Creating PDF files from Microsoft Office documents
Creating PDF files from Creative Suite applications
Creating PDF files from all other electronic formats
Creating PDF files from the Web and paper documents
Converting documents to the Portable Document Format (PDF) is a great way to share files when readers don't have the same software as you or when you want to consolidate multiple file types together into a single document. Adobe Acrobat lets you create files from all software programs and scanned documents and even pages from the Web. Although you can also create PDF files from Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) documents, you don't need Acrobat for this because the ability to create PDF files is built into the individual Creative Suite programs, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. In this chapter, you find out how to create Adobe PDF files from a variety of programs.
Adobe Acrobat includes tools that make it easy to convert Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to PDF.
Warning
These capabilities are much more robust for the Windows versions of these programs, so Macintosh users may discover that not all these options are available.
When you install Acrobat on your computer, it looks for Microsoft Office programs. If Acrobat locates Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, it installs an add-in — the PDF Maker — to these programs that helps convert Microsoft Office documents to PDF in a single click.
You can tell whether the PDF Maker add-in has been installed in your Microsoft Office programs by looking for the Acrobat toolbar or the Acrobat tab, depending upon which version of Microsoft Office you use. In Office 2007, the Acrobat tab appears to the right of the View tab. In earlier versions of Microsoft Office, the toolbar appears at the top of the Document window. If the toolbar isn't visible, choose View
Note
When you convert documents to PDF, the original file remains unchanged, so you have both the original file and a separate PDF document. The original document and the PDF file aren't linked, so changes to the original source file aren't reflected in the PDF file. When you edit the PDF document, the changes don't update in the original file.
PDF Maker provides a variety of controls over how PDF files are created from Microsoft Office programs, such as Word and Excel. For example, you can have Acrobat create the file without asking you to confirm the location and name of the file each time you click the Create PDF button, and Acrobat will simply save the file in the same location as the original document. Similarly, you can choose to create PDF files that balance your need for quality and file size.
PDF Maker also provides controls over the type of PDF file you create because some PDF files may need to be of a higher quality for printing and others may need to be smaller to allow for fast electronic distribution. For example, you may want to post a PDF document to a Web site, where you want to make the file small so that it can be downloaded quickly.
When working in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you can access the PDF Maker controls by clicking the Acrobat tab and then clicking the Preferences button (Office 2007) or by choosing Adobe PDF
From the Conversion Settings drop-down list in the Acrobat PDF Maker dialog box, you can find these useful options that control how the PDF file is generated:
Standard: Choose this option to create PDF files that will be printed on an office laser printer or distributed via e-mail. This setting meets the needs of most users — it provides some compression of graphics, but they remain clear on-screen and look reasonably good when printed. In addition, this setting builds the fonts into the PDF file to maintain an exact representation of the document, regardless of where the file is viewed.
Smallest File Size: With this setting, you can control the file size of the PDF documents you create. This setting provides significant compression of images and also reduces resolution, which causes graphics within the files to lose some clarity and perhaps appear jagged.
In addition, fonts aren't embedded in PDF files created with this setting. If the fonts used in the document aren't available on a computer where a PDF created with the Smallest File Size setting is viewed, Acrobat uses a font substitution technology to replicate the size and shape of the fonts used in the document. This feature typically provides a similar appearance to the original document, but it's not always an exact match of the original file.
Because this setting is so lossy, use it only if you need to compress a large file to a small enough size to send as an e-mail attachment. Make certain the recipient has the fonts used in the document installed on his or her computer. Otherwise, Adobe uses font substitution.
Press Quality: If you need to provide PDF files to your commercial printer or copy shop, use this setting to create a PDF file that's designed for high-quality print reproduction. Along with including fonts in the PDF file, the graphics aren't significantly compressed, and they maintain a much higher resolution. Overall, these files tend to be larger than similar PDF files created with different settings, but the quality of the PDF file is more important than the file size when you're having the PDF professionally printed.
Several other highly technical options might be useful for you if you have a specialized profession. For example, if you archive items with PDF, the PDF/A options are designed for this. Additionally, the PDF/X options are useful for those submitting advertisements to publications that require the PDF advertisements adhere to the PDF/X standard.
Although Microsoft Word and Excel are widespread standards on many corporate computers, they aren't always the best choice for distributing documents. Formatting of Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets changes depending on the fonts available on users' computer or even the printer with which they print, whereas PDF files can keep the file looking consistent on various computer types. In addition, Microsoft Word and Excel files can be easily edited, and users can also copy and extract information from these files with few limitations, whereas PDF files are more difficult to copy from, and they can be secured with robust security options.
