Creating PDFs

Creating Adobe PDF files in OS X

What are PDFs?
Techweb (http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/) defines PDF as:
PDF -- (Portable Document Format) The page description language used in the Acrobat document exchange system. PDF files have become a de facto standard for transmitting documents to commercial printers and to the Web for online publishing. Countless files in PDF format are on the Web, and millions of people have downloaded the Acrobat Reader to view them. Acrobat Reader also comes on many application CD-ROMs, because support manuals are often published in PDF format.

PDFs or "Portable Document Format" files are sometimes referred to as "Printer Description Files," since the same type of information "received" by your printer is encoded into a file so that it can open, display and print on virtually any system.

This technology was developed by Adobe Systems (http://www.adobe.com). Adobe provides a free "Acrobat Reader" from their website that works on almost any type of computer. There is even an Acrobat Reader available for Palm Pilots!

PDFs are great for:

Sharing files with other computer users who do not have the same software as you.
(PDFs are small files that can be easily emailed!)
Providing documents via a webpage that look and print exactly as on your printer.
"Saving" websites with all the graphics and text as shown on the webpage.

How are PDFs created?
Anything that you can print can be converted to a PDF file! Save paper ... as you research web pages, print pages as PDFs and you will have the web address, and the date retrieved for citing your sources. You can also copy text from PDF files to paste into research papers.

1. Select the Print command in the File menu.

2. Click the "PDF" button, and select "Save as PDF"

HOW YOU NAME THE FILE IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Remember these important points:

Keep the file name short
Spaces and slashes should not be used
The file name should include the suffix ".pdf"

Note: Further "editing" of PDF files requires the Adobe Professional software (available in the Staff Development Lab).

Creating PDFs
Charlene Chausis, Technology Trainer
Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL
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