This Week’s Word: PDF

Several weeks back, I gave you some general information on file formats. This week, I’ll be discussing one specific file format, PDF. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. PDFs are a very common type of file format because they are compatible with both Macs and PCs. This file format was originally produced by Adobe. Because of this, one of the most popular applications for viewing PDFs is Adobe Reader. This is a free application for several different operating systems, including Mac OS X. However, there are also many other applications which can read PDFs. The default application on a Mac to view PDFs is Preview.

PDFs can contain both text and graphics. For example, if you have ever received an invoice from Best Macs, it is saved in PDF form. While the Best Macs logo at the top is  graphic, the rest of the image is a text. One of the big differences between PDFs and many other file formats which also can contain both text and graphics, a DOC file for example, is that everything on the PDF is fixed. You cannot delete or move around the text and graphics. This makes it ideal for sending invoices, electronic newsletters or flyers, and other files which are not intended for the recipient to alter. You can also save a website as a PDF, which is handy for all of those online receipts which the companies tell you to print. You can save on paper by saving them as a PDF and organizing the receipts on your computer.

Saving something as a PDF is the tricky part. It is not particularly difficult, but it is different than how you normally save a file, in most instances. In the Menu Bar, click on “File,” then “Print.” A box will popup giving you all of your options to print, but instead of actually sending it to your printer, you can click on “PDF” on the lower left. You can select “Save as PDF”. Enter the name you would like it saved as and there you go! There are also some other options there– such as Mail as PDF. Use this when they apply, too. Click “Mail as PDF” will bring up a new message in the Mail application, which will have the PDF attached to it.

Now you know about PDFs. As always, feel free to leave me a question if you are confused about anything I discussed.

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