Did you know that Acrobat XI provides the ability to edit a PDF? Acrobat XI is a huge upgrade from Acrobat X because it offers the ability to edit content within a PDF, including the ability to move entire paragraphs of text. This new capability is an amazing thing, but it also brings up the fact that anyone with the program can now edit your PDF content very easily.

Be aware that your content is now able to be edited, so be sure to think about how or if you need to control this capability for your users. If so, be sure to use a password to restrict printing or changing your document before you distribute it.

The free Adobe Reader does not allow users to change content, so this is restricted to those who have Acrobat XI specifically. You now need to think about whether you should lock down editing even if you believe that only Adobe Reader users will be viewing your content. If there is any content you do not wish a user to change within a distributed PDF, you should be adding password security to your PDF documents.

Acrobat XI brings the capability to use PDFs in new ways due to the editing capability, but it should always be taken into account for every document you distribute as a PDF. I could not live without Acrobat in my daily life, but I always have to consider the PDF content and audience before I consider a PDF able to be distributed to others.