Create .pdf files without Acrobat

Portable document format (.pdf) files are a fact of computing life. Most computer users are usually content just having to read the files, but sometimes one must create their own pdfs from scratch. These files cannot be created with the ubiquitous "Adobe Reader", but with a program called "Acrobat". Acrobat is a great program, filled dozens of features that rarely get used. The biggest drawback to Acrobat is it's price, which can range between one hundred fifty and three hundred dollars. There is another way to create these files without dishing out the money for Acrobat, and it is free! The program is called "PDFCreator" and it is available free from:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator.

PDFCreator works as a printer driver that simulates the output of data, that Acrobat would normally send. Instead of actually printing the document, the output is saved as a pdf file. This free-alternative is not a replacement for Acrobat, but suffices for those times when a pdf just needs to be created. For optimal pdf creation and manipulation, Acrobat is still the best choice.

1. Download and install "pdfcreator" from SourceForge.net.

2. Open the document (any document) you would like converted to pdf format.

3. Choose "print" from the file application's menu. Instead of sending the document to the printer, choose "PDFCreator".

4. PDFCreator will prompt you asking what to call the file and where to save it. After that an image will appear as the pdf is created.

March 12, 2006