PDF Converter
PDF Converter
Let's say you create a newsletter in Microsoft Word and share it as a .docx file, which is
the default file format for Word documents. Unless everyone has Microsoft Word
installed on their computers, there's no guarantee that they would be able to open and
view the newsletter. And because Word documents are meant to be edited, there's a
chance that some of the formatting and text in your document may be shifted around.
By contrast, PDF files are primarily meant for viewing, not editing. One reason they're
so popular is that PDFs can preserve document formatting, which makes them more
shareable and helps them to look the same on any device. Sharing the newsletter as
a PDF file would help ensure everyone is able to view it as you intended.
If you need to view a PDF file just once, it's usually easiest to open it in your web
browser. If you need to access the PDF later, you'll want to save a copy to your
computer. This process will vary depending on your web browser, but in the example
below the Save PDF button can be found near the upper-right corner.
If the PDF file is already on your computer, you can simply double-click to open it with
the default PDF application.
If your computer uses Windows 7 or earlier, you may need to download a free PDF
viewer (such as Adobe Reader) before you can view PDF files.
This feature is not supported in all web browsers, so you may need to download the
PDF before you can use form fields to add your information.
There may also be times when you want to make small edits to PDF files, like adding a
comment or highlighting text. To learn more about editing PDF files, check out our
lesson on how to edit and merge PDFs.
If your computer has Windows 8 or earlier, you have a few options. The simplest
method is to use software that supports a PDF export, such as Microsoft Office or
Google Chrome.
Another option is to use a PDF converter like Smallpdf, which is a free app that runs in
your web browser. Smallpdf can convert various file types—such as Microsoft Office
documents—into a PDF format.