How to Create a PDF File
There are several ways to create a PDF File, and several tools that can be used to create a PDF file. Here is a sample of some of the leading tools to create PDFs:
- Adobe Acrobat (The original creation tool)
- Free PDF Creator for Windows (Free)
- Adobe Online PDF Converter (Free Trial of 5 Conversions; $9.99/month or $99.99/year)
- Primo PDF (Free; Nitro PDF Pro version -Free 14-day Trial, then $49.95)
- Cute PDF (Free; Cute PDF Professional - $49.95)
For the sake of this website, Adobe Acrobat will be used, since it's the original and the standard of which all the others are based.
There are two main ways to create a PDF, which are "from scratch," or doing a conversion from another type of document, such as a Microsoft Office document or a webpage.
Creating a PDF from Scratch
Within Adobe Acrobat, you can create an original document that is formatted as a PDF from inception. View the video below (see Video 1) for directions.
How to Create a PDF from Scratch
Video 1 (Runtime: 2:51 minutes)
Converting a Document into PDF format
Using a special printer driver from Adobe Acrobat, you can convert just about any printable document into a PDF. Below is a short video demonstration on how to do that. (See Video 2.)