PDF (Portable Document Format) was introduced by Adobe a couple of years ago. It spread fast around the world, becoming one of the most popular file formats available. PDF files can be read with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, but also with other specialized programs, no matter if you are on Windows, UNIX or another operating system.

PDF files became so popular because of their advantages over other file formats. I explained that they can be viewed on about any computer. Then, their file size is considerably smaller than a similar Word document. This is happening because on creation, images can be compressed, or converted to other format. A big problem for users is text fonts. If you write your Word documents using a fancy font, another person might not be able to view that document, because he doesn't have that particular font installed on his computer. With PDF files that problem is gone; fonts are embedded into the file, making it viewable for anyone.

Another powerful benefit of the PDF files is security. How many times you wanted to make sure your work is not modified, or even stolen. Now, it's easy to protect your files with a password and 128 bits encryption.

Creating PDF files is quite easy. There are main 2 ways to do it:

First one would be to make it from scratch. You start with a blank page, and add text and graphics the same way you do when you are working with Microsoft Word. At the end, create your bookmarks, choose security options and save the output PDF. Project can be saved and the work continued later if you have something else to add.

But, what happens if you already have your documents written in another text editor, like Microsoft Word. Using copy and paste to transfer your work into the PDF editor is an option, but it could lead to problems.

The best solution would be to use a PDF Conversion tool that will make a PDF file using your existing files as input. This is the second way to create PDF files, and maybe the easiest. The main advantage is that you don't have to change the way you work. The only modification is that at the end, you convert your files into PDF.

It might look difficult, but it's not. The majority of the PDF conversion tools use a PDF printer. This means that they convert to PDF by "printing" your files. Actually, this brings a lot of new options, because printing is available in wide range of applications. This means you can print to PDF from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, and virtually any program that allows it.

Some PDF Converter tools have a more features: you are able to preview your final PDF file, change document title and name, and even compression and color settings. Also online tutorials are available, to see the product in action before installation. This will help you figure out if it's the one you need.

I always prefer the second way to create PDF files.