PDF files. Portable Document Format. The pop up everywhere, and seem to have become a standard in computer documents.
What PDF Files Are
PDF files came into being in 1993 as the brainchild of Adobe. They provide a way to view documents and graphics without having the same software that was used to create the document.
How Do You Make PDF?
It used to be that you could only make PDF files by using the expensive Adobe Writer software. However, PDF creation software is now openly available for free. Using one of these packages, which shows up as another printer in your list, you print to the PDF software. The results are a PDF file.
Why Use PDFs?
The main reason to use PDF documents is to create a document that can be viewed by a large number of people, regardless of how the document was originally created. In these days of Web applications, PDF documents also allow documents to be served off the Web with their original formatting intact, while remaining searchable.
![[Valid RSS]](/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
3 comments ↓
I love PDF for everything and you are so right… It is super easy! Thankfully it’s not too expensive so if you are considering… think of all the paper you won’t have to buy!
PC Magazine ran an article on 3/27 about going paperless called “Three Steps To A Paperless Office”
Megan: you are so right. I never thought of it this way before, but it could be a selling point for a non-profit I work with. They spend *so* much time and money printing out documents for people. It would be much easier to PDF and email them. Thanks for the inspiration. I can now do a cost/benefit analysis for justification for the software.
Comment Policy:
Comments on this blog are moderated. Rude comments will be deleted.
Leave a Comment