Unless you are prone to extended spells of hibernation, this is one file format you couldn’t have ignored in all these years of using a computer. Developed by Adobe 15 years ago, PDF, or Portable Document Format, allows you to exchange formatted (“fixed layout”) electronic documents or document “captures” as files, from virtually any application, on any computer system, and have them appear securely on the recipient’s screen exactly as they were intended to.
The PDF has been an accepted de facto industry standard for portable documents globally for many years now. Yes, PDF files are totally portable across all predominant computer (Windows, Macs, Linux, Unix, etc.) and cellphone operating system platforms, software and printers, and look the same in terms of layout and fonts across all of these.
To view a file in PDF format, all you need is to download a free tool called Adobe Reader. Adding to the lure of the PDF format is the fact that these files can also be protected against unauthorized viewing, printing, copying or editing.
Using this program, you can even create files with interactive forms, annotations, hyperlinks and bookmarks, and share them with friends and clients via mail or on the Internet. You can create a file by using Adobe Acrobat (www.adobe.com), as well as a range of other work-alikes—including several free applications—from other developers.
Using some of these freeware tools, we give you tips on ways in which you can master this must-have on your desktop: From creating files both online and offline to editing or securing them to converting them into doc or text files, it is all about simplifying computing.
CREATING PDF FILES ONLINE...
Given the Adobe Acrobat’s cost, buying it doesn’t make much sense if you don’t intend to use it on a regular basis. But there are times when you may need it to send a file in PDF format.
So, how do you create such a file? Even if you have Acrobat installed, there could be occasions when you’re nowhere near your own PC but still need to save a file in PDF format. What do you do?
Just go online to one of these Web addresses and do it all online. For free. Online PDF creation also saves you the hassle of installing programs on your PC.
Apart from the de rigueur DOC, RTF, PPT, PUB, XLS, HTML and TXT document files, PDF Online also accepts image formats such as JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG, EMF and WMF for conversion to a PDF. It also offers a host of other interesting services. Doc2PDF converts Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel files to PDF. Here, PowerPoints can also be converted to Flash. RSS2PDF generates PDF files from RSS feeds. This way you can read them offline and on the move. Sadly, there is no image support here, at least for the time being.
You can even capture a whiteboard or business card as a PDF with ScanR.
PDF Online:www.pdfonline.com
Doc2PDF:www.doc2pdf.net/converter
RSS2PDF: http://rss2pdf.com
ScanR: www.scanr.com
...AND OFFLINE