Configuring Adobe Acrobat 9 for optimal viewing of your Oklahoma Edge digital subscription.

This article is for the many Oklahoma Edge readers who are making the switch to adigital subscription. Whether to save trees or just to have a brilliant copy that can never be destroyed by spills or pets or housekeeping gone awry, we've made the digital subscription more affordable and we hope to make single copy back issues available for digital purchase too. This article is here to make your Oklahoma Edge digital reading experience even more enjoyable.

First you'll want to make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat in use on your computer. If you don't, you'll need to go to Adobe.com and get a free copy of the latest version right away. Follow the steps to install and then proceed with optimization.

Getting the magazine experience on your screen

Now that we've become accustomed to getting the news and everything else on our screen, most of us are ready to start saving some trees and enjoy a good magazine here too. The problem thus far has been the "workstation" feel of being at a computer. No matter how you spend your day, sitting at a desk with your hand on a mouse is probably not all that relaxing to you. Well, now that laptops and other portable devices are making the internet (and general computer use) more portable and more comfortable, the world is becoming a bit more relaxed about looking into the computer screen. This is where magazines come in.

Most people read a magazine because they want to relax and enjoy a highly visual reading experience. By "highly visual" I mean that magazines deliver the story with written words as well as pictures. These pictures can be photographs or illustrations - it doesn't matter. The pictures enhance the relaxing reading experience.

Magazines even go so far as to create a visual effect with a two-page spread. This can be accomplished with pictures introducing us to a story, transporting us to another place and time, or simply adding to the visual value of a set of text. Every magazine layout is created with the two-page spread in mind. This is why this optimizing your reader is necessary. Follow the steps below to enhance your Oklahoma Edge digital copy viewing experience.

Making the adjustments

Now that you have the latest version of Acrobat, you'll want to open your digital copy of Oklahoma Edge Magazine. Once open, click on View > Page Display > Two-Up to set your reader to view two-page spreads (see figure 1.1). More below...

Once you've checked the "Two-Up" preference, go back through and make sure you've also selected "Show Cover Page During Two-Up". Otherwise the cover page will be displayed beside the inside cover, which is exactly opposite of the two-page spread effect. The selection to "Show Gaps Between Pages" is not imperative, but some of us like to see a line; this one's entirely up to you.

That should do it. You're now ready to enjoy Oklahoma Edge Magazine exactly as you would if you'd grabbed it out of your sweaty gym bag (minus the wrinkles, tears and moisture damage). You can even zoom in on pictures, enlarge the page for larger text. AND if you really want to get into some tech, tool around until you find the "reader". Set this to "Activate Read Out Loud" and you can listen to Mr. Roboto read it to you.