Open in Desktop app button is not available for shared files in OneDrive.

  2. The PDF opens in either Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader application. If you have both applications installed, Adobe Acrobat takes precedence over the Acrobat Reader application.

Convert a file to PDF

You can convert Microsoft Office documents into high-quality Adobe PDFs that preserve fonts, formatting, and layouts.

The Add-in lets you convert from the following popular file types to PDF:

Convert to PDF from Supported filename extensions
Microsoft Word .doc, .docx
Microsoft Excel .xls, .xlsx
Microsoft PowerPoint .ppt, .pptx
Image file formats .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff
Rich Text Format .rtf
Text file .txt
Adobe Illustrator .ai
Adobe InDesign .indd
Adobe Photoshop .psd
Fill & Sign Form Format .form

Steps to convert a file to PDF:

  1. From within your OneDrive or SharePoint file explorer, do one of the following:

    • Right-click the file that you want to convert to PDF, and choose Adobe Document Cloud > Create PDF by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Adobe Document Cloud > Create PDF by Adobe.
    Convert a file to PDF

     

    Note: If you have multiple file handlers installed, do the following:

    • Right click the file that you want to convert to PDF, and choose Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Create PDF by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Create PDF by Adobe.
    Create PDF

    • From the Document Cloud preview window, choose Edit > Convert to PDF.
    Create PDF from preview

  2. You may be prompted to sign in to Adobe Document Cloud. Sign in with your Adobe ID and password. 

  3. When you create PDF from the preview window, the One Drive explorer is displayed. Select the file you want to convert to PDF, and click Open.

    Note:

    Make sure you disable your browser's pop-up blocker to view the One Drive explorer and select the file.

    One Drive open dialog

    The file is converted to PDF and saved back to your OneDrive or SharePoint document library. Also, a preview of the file is displayed.

Combine files to PDF

You can combine up to twelve files into a single PDF. Combine Files supports multiple file types, in addition to PDF files.

Note:

You cannot combine PDF files that are secure, password protected, 3D, or part of a PDF Portfolio.

In addition to PDFs, the Add-in lets you combine the following popular file types into a PDF:

Convert to PDF from Supported filename extensions
Microsoft Word .doc, .docx
Microsoft Excel .xls, .xlsx
Microsoft PowerPoint .ppt, .pptx
Image file formats .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff
Rich Text Format .rtf
Text file .txt
Adobe Illustrator .ai
Adobe InDesign .indd
Adobe Photoshop .psd
Fill & Sign Form Format .form

Steps to combine files into a PDF:

  1. From within your OneDrive or SharePoint file explorer, do one of the following:

    • Select the files that you want to combine, right-click, and choose Adobe Document Cloud > Combine Files by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Adobe Document Cloud > Combine Files by Adobe.
    Combine files to PDF

     

    Note: If you have multiple file handlers installed, do the following:

    • Select the files and right click, and choose Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Combine Files by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Combine Files by Adobe.
    Combine files to PDF

    • From the Document Cloud preview window, choose Edit > Combine Files.
    Combine files from Document Cloud view

  2. You may be prompted to sign in to Adobe Document Cloud. Sign in with your Adobe ID and password. 

  3. A preview of the files is displayed. To add more files, click the Insert Files button. To delete a file, select the file and click the delete  icon. Acrobat suffixes -combined with the file name. Enter the new file name as desired, and then click Combine.

    A preview of the selected files

    • (Optional) If a file has multiple pages, it's shown as a stack. Hover over the file and click the arrow button to expand it. Use drag-and-drop to change the page order in which you want it to appear in the combined PDF.
    • (Optional) Use the options below the Save button to arrange the files in Grid View or List View. You can also use the + or - button on the bottom right corner of the window to zoom in or zoom out the thumbnail preview.

    The files are combined into a PDF and saved back to your OneDrive or SharePoint document library. Also, a preview of the file is displayed.

Export PDF to Word/Excel/PowerPoint

You can convert PDF files into Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint, Rich Text Format, or image files.

