Tips -  Pdf Files - Cross Platform Versatility

A Portable Document Format File (PDF) is a file created using Adobe® Acrobat® software. PDF is its universal acceptability. PDF files can be opened, read and printed on both Mac an Windows platforms; they do not require extensive software to receive, nor is it necessary to collect fonts and linked art to send.

In addition to the flexibility, using Adobe® Acrobat® PDF maintains margins and formatting for reliable printing every time. PDF files are usually not editable and care should be taken during the save process to ensure reliable output. Please let us know if you have any questions about PDF files or their application.

How do I create a Pdf file?
You can use Acrobat® to convert an electronic file from virtually any application to the Portable Document Format (PDF). Acrobat® can use two different utilities -PDFWriter and Acrobat® Distiller® - to make this conversion for you.

In general, PDFWriter converts files more quickly, but distiller gives you more control over the process and provides higher quality output. Acrobat provides several methods for converting electronic files to PDF. Use whichever method yields the most suitable PDF output and is most convenient for your situation.

Using PDFWriter is as simple as selecting the print option.You chose print, as you would to any other output device, and select PDFWriter as your printer. This method will generate a PDF file of your current document.Using PDFWriter is usually not the best method for creating a file for printing, therefore Distiller is the more appreciate method to use.

Note: For Distiller to be able to create PDF files, you must have a PostScript printer driver on your system set up with a Distiller PostScript printer description (PPD) file. To use the distiller option, a PostScript file will have to be created first. read the section on creating a PostScript file. The Press Optimize job options are recommended for PDF files that will be printed as a high-quality final output

To select Distiller job options:

1. Start the Distiller application.

2. Choose a set of job options from the job options pop-up menu. You can choose a predefined set of options (Screen Optimized, Press Optimized, or Print Optimized), or you can choose a set that you have already defined and saved.

3. Select the PostScript file and click OPEN.

4. Select SAVE. Make sure you select a designation for your file.