Adobe delivers new hosted service for document protection

Adobe introduced Adobe Document Center, a new hosted service that enables knowledge workers to better protect, share and track the usage of Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel documents as part of day-to-day communications and collaboration. This new, easy-to-use, web-based service gives business professionals the power to grant and dynamically revoke access to documents distributed inside or outside the firewall, as well as audit actions such as opening, adding comments to, or printing those documents.

Adobe Document Center is designed for the professional who shares or publishes business-, time- or version-sensitive documents. Whether it’s an independent graphics designer submitting designs for client review, or a legal practice exchanging sensitive files with clients, users can customize access settings, closely audit usage of their documents, and retain control over the files regardless of where they travel. Users also have the ability to set expiration dates on documents, supersede an older version once a new version is distributed, and revoke access after distribution. They even have the ability to track who has received the documents and what recipients have done, or attempted to do, with the files.

Business professionals are able to add persistent protection and dynamic controls to files in several ways with Adobe Document Center. They can create PDF files with Adobe Acrobat 8 software and, through a new, one-click connection to the service, easily apply security settings to those documents from within Acrobat. To protect Microsoft Word and Excel 2003 files, users simply install a lightweight plug-in that enables them to apply dynamic security settings directly from those applications, as well. Soon, users will also have the ability to convert files to PDF and apply security and control settings to them directly from Adobe Document Center.