Converting a Word or Excel file to a PDF file overcomes these limitations and is quite straightforward. Choose from two methods:
From inside Microsoft Word or Excel, make sure that the document you want to convert to a PDF file is open and then click the Create PDF button in the main toolbar to convert the document.
With Office 2003 or earlier, choose Adobe PDF
No matter which method you choose, you must specify the location of the PDF file that's created and name the file unless you have changed the PDF Maker preferences.
Tip
In Office 2007, click the Preferences button in the Acrobat tab, or with earlier versions of Office, choose Acrobat
You can add functionality into the PDF documents you create. Click the Preference tab if you're working in Office 2007 or choose Acrobat
Attach Source File: Causes the original Office document to become embedded within the PDF file as an attachment. When the PDF file is distributed, the original source file is included within the PDF file.
Create Bookmarks: Adds interactive bookmarks that make navigating the PDF file easy. Bookmarks are added based on Microsoft Word styles, such as text that's styled as Heading 1. The bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks panel when viewing the PDF.
Add Links: Automatically converts Word links, such as Web addresses, into PDF links that you can use when viewing the file in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Within the PDF Maker preferences dialog box, click the Word tab to access additional link options that can be built into PDF files created from Word.
You can convert your PowerPoint presentations to Adobe PDF documents with the PDF Maker add-in that installs with Adobe Acrobat. PDF versions of PowerPoint presentations can be distributed to avoid concerns about the file being edited or concerns that the recipient may not have the same fonts that you used, causing the presentation to look different on various computers.
From PowerPoint, click the Create PDF button to save the file as a PDF file. Of course, make sure that the presentation you're converting is open before you click the button. In older versions of Office, you can also choose Acrobat
As with Word and Excel, you can select options relating to the conversion of your PowerPoint documents to PDF. To access the preferences, click the Preference button in the Acrobat tab or in older versions of Office, choose Acrobat
Preserve Slide Transitions: With this option, you can have the slide transitions that were created in PowerPoint converted into PDF transitions that will be used when the presentation is delivered using Adobe Acrobat's Full Screen mode option.
Convert Multimedia: Because Adobe PDF files can contain integrated sound and movie files, you can choose this option to have sounds and movies used in a PowerPoint file converted into the PDF document.
Tip
After you create the PDF, you can use Acrobat as the tool for delivering your presentations that have been created using PowerPoint. After you convert the file to PDF, open it in Acrobat and choose View
You can also convert Photoshop files, Illustrator files, or InDesign documents to the PDF format. In this section, we show you how.
Both Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe Illustrator CS4 can save documents directly in the Adobe PDF file format. To do so, simply choose File
You can use Adobe Reader or Acrobat to view PDF files created from Photoshop or Illustrator. You can also open and edit PDF files using the same program in which they were created.
Like Photoshop and Illustrator, the ability to convert InDesign documents to PDF is integrated into the application. With Adobe InDesign, you can choose File
In the Adobe InDesign Export PDF dialog box, you can choose from the Preset drop-down list at the top of the dialog box. The choices are many, but we list and describe here the most commonly used settings:
Smallest File Size: Creates compact Adobe PDF files that are intended for display on the Internet or to be distributed via e-mail. Use this setting to create PDF files that will be viewed primarily on-screen.
High Quality Print: Creates Adobe PDF files that are intended for desktop printers and digital copiers.
Press Quality: Use this setting to create PDF files that will be delivered to a commercial printer for high-quality, offset print reproduction.
Tip
When creating PDF files to be used for high-resolution printing, here are some settings you should use. Select Marks and Bleeds in the list on the left of the Export PDF dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-1, and specify the amount of space items need to extend off the page, referred to a bleed. If you're delivering the file to a printing firm, they can provide you with guidance as to the required value. A good rule to follow is to use at least .125 inches if you have any items in your layout that extend to the edge of your document pages and beyond. Specify the value you want by entering the number in the Bleed and Slug section of the Marks and Bleeds tab. If the amount of bleed needs to be the same on all four sides, type the value in the Top text box and then click the link icon to the right of the Top and Bottom Bleed text boxes.
As described earlier in this chapter, creating PDF files from Creative Suite applications and Microsoft Office programs is simple. You can also create PDF files from many other programs. When you installed the Adobe Creative Suite on your computer, you also installed a new printer — the Adobe PDF printer — which is used to convert electronic documents to PDF files. The Adobe PDF printer captures all the same information that's normally sent to your printer, and, instead of printing on paper, the information is converted into an Adobe PDF file.
