TechTip: DIY PDF

Most of you have encountered a PDF file before. They require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. PDF is an acronym for Portable Document File. There is now free software to let everyone create PDFs. Why would you want to? Well PDFs have the following features:

• Readable on a PC or Apple computer
• Hard to alter a PDF
• Formatting stays the same regardless of printer

So all this is ho-hum because you think you have no use for it. Well hang on to your hats buckaroos and consider these uses:

Ever had a web page you wanted to save? Maybe a verification of an order, a help page, or documentation? You could print the page and waste ink and paper but all you really want is to be able to view it on screen at a later date or maybe on another computer. Why not convert the page to a PDF? Maybe you want to email a file to a friend but they do not have an application that can open the file. Convert the file to a PDF and email the PDF instead. Need to send a business letter that cannot be changed by the receiving party? Use a PDF.

The beauty of the PDF Creator software is it will convert ANYTHING you can send to your printer to a PDF. Word processor documents, spreadsheets, web pages, graphic programs, etc. If you can print it then you can PDF it. Open the software/file you want to save, go to the print option, change the default printer to the PDF option, select print and it will create a PDF file instead of printing a paper copy. Did I mention you can password protect a PDF file?
Trust me this is useful stuff.

PDF Creator homepage
PDF Creator download
PDF Creator is open source software. Free for personal and business use