Adobe PDF Add-in performs OCR on PDF files that contain images, vector art, hidden text, or a combination of these elements. For example, the Add-in performs OCR on PDF files created from scanned documents. The Add-in also performs OCR on the text that it can't interpret because the text was encoded incorrectly in the source application.

Note:

OCR is the conversion of images of text (scanned text) into editable characters so that you can search, correct, and copy the text.

The Add-in lets you export to the following file types from PDF:

Export PDF to

Supported filename extensions

Microsoft Word

.doc, .docx

Microsoft Excel

.xlsx

Microsoft PowerPoint

.pptx

Rich Text Format

.rtf

Image

.jpg, .tiff, .png

Steps to export PDF:

  1. From within your OneDrive or SharePoint file explorer, do one of the following:
    • Right-click the PDF that you want to export and choose Adobe Document Cloud > Export PDF by Adobe.
    • Select the PDF that you want to export, and from the top menu, choose Adobe Document Cloud > Export PDF by Adobe.
    Export a PDF to another format

     

    Note: If you have multiple file handlers installed, do the following:

    • Right click the PDF, and choose Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Export PDF by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Export PDF by Adobe.
    Export PDF

    • Open the PDF. From the Document Cloud preview window, select Edit > Export PDF in the toolbar.
    Export PDF

  2. You may be prompted to sign in to Adobe Document Cloud. Sign in with your Adobe ID and password. 

  3. The Export PDF page is displayed. Do the following:

    1. Choose the desired file format.
    2. Select the language of the document you're exporting from the Document Language drop-down list.
    Select file format and document language

  4. Click Convert to [ selected format] button.

    (For example, in the screenshot in step 3 above, the button's name is displayed as Convert to DOCX.)

  5. The selected PDF file is exported to the desired format with the same name and is opened for preview. The exported document is automatically saved to your OneDrive or SharePoint document library.

    Note:

    The folder location of the saved file opens when you export the PDF file to file types like .rtf, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, and, .tiff.

Organize a PDF

You can manipulate existing PDF documents by deleting, reordering, or rotating its pages.

Steps to organize pages in a PDF:

  1. From within your OneDrive or SharePoint file explorer, do one of the following:
    • Right-click the PDF that you want to organize, and choose Adobe Document Cloud > Organize Pages by Adobe.
    • Select the PDF that you want to export, and from the top menu, choose Adobe Document Cloud > Organize Pages by Adobe.
    Organize pages in a PDF

     

    Note: If you have multiple file handlers installed, do the following:

    • Right click the PDF, and choose Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Organize Pages by Adobe.
    • From the top menu, select Actions > Adobe Document Cloud > Organize Pages by Adobe.
    Organize pages

    • Open the PDF. From the Document Cloud preview window, select Edit > Organize Pages in the toolbar.
    Organize pages from the Edit menu in the toolbar

  2. You may be prompted to sign in to Adobe Document Cloud. Sign in with your Adobe ID and password. 

    The Organize Pages page is displayed. It shows the page thumbnails of the selected PDF. Use the + or - button on the bottom right corner of the window to zoom in or zoom out the thumbnail preview.

    Page thumbnails
    Page-specific commands are displayed when you mouse over a page thumbnail.

  3. To insert a file, click the insert  icon, choose the location where you want to insert the pages, and then choose the file you want to insert.

    Insert files

    To extract pages, click the extract  icon, and then choose the pages you want to extract from your PDF.

    Extract pages from your PDF

  4. To delete pages, do the following:

    • To delete a single page, hover the mouse on the page thumbnail and then click the delete icon  displayed in the page thumbnail view.
    • To delete multiple pages, select the pages you want to delete, and click the delete icon  displayed in the toolbar.

  5. To rotate pages, do the following:

    • To rotate a single page, mouse over the page thumbnail and then click the Rotate Left or Rotate Right icons displayed in the page thumbnail view.
    • To rotate multiple pages, select the pages and click the Rotate Left or Rotate Right icons displayed in the toolbar.

  6. To reorder the pages, drag the page thumbnail to the new location. The pages are renumbered.

  7. To save the changes in the existing file, click Save. Enter the file name, and click Save. The file is saved back to your OneDrive or SharePoint document library.

Add comments to a PDF

Use the Document Cloud commenting features to write notes to yourself as you view or read documents. You can add comments to your PDF files with text comments, sticky notes, highlights, and drawing tool. To add comments, do the following:

Note:
  • When two users view the same PDF simultaneously, adding comments to a PDF will prompt the other user to refresh the page to get the latest version of the PDF.
  • You cannot add comments or edit PDF files that are secure, protected, or read-only. The commenting and edit buttons are hidden for such files.
  • You cannot add comments to PDF files from mobile devices using browsers.
  • The comment pane is visible in the right if you add a sticky note comment, click on any existing comment, or open any file with existing comments.

  1. Open the PDF in Document Cloud preview.

  2. In the toolbar, click to select the desired annotation tool and click where you want to place the note. The following comment types are available for use:

    • Text comment: Click and type where you want to add text in the PDF.
    • Sticky Note: Select and click where you want to place the note.
    • Highlight Text: Choose to highlight the text in the PDF.
    • Drawing Tool: Select the drawing tool and mark the PDF.
    Note:

    When you use Add Text annotation, the same text is posted as a comment, and appears in the comment pane.

    Add comments to PDF

    A. Add Text Comment B. Add Sticky Note C. Highlight Text D. Use Drawing Tool 

    When you select any text in the PDF, the following additional commenting tools are available for use:

    • Strikethrough Text: Select to strike-through text.
    • Underline Text: Choose to underline the selected text.
    Additional tools when you select text in a PDF

    A. Highlight Text B. Strikethrough Text C. Underline Text D. Copy Text 

  3. For annotations like Text Comment, Highlight Text, Drawing Tool, Strikethrough Text, and Underline Text, the comments are added instantly to the document. For a Sticky Note annotation, the comment pane is displayed in the right. Type your comment, and click Post.

  4. Document Cloud autosaves the PDF in 30 seconds. To save the PDF immediately, click Save in the toolbar.

    Save the PDF file

Change the look of your comments

To change the color of your comments, do the following:

  1. Select the comment. A pop-up window appears.

    Change the color of the comment

    Note:

    Similarly, you can choose and change the line thickness of the Drawing Tool annotation, and adjust the font size of the Add Text annotation.

  2. Click the color to open the color panel.

  3. Select the desired color, and click Save.

Undo or redo changes

Undo and redo tool

  • To undo changes, click the undo undo.pngicon on the toolbar.
  • To redo changes, click the redo redo.pngicon on the toolbar.

Edit comments, delete comments, or erase drawing

To edit a comment, do the following:

  • Select the comment. The comments pane is displayed in the right. From the options (...) menu, click Edit.
  • To edit the Add Text annotation, select the text comment, and type to make your changes.

To delete comments, select the comment and do one of the following:

  • The comments pane is displayed in the right. From the options (...) menu, click Delete.
  • From the pop-up window, click the delete icon.
Delete comment

To erase drawing comments, do the following:

  • Select the Erase drawing tool from the toolbar, and drag over the parts of the drawing you want to erase.
Erase drawing tool

Frequently asked questions

File name formats mentioned below are not allowed:

  • The special directory names "." and ".."
  • File names or files with the following extensions: CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT0, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9.
  • File names ending with a space or period.
  • File names beginning with a period.
  • File names using '#' special character.

If you have a file with a long filename in One Drive or SharePoint, Adobe Document Cloud PDF Experience for Office 365 is unable to perform the requested action and displays the error - "There's some problem while processing your files."

Error processing files with long name or path

Solution
Shorten the filename in One Drive or SharePoint, and then perform the action using the Adobe Document Cloud PDF Experience for Office 365.

Note:

Microsoft’s Graph API limits usage of long file name or file path. Adobe is working with Microsoft for the issue resolution.

The Adobe Document Cloud PDF Experience for Office 365 is only visible in the modern view of One Drive and SharePoint. To use the Adobe Document Cloud PDF Experience, click Exit Classic Experience in the lower left corner of One Drive/SharePoint.

Exit classic experience

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