To create a PDF file from any program, choose File
To change the type of PDF file that's created, such as a smaller file for Internet Web posting or a higher quality file for delivery to a commercial printer, do this:
Windows: Click the Properties button in the Print dialog box to open the Adobe PDF Document Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-2. Here, you can choose the settings you want to use to control the quality and size of the resulting PDF file.
Mac: Choose PDF Options from the Copies and Pages drop-down list in the Print dialog box and then select the PDF settings you want to use.
We discuss the PDF conversion settings earlier in this chapter, in the "PDF conversion options" section.
Using the Print menu to control the quality of PDF files created from non-Adobe programs may appear strange, but it's the easiest way for Adobe to capture all the same information that you'd expect to see when you print your files. This provides an easy and standard method for generating PDF files from any program. In fact, you can even use this method for creating PDF files from Adobe Creative Suite programs. It's useful to have this available as an option if you're having difficulty with the Export command. The Print and Export commands use different processes for creating PDF files, so you can use one option if you have difficulty with the other when creating PDF files from Creative Suite programs.
Note
Bookmarks, links, page transitions, and multimedia aren't exported if a PDF is generated with the Print menu option. You must use the Export option to have these items included in PDF files.
PDF files don't need to start as electronic publishing files. Adobe Acrobat provides options for converting both paper documents and Internet Web pages into PDF format.
To convert paper documents into PDF, you need a scanner to digitize the information. If you expect to scan a large number of pages into PDF, consider purchasing a scanner with an automatic document feeder. Some scanners can scan both the front and backside of a document at the same time. Scanners, such as the Fujitsu ScanSnap, now fit easily on your desktop and let you convert a large number of paper documents to PDF in a short period of time. Some scanners, such as the ScanSnap, automatically launch Acrobat and convert scanned documents to PDF; others require you to scan the file. If a scanner is already hooked to the computer on which you use Acrobat and doesn't automatically start Acrobat, follow these steps to scan in a paper document and then convert it to PDF format:
From the Acrobat main menu, choose File
Create PDFFrom Scanner.Then choose the type of PDF document you wish to create. For pages with text, choose one of the Document options: Black and White for line art or text that contains no shades of gray; Grayscale for documents that contain varying shades of gray; or Color for documents that contain color. For photographs, choose the Image option.
Make sure that your scanner is turned on, put the document to be scanned into the scanner, and then click the Scan button.
If necessary, continue to scan multiple pages into a single document. When you're done scanning, the scanned page appears in Acrobat.
If you have a PDF open and choose Create PDF from Scanner, a window appears, giving you the opportunity to append the file (add to the existing file) or create a new PDF file.
The scanned document opens in Acrobat.
Tip
If the pages need to be rotated, choose Document
Choose File
Save to save the finished document as a PDF.
Scanned text is fully searchable if you use one of the Document preset choices because Acrobat uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert the image to text. If you open a previously scanned file, you can use Acrobat's OCR capability by choosing Document
By converting online content to Adobe PDF, you can capture contents from an Internet Web site. Because Web content can change rapidly, you can capture something that may not remain online for a long period of time. You can convert things, such as news stories or business information, from a Web site into PDF. Because PDF files can easily be combined together, you can merge a PDF from a Web site with other PDF files, such as spreadsheets, word-processing documents, and brochures.
If you want to convert only a single page and are using Internet Explorer, click the Convert Web Page to PDF button. This step converts the current Web page to a PDF. If you want to convert more than a single page, follow these steps from within Acrobat (not your Web browser):
From the Acrobat main menu, choose File
Create PDFFrom Web Page.The Create PDF from Web Page dialog box opens.
In the URL text box, enter the URL for the Web site you're converting to PDF.
To capture additional pages that are linked from the main page you're capturing, click the Capture Multiple Levels button, and then select one of the following:
Select the Stay On Same Path check box if you want only pages from the entered URL converted to PDF.
Select the Stay On Same Server check box to download only pages that are on the same server as the entered URL.
Click the Settings button to open the Web Page Conversion Settings dialog box and see accepted file types and change PDF settings (on the General tab).
On the Page Layout tab of the Web Page Conversion Settings dialog box, make changes to page size, orientation, and margins if the Web page requires a wider or longer layout. See Figure 2-3.
When you're done making changes in the Web Page Conversion Settings dialog box, click OK.
In the Create PDF from Web Page dialog box, click the Create button to generate a PDF.
The Downloading Status window opens, showing the rate of download.
When the download is complete, the Web page (for the entered URL) selected appears as a PDF document, with hyperlinks (links to other pages within the site) intact. When links on the converted Web page are selected, you can open the linked page either in Acrobat or the Web browser.