You have probably come across a PDF at some point in your life if not more often. They are types of documents just like Microsoft Word documents but differ from them.
One of the biggest differences is that PDFs are not created using Microsoft Office programs, as you would expect. They are not even created using Open Office programs either.
In fact, you can’t write a PDF as you write a Word document. You can just create one by converting another type of document into PDF.
Although it sounds a bit complicated, it’s not. You just need to know more about what PDF is and how to work with it.
Before heading to explaining what actually is PDF, why it’s used, and how you can create one, let’s take a look at what does PDF stand for. This abbreviation stands for Portable Document Format. As simple as that. But, what does that mean?
PDF has been developed by Adobe and has the extension (name of the document).pdf. As Adobe claim on their website, they have created PDF to “present and exchange document reliably, regardless of the hardware, software, and operating system (OS). In other words, PDFS can be easily shared across devices and printed without compromising the authenticity of their contents. That’s why PDFs cannot be modified and use SSL encryption and passwords.
PDF is maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Just like Word documents, PDFs can contain buttons, links, form fields, video, audio, and business logic. Moreover, it can be signed a PDF using digital/electronic signature. This type of file can be opened using Adobe Acrobat, which is now found on almost every computer.
PDF is used for displaying electronic documents on any device, software, or operating system. It is also used for protecting the contents of a document because this type of file uses encryption and can’t be viewed or edited without permission from the owner.
As mentioned earlier in this article, PDFs can’t be created by writing them like Word documents. They can be created from Microsoft Office documents, Open Office documents, Images, TEXT files, and other types of files. While you can easily save a file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as a PDF, you have to use a PDF converter in order to convert other types of files into PDF and vice versa.
As mentioned previously, you have to use a PDF converter to convert and edit PDFs. There are many paid (affordable) and free converters (software and tools) you can use, for any platfom and device.
They allow you to convert from a lot of different file types into PDF and vice versa. Moreover, they allow you to edit a PDF just like any other type of file. Some converters also have an inbuilt OCR technology which allows you to scan printed documents and edit them as electronic documents.
Hence, if you want to make the most of your PDFs and use them just like any other type of file, you have to use a PDF converter.