How to Create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat

This tutorial shows how to create, customize, and rename a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat.

Before we begin, you may be wondering…

What Is a PDF Portfolio?

When you use Adobe Acrobat’s Combine Files tool, other file types (such as Microsoft Word or Excel files) will be converted to the PDF format. However, a PDF Portfolio lets you combine and save multiple files as one PDF without converting the other files to PDFs.

Quick Links:

How to Create a PDF Portfolio
How to Customize a PDF Portfolio
How to Rename and Save a PDF Portfolio

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Adobe Acrobat DC. These steps will also work in Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Adobe Acrobat 2017. In addition, the steps are nearly identical between a PC and Mac.

You can’t create a portfolio with Adobe Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Reader; however, you can view portfolios with both.

How to Create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat

Select the File tab.

Adobe Acrobat File Tab — Figure 1. File tab

Select Create from the drop-down menu.

Adobe Acrobat File Menu Create Option — Figure 2. Create option

Select PDF Portfolio from the submenu.

Adobe Acrobat File Menu PDF Portfolio Option — Figure 3. PDF Portfolio option

Select Add Files in the Create PDF Portfolio dialog box.

Adobe Acrobat Create PDF Portfolio Dialog Box Add Files Button — Figure 4. Add Files button

Select the type of file you want to add to your portfolio:

- Add Files—Add nearly any file stored on your computer or connected storage.
- Add Folders—Add all the files in a folder (but not the folder itself).
- Add PDF from Scanner—Select your scanner and then add the resulting scan.
- Add Webpage—(Not Recommended) Enter the URL for an individual webpage that is then converted to a PDF, which often looks different than the original.

Important Note: To create a preview of the webpage along with a link to open the webpage in a browser, add the URL after creating the portfolio, as shown in “How to Add Web Content,” below.

- Add from Clipboard—Add the current contents of your clipboard.

Adobe Acrobat Create PDF Portfolio Dialog Box Add Files Menu — Figure 5. Add Files menu

After adding the files, drag them to the order you want them to appear in the portfolio.

Example of moving a file inside the Create PDF Portfolio dialog box in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 6. Example of moving a file

To delete a file, hover over it, and then select the Delete button.

Adobe Acrobat Create PDF Portfolio Dialog Box Delete Button — Figure 7. Delete Button

Select the Create button.

Adobe Acrobat Create PDF Portfolio Create Button — Figure 8. Create Button

A file named Portfolio1.pdf will appear. (You can rename the portfolio, as shown in “How to Rename and Save a PDF Portfolio,” below.)

Portfolio1.pdf tab in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 9. Portfolio1.pdf tab

All the files in the portfolio will appear in the navigation pane.

Portfolio Navigation Pane in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 10. Navigation pane

Select the navigation arrows to view the files sequentially. Or, view specific files by selecting them in the navigation pane.

Portfolio Navigation Arrows in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 11. Navigation arrows

(PC Only) Select the Preview button to view a preview of non-PDF contents.

Portfolio Preview Button in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 12. Preview button

Select Open Document to open a file in its native application. (For example, an Excel spreadsheet will open in Microsoft Excel.)

Open Document button in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 13. Open Document button

Select the OK button in the dialog box asking if you are sure you want to open the file. (Only select the OK button if you are sure you want to open the file, of course.)

Adobe Acrobat Open File Dialog Box — Figure 14. Open File OK button

The file should open in its native application.

How to Customize a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat

Once you have created your PDF Portfolio, you can add additional files and web content, organize the files in folders, extract (save) files to other locations, delete files, and reorder the files in the navigation pane.

Select the Add Files button to add additional files, folder contents, or web content.

Adobe Acrobat Portfolio Navigation Pane Add Files Button — Figure 15. Add Files button and menu

How to Add Web Content

The Add Web Content option shown in figure 14 creates a preview to the URL, rather than converting the web content to a PDF, as is done in step 5 of the section above.

If you add web content using this option, your readers can open the URL in a web browser by selecting Open Document (see figure 13).

Enter a file name, optional description, and the URL or embedded tag into the Add Web Content dialog box.
Select the OK button.

Add Web Content Dialog Box in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 16. Add Web Content Dialog Box

Select the New Folder button to add an empty folder in the navigation pane. Then, name the folder, select the OK button, and drag files into it to further organize your portfolio.

New Folder Button in the Portfolio Navigation Pane in Adobe Acrobat — Figure 17. New Folder button and dialog box

Select a file in the navigation pane, and then select the Extract button to save the file in a different location using your normal saving process. (Note that extracted files aren’t removed from the portfolio.)