Knowing how to create PDF documents is an invaluable skill for document sharing, whether online or in print. With the right settings, PDFs can trim the file size of graphics-heavy documents so you can e-mail and share them more easily without altering the integrity of the images in the original file for later editing. PDFs are universally readable, as the software used to view them is free and easily installed, if not already built into the vast majority of computers. Finally, creating a PDF is a paper-free way to see how a document will print out without actually printing it. This post outlines three easy ways to create PDFs.
1. PDF Creation: If you want to create a document from scratch that you will eventually save as a PDF, you will want to use a program that has this capability built in. Both Microsoft Office 2007 and OpenOffice 3 have simple options to save the document you are working on as a PDF, either in the "Save" dialog box or as a separate "Export as PDF" function. If you want to create documents online that can be later exported as PDFs, try Zoho Writer, which is an excellent option for creating print-worthy documents.
2. Local PDF Conversion: Many times, you will want to create a PDF from a document someone sent you, a Web page, or some other file that you did not create yourself. In this case, even if you have the option of opening this file in a program that can save directly to a PDF, that file might not convert properly if it was not originally written using that program. In these cases, you will be better off converting the document directly into a PDF. Mac OS X and many Linux distributions make this easy, with a PDF option built into the operating system's "Print" command. For other operating systems, you will have to download a program to install a PDF creation tool that will appear as an option when you try to print your file. Try either CutePDF or PDFCreator. PrimoPDF is another popular option.
3. PDF Conversion On-the-Go: In rare instances, you might be stuck needing to create a PDF at a computer that does not allow you to install any software. In this situation, you can use an online PDF converter to change a file of any type to a PDF. PDF Online and PDF Converter are two options, though both will feel clunkier than options built into system software or installed applications.
 | Need to know how to edit a PDF file? Some PDFs have editable fields, but some programs allow you to make bigger changes to the file. |
 | To convert PDF files to Word documents, you can rely on OpenOffice or several other online tools that can help you transform the file into something editable. |
What does PDF mean? "PDF" stands for "Portable Document Format," and this format preserves the original formatting of a document so recipients can view the document in the way you intended. |
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