Ever get a poster, announcement, or handout in Word format that wouldn’t print right? If the person sent the information in PDF (Portable Document Format) you could print with confidence from any computer on any printer. PDF was designed to make printing easy regardless of the varieties of computer and printer combinations.
Here are 10 reasons PDF files are better for distributing information than Microsoft Word files, (which are made for easy editing not universal distribution and printing.)
PDF viewers
You probably already have one on your computer.
Adobe is the creator of PDF and has the most common reader It is free, but I recommend unchecking the option box that installs McAfee Security Scan.
FoxIt Reader is also free and less demanding on computers.
Making a PDF file
Version 2007 of Microsoft Office has a free download plug-in that will save files as PDF
Recent versions of Wordperfect have a built-in option to print to PDF
PrimoPDF has a free version that installs as a “printer” that prints by saving a PDF version of the document (or any file) to your computer.
CutePDF also installs as a “printer”
Wikipedia has a list of other PDF programs
Online options (nothing to install!) include NitroPDF’s free pdftoword and Adobe’s CreatePDF (previously free, an annual paid subscription required) You send a file via a web page and they email you a link to download the PDF file in a few hours.
The original post was on Eastminster Presbytery’